Kent County, MD tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Kent County, seat of Chestertown: 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
- Once a year, on a Thursday in late May, as a same-day online sale.
- Format
- RealAuction
- County office
- (410) 778-7478
On this page
How Kent 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
- Kent County Office of Finance, acting through the Chief Finance Officer as Collector of Taxes
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Once a year, on a Thursday in late May, as a same-day online sale.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Online registration on the Realauction site is required to bid, and there is no registration fee. For the 2026 sale registration opened at 12:00 PM ET on Thursday, April 30, 2026 and closed on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 (the county notice states 4:00 PM ET, the platform bidding rules state 4:30 PM ET, so treat the earlier time as the deadline). Instead of a cash deposit, each bidder must set a budget equal to 100% of estimated winnings, and budgets stay open until 1:30 PM ET on sale day. Business entities must be registered with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation and in good standing; foreign bidder registrations are not accepted, and only one bidder number is issued per person or entity. Bidders complete an online W-9 at registration. Certificates are sold individually in batches, with the first batch closing at 10:30 AM ET, batches closing every 30 minutes, the last batch at 12:00 PM ET, and an auxiliary batch from 1:00 to 1:30 PM ET. For 2026 the platform lists wire transfer as the accepted payment method, with funds due by 12:00 PM ET on June 2, 2026.
Sale format and venue
Kent County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Kent 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 Tax Sale Properties page (annual sale notice plus the posted list of remaining certificates) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Once a year, on a Thursday in late May, as a same-day online sale. 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 Kent County Office of Finance, acting through the Chief Finance Officer as Collector of Taxes as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Kent County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax Sale Properties page (annual sale notice plus the posted list of remaining certificates). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Online registration on the Realauction site is required to bid, and there is no registration fee. For the 2026 sale registration opened at 12:00 PM ET on Thursday, April 30, 2026 and closed on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 (the county notice states 4:00 PM ET, the platform bidding rules state 4:30 PM ET, so treat the earlier time as the deadline). Instead of a cash deposit, each bidder must set a budget equal to 100% of estimated winnings, and budgets stay open until 1:30 PM ET on sale day. Business entities must be registered with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation and in good standing; foreign bidder registrations are not accepted, and only one bidder number is issued per person or entity. Bidders complete an online W-9 at registration. Certificates are sold individually in batches, with the first batch closing at 10:30 AM ET, batches closing every 30 minutes, the last batch at 12:00 PM ET, and an auxiliary batch from 1:00 to 1:30 PM ET. For 2026 the platform lists wire transfer as the accepted payment method, with funds due by 12:00 PM ET on June 2, 2026.
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
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- Maryland is a lien state and Kent County runs only the certificate sale. No separate tax deed auction exists; title passes through a circuit court action to foreclose the right of redemption filed by the certificate holder.
- Naming: Maryland SDAT's tax collector directory still lists the office as "Office of the Treasurer, Kent County" at 400 High Street, Chestertown, Maryland 21620, phone (410) 778-7478, fax (410) 778-3826. The county itself calls it the Office of Finance and its sale notice is signed by the Chief Finance Officer, who the county website currently identifies as Robert "Bob" Gast. The signature block on the platform's 2026 notice still carries a previous officer's name, so use the office rather than the individual.
- Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The Finance Office also handles tax sale redemptions.
- The platform's property preview page requires a login and blocks anonymous requests, so the county's Tax Sale Properties page and the Kent County News advertisement are the practical routes to the list before registering.
- Bidder training webinars are offered through the Realauction site before the sale closes.
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 Kent County, Maryland sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Kent County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Kent 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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