When the sale is held
No state or county office assigns or publishes sale dates. Each town or city decides whether and when to sell its tax-deeded land and publishes its own notice, bid package or auctioneer listing. A sale can be preceded by the former owner's 90-day notice and can be withdrawn if the former owner repurchases, so a listed date is not final until the sale is held.
When taxes go delinquent
Property tax not paid on or before December 1 after its assessment draws interest at 8 percent a year from that date; where a tax bill goes out on or after November 2 and before April 1, interest starts 30 days after the bills are mailed, and the collector states the start date on the bill. From December 1 the real estate is subject to the tax lien procedure in any town or city that has adopted RSA 80:58 to 80:86. The collector sends the owner at least 30 days' notice by certified or registered mail stating the last date and time payment will be accepted and the amount of tax, interest and costs, and executes the lien to the municipality the day after that deadline. The lien covers a 100 percent common and undivided interest in the parcel, is reported to the county register of deeds within 30 days, and has priority over all other liens. The municipality notifies recorded mortgagees within 60 days of execution; without that notice the lien process is void as against the mortgagee.
What sends a parcel to the sale
The land must first be DEEDED TO THE TOWN: the collector executes the tax deed to the lienholder two years after the lien was executed if it has not been redeemed, after mailing 30 days' notice to the current owner and to each mortgagee (80:76, 80:77, 80:77-a). The governing body may refuse the deed for environmental liability or other stated reasons, in which case the lien and the owner's right to redeem continue indefinitely and no sale follows (80:76 II, II-a, III). Once the town holds the deed, it may convey the land only if the annual town meeting (by majority vote) or the city council has authorized the governing body to do so, for one year or 'indefinitely, until rescinded' (80:80 I, IV); a town may also vote to keep the land for public use (80:80 V), and nothing obliges it to sell (80:91). At least 90 days before offering the land, the town must send the former owner, and any mortgagee notified of the deed, a certified-mail notice of the terms of the offering and the right to repurchase (80:89 I). The execution of the tax lien and the tax deed to the town are NOT investor sales; see lien.zero_bid_rule.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the New Hampshire county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in New Hampshire.
Verified Sep 28, 2026 against New Hampshire statutes.
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.