Queen Anne's County, MD tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Queen Anne's County, seat of Centreville: 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
- Tax sale scheduled for May 18, 2027.Tuesday · 2027
- Format
- RealAuction
- Registration
- Register online at the RealAuction site.
- County office
- 410-758-0414, Ext. 2087
On this page
How Queen Anne's 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
- Queen Anne's County Office of Budget & Finance, Treasury Division (the county Collector of Taxes)
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Register online at the RealAuction site.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register online at the RealAuction site. The county FAQ says registration opens one month before the sale, and the Tax Sale page says bidders may pre-register no later than one week before the sale date. A one-time, non-refundable $100 registration fee is charged by ACH debit at the time of registration. For the 2026 sale the window ran from 9:00 AM ET on April 28, 2026 to 4:00 PM ET on May 12, 2026. Only one bidder identification number is assigned per individual and one per legal entity. Corporate bidders must register under their full corporate name and be qualified to do business in Maryland as a domestic or foreign corporation, or the sale is voided.
Sale format and venue
Queen Anne's County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Queen Anne's 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 property list and over-the-counter certificates for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Tax sale scheduled for May 18, 2027. 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 Queen Anne's County Office of Budget & Finance, Treasury Division (the county Collector of Taxes) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Queen Anne's County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax sale property list and over-the-counter certificates. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register online at the RealAuction site. The county FAQ says registration opens one month before the sale, and the Tax Sale page says bidders may pre-register no later than one week before the sale date. A one-time, non-refundable $100 registration fee is charged by ACH debit at the time of registration. For the 2026 sale the window ran from 9:00 AM ET on April 28, 2026 to 4:00 PM ET on May 12, 2026. Only one bidder identification number is assigned per individual and one per legal entity. Corporate bidders must register under their full corporate name and be qualified to do business in Maryland as a domestic or foreign corporation, or the sale is voided.
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)
Queen Anne's County Office of Budget & Finance - Treasury Division
The Liberty Building, 107 N Liberty Street, Centreville, MD 21617
Official websiteCounty notes
- Lien only. The county FAQ answers the question of whether it holds a deed sale in addition to a lien sale with: "The County does not hold a deed sale."
- Redemption interest is 10% per year, calculated at a monthly rate from the date of sale to the date of redemption, per the county tax sale FAQ.
- High bid premium is 20% of the amount by which the high bid exceeds the high bid threshold of 40% of full cash value, except agricultural land, where the collector sets the threshold. The county publishes a worked calculation example page and the same example appears in the auction site conditions of sale.
- Advertising: eligible properties run in The Record Observer and on the RealAuction site for the three consecutive weeks before the sale, beginning the first of May. Only the online list is updated weekly to reflect payments received; the newspaper list is not.
- Unsold liens are available over the counter from the Treasury Division. The county posts an "Available Over-the-Counter Tax Sale Certificates" PDF on its Tax Sale page and asks buyers to contact Treasury for the amount needed.
- Date conflict on the county site as of August 2026: the Bidder Information page still lists the May 19, 2026 sale, while the Tax Sale and Treasury Division pages list Tuesday, May 18, 2027 as the next sale. Confirm the date with the Treasury Division before planning a trip or a funding schedule.
- The county does not handle foreclosure and charges no fee for it; purchasers file a civil action in Queen Anne's County Circuit Court. A bidder statement is issued after the sale, the county keeps the original certificate of sale, and certificates for liens still unredeemed are emailed to bidders in September.
- Purchasers must report foreclosure filings to the Finance Office and must submit documented expenses within five days of a request once an owner gives notice of intent to redeem, or the claim to those expenses is waived.
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 Queen Anne's County, Maryland sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Queen Anne's County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Queen Anne's 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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