Garrett County, MD tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Garrett County, seat of Oakland: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Maryland tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Mid to late May, annually.
- Format
- RealAuction
- Registration
- Register online at garrett.marylandtaxsale.com.
- County office
- 301-334-1965
On this page
How Garrett County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
Maryland holds no county tax deed auction. Title passes only through a judicial foreclosure of the right of redemption brought by the holder of the certificate of sale. The holder may file the complaint at any time after 6 months from the date of sale, or after 9 months for owner-occupied residential property, and only after serving two statutory notices on the owner and the mortgagee. The first of those notices cannot be sent until 4 months after the sale, or 7 months for owner-occupied residential property, the second follows at least a week later, and the complaint cannot be filed until at least 2 months after the first notice and 30 days after the second. Where a government agency certifies that a building needs substantial repairs, the holder may file after 60 days, and abandoned property sold below the lien amount may be filed on immediately.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Garrett County Billing & Collections Office, Department of Financial Services (the Collector of Taxes; the auction notice also calls it the Garrett County Tax Collections Office)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Mid to late May, annually.
- Registration
- Register online at garrett.marylandtaxsale.com.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register online at garrett.marylandtaxsale.com. The county states you must be registered to bid, and registration closed at 4:00 PM ET on May 15th for the 2026 sale. The published rules require a $100.00 registration fee, refundable and not applied to winnings, plus a budget equal to 100 percent of estimated winnings set before bids are placed. The registration fee and the final payment run by ACH from the same bank account, and successful bidders are auto-debited for the full amount due by 4:00 PM ET on the payment due date, which was May 28th, 2026 for the 2026 sale. Wire transfers and counter payments are not accepted. Business entities that are not individuals must be registered with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation and in good standing to participate. The 2026 rules do not allow foreign bidder registrations or sub-accounts, and no public computers are provided.
Sale format and venue
Garrett County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Garrett County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Preview items for sale, Garrett County tax lien auction for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Mid to late May, annually. Bidding runs on RealAuction; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Garrett County Billing & Collections Office, Department of Financial Services (the Collector of Taxes; the auction notice also calls it the Garrett County Tax Collections Office) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Garrett County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Preview items for sale, Garrett County tax lien auction. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register online at garrett.marylandtaxsale.com. The county states you must be registered to bid, and registration closed at 4:00 PM ET on May 15th for the 2026 sale. The published rules require a $100.00 registration fee, refundable and not applied to winnings, plus a budget equal to 100 percent of estimated winnings set before bids are placed. The registration fee and the final payment run by ACH from the same bank account, and successful bidders are auto-debited for the full amount due by 4:00 PM ET on the payment due date, which was May 28th, 2026 for the 2026 sale. Wire transfers and counter payments are not accepted. Business entities that are not individuals must be registered with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation and in good standing to participate. The 2026 rules do not allow foreign bidder registrations or sub-accounts, and no public computers are provided.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Maryland due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold certificates
A county or other taxing agency must buy in any property offered at the sale for which there is no private purchaser, and the governing body may then sell and assign that certificate of sale, or after foreclosure sell the property. Several counties run this as a post-sale assignment sale of the unsold liens at lien value, usually open only to bidders who registered for the auction. Availability, pricing and whether a list is published are local decisions, so ask the collector of taxes.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
County notes
- The Billing & Collections Office describes its principal function as "the billing and collection of all property taxes for the State of Maryland and Garrett County." Office hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday, by appointment only, reachable at 301.334.1965 or [email protected].
- The county cautions that the advertising list "may not reflect current status of accounts" and is updated regularly, and that the auction site's map feature is not verified by the Tax Collections Office. Bidders are told they are responsible for verifying a property's location before bidding.
- RealAuction operates bidder support for this sale at (877) 361-7325 and offers live webinar bidder training before the auction closes.
- Completed-sale results are posted publicly on the auction site. In the 2026 sale, many winning bids ran far above the face amount, which reflects Maryland premium bidding: the surplus stays on credit with the Collector rather than being paid at closing.
- Maryland runs no separate tax deed auction. A deed passes only after a certificate holder forecloses the right of redemption in Circuit Court and pays the balance of the purchase price plus accrued taxes, interest, penalties and costs.
- Before the sale, the Collector mails a notice to the last owner of record at least thirty days before first advertisement, then publishes the property list once a week for four successive weeks in one or more county newspapers.
- Statewide help for delinquent homeowners is handled by the Maryland Office of the State Tax Sale Ombudsman at 833.732.8411 or [email protected], listed on the county's resources page.
Maryland rules
- Redemption
- Maryland sets no fixed redemption deadline. The right to redeem continues until it is finally barred by decree of the circuit court in which the foreclosure proceeding is filed. What the statute fixes is the earliest date the certificate holder may start that case, and the outside date by which the holder must start it. A certificate is void unless a proceeding to foreclose the right of redemption is filed within 2 years of the date of the certificate of sale, and if the certificate goes void the holder's rights end and the money paid at the sale is forfeited and applied to the taxes in arrears. A Baltimore City certificate on abandoned property sold below the lien amount must be filed on within 3 months and reverts to the city otherwise.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any balance over the amount needed for taxes, interest, penalties and the costs of sale belongs to the person entitled to it, which is normally the former owner. Each county must establish a process for claiming that balance, the process must apply uniformly to all claims in the county, and it may not require a court order unless payment of the balance is disputed. Within 90 days after delivering a deed to a purchaser, the collector must notify the prior owner of record of the amount of the balance and of how to claim it. Where the balance is disputed, the collector pays it into a court of competent jurisdiction pending an order on distribution.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Garrett County, Maryland sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Garrett County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Garrett County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 9, 2026 against official county and state sources.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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