Hampshire County, MA tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Hampshire County, MA tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Massachusetts sells redeemable deeds the owner can buy back with a statutory penalty. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Sep 28, 2026.
How tax deed sales work in Hampshire County, seat of Northampton: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Massachusetts tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No countywide calendar.
- Registration
- Terms are set by each municipality in its auction notice.
- County office
- 413-587-1293
On this page
How Hampshire County sells delinquent taxes
No tax lien certificate sale
as a certificate sale. Massachusetts issues no tax lien certificate. What an investor buys is a tax title: either a collector's deed from a collector's sale (s. 43) or an instrument of assignment from the treasurer's auction of tax titles the town already holds (s. 52). Both are subject to redemption, and both are often called 'tax liens' on municipal pages, which describes how they work (held as security) rather than a separate instrument.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Each city or town Treasurer/Collector in Hampshire County (20 municipalities); the county holds no tax sale
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No countywide calendar.
- Registration
- Terms are set by each municipality in its auction notice.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Terms are set by each municipality in its auction notice. The most recent published example, Worthington's October 2018 auction of tax-foreclosed land, required a deposit at the auction, payment of the balance within 30 days, and payment of recording and legal fees, and barred prior owners and bidders delinquent on town taxes.
Sale format and venue
Hampshire County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Hampshire 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. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.
Get the advertised list
Use Belchertown tax taking list (May 7, 2026) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No countywide calendar. Each city or town picks its own platform or in-person venue. Confirm the date and registration window with that town’s collector before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Each city or town Treasurer/Collector in Hampshire County (20 municipalities); the county holds no tax sale as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Hampshire County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Belchertown tax taking list (May 7, 2026). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Terms are set by each municipality in its auction notice. The most recent published example, Worthington's October 2018 auction of tax-foreclosed land, required a deposit at the auction, payment of the balance within 30 days, and payment of recording and legal fees, and barred prior owners and bidders delinquent on town taxes.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Massachusetts due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Massachusetts before you price the title work.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 properties
No standing over-the-counter list. A town's tax titles can be assigned only at a public auction after notice, and its foreclosed land is sold by public auction or broker listing when the town chooses. Ask the city or town treasurer what it holds.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Massachusetts calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
Treasurer/Collector's Office, City of Northampton (county seat)
Puchalski Municipal Building, 212 Main St., Room 305, Northampton, MA 01060
Official websiteCounty notes
- Hampshire County has 20 cities and towns, and each one runs its own tax collection, tax takings and any tax title or foreclosed-land auction.
- Northampton: the Treasurer/Collector's Office (212 Main St., Room 305, 413-587-1293) holds all tax title accounts and prepares foreclosures with the city's tax title attorney. The city posts no tax title auction list.
- Amherst: Treasurer/Collector Department, Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave., 413-259-3020. No tax title auction list is posted.
- Easthampton: the City Treasurer, 50 Payson Ave., 413-529-1400 ext. 443, manages tax title accounts and supervises tax foreclosure proceedings. No auction list is posted.
- Belchertown: the Collector and Treasurer (2 Jabish St., Room 204, 413-323-0400) scheduled a tax taking for May 7, 2026 for unpaid fiscal 2024 taxes. The parcel list appears on the town's Delinquent Taxes / Tax Title page. A taking transfers title to the town and is not a sale to investors.
- South Hadley: Town Collector/Treasurer, 116 Main St., Room M12, 413-538-5030 ext. 6189. No tax title auction list is posted.
- Ware: Tax Collector's Office, 126 Main St., Suite C, 413-967-9602, handles tax title and foreclosure matters. No auction list is posted.
- Hatfield: Treasurer/Collector, Memorial Town Hall, 59 Main St., 413-247-9200 ext. 2, collects tax title accounts. No auction list is posted.
- Worthington last published a public auction of tax-foreclosed land for October 29, 2018, held in person at Town Hall, with a deposit due at the auction and the balance within 30 days.
- Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Granby, Hadley, Huntington, Middlefield, Pelham, Plainfield, Southampton, Westhampton and Williamsburg publish no tax title or foreclosed-land auction list; contact each town's treasurer/collector and watch local legal notices.
Massachusetts rules
- Redemption
- Anyone with an interest in the land may redeem at any time before a foreclosure petition is filed, and a holder generally cannot petition until 12 months after the sale or taking, so the owner usually has at least a year and there is no fixed outer deadline. After a petition is filed, a party may still redeem through the Land Court by filing an answer and paying on the terms the court fixes, until a judgment forever bars redemption. The treasurer may extend the no-foreclosure period by up to 2 years when accepting a partial payment, and a town may by bylaw or ordinance offer payment agreements of up to 10 years during which it may not foreclose. Shorter routes apply where buildings on town-held land are found abandoned or the redemption amount exceeds the assessed value.
- Deed deposit
- At a collector's sale, the purchaser must make an immediate deposit of whatever sum the collector considers necessary to show good faith, or the sale is void (s. 43). No statute sets a deposit for a treasurer's tax title auction or a custodian's auction; each municipality sets it in its terms of sale.
- Surplus proceeds
- Since November 1, 2024 (St. 2024, c. 140), the owner at the time of a Land Court foreclosure keeps a right to any excess equity, and that applies to a municipality AND to a private purchaser of tax receivables (s. 64). Within 30 days after the judgment becomes final, the judgment holder must elect to retain or sell. If it retains, it must obtain an independent appraisal within 120 days and pay out the appraised value above the tax title balance and costs. If it sells, it must list with a licensed broker within 180 days, then auction at not less than two-thirds of appraised value if unsold after 12 months. Excess equity is held in a segregated interest-bearing escrow; claims may be made for 18 months after notice where owners are unknown, unclaimed funds go to the state's abandoned property process after 19 months, and disputes go to the Superior Court with a jury trial right (s. 64A). Owners foreclosed on or after May 25, 2021 had 12 months from the act to sue for excess equity (St. 2024, c. 140, s. 212). Surplus from a s. 79 sale without foreclosure is held for the person entitled for five years, then goes to the town.
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 Hampshire County, Massachusetts sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Hampshire County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Hampshire County tax sale list?
Verified Sep 28, 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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