Prince George's County, MD tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The county seat is Upper Marlboro, but the Office of Finance and its Tax Sale Unit operate from the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building at 1301 McCormick Drive, Suite 1100, Largo, MD 20774. Cashier's checks and walk-in redemption payments go to that address.
• •Maryland counties sell liens, not deeds. Prince George's County holds no tax deed auction. A certificate holder who is not redeemed must file an action to foreclose the right of redemption in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, and the certificate is void if no action is filed within two years of the sale date.
• •The county's tax sale information page states that the holder of a certificate on a principal residence may file to foreclose the right of redemption at any time after nine months from the sale date. Its dates page matches that with February 12, 2027 as the earliest filing date for principal residences sold on May 11, 2026, and November 12, 2026 for non-principal residences.
• •Attorney fees and expenses are reimbursable only after the waiting periods in Tax-Property 14-843, which the county states as seven months after sale for principal residences and four months for non-owner-occupied or vacant property. Purchasers must supply an itemized redemption figure within two business days of request and a written release on payment, or the county can deny fee reimbursement and bar them from future sales.
• •Unsold certificates are available over the counter through the assignment sale at tax value. The FY2026 assignment list is published as a PDF on the tax sale site and shows account number, owner, address, lot size, occupancy code and taxes due, which makes it a usable screening list for off-auction buying.
• •Advertising runs four consecutive weeks in The Enquirer Gazette and The Prince George's Post, and properties drop off the list as owners pay, so the list posted after 4:30 p.m. on the Friday before the sale is the one that matters.
• •The main princegeorgescountymd.gov finance pages sit behind an edge security service that refuses automated requests, so the taxsale.princegeorgescountymd.gov subdomain is the reachable official reference for this county. All logistics above come from that subdomain, which the county operates.
• •Email contact for the Tax Sale Unit is [email protected], with a fax line at 301-952-4261 for redemption releases.

Maryland rules

Max interest rate

6% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)Md. Code Ann., Tax-Property 14-820 - contents of the certificate of sale and the rate of redemption, 6 percent a year with the county schedule and a 10 percent cap on owner-occupied residential propertyMd. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 14-820Verified Aug 9, 2026

Minimum return

No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the saleMd. Code Ann., Tax-Property 14-820 - contents of the certificate of sale and the rate of redemption, 6 percent a year with the county schedule and a 10 percent cap on owner-occupied residential propertyMd. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 14-820Verified Aug 9, 2026

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.Md. Code Ann., Tax-Property 14-827 - the owner or other person with an estate or interest may redeem at any time until the right of redemption is finally foreclosedMd. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 14-827Verified Aug 9, 2026

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.Md. Code Ann., Tax-Property 14-818 - what the winning bidder pays the day after the sale, the balance held on credit, and the surplus payable to the former ownerMd. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 14-818Verified Aug 9, 2026

Governing statute

Md. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. Title 14, Subtitle 8, Part IIIMd. Code Ann., Tax-Property 14-801 - definitions for the tax sale sections 14-801 through 14-854, including tax and owner-occupied residential propertyMd. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. 14-801Verified Aug 9, 2026

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.

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