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Tax Sale Atlas

Essex County, NJ tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Essex County, NJ tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. New Jersey sells tax lien certificates paying up to 18%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the city and town notices on Sep 28, 2026.

How tax lien sales work in Essex County, seat of Newark: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how New Jersey tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

On this page
Look up a sale detail

Municipal tax collector of each of Essex County's 22 municipalities (the county holds no tax sale). Each municipality holds its own annual sale

Record quality: high. Last verified: 2026-09-28.

N.J.S.A. 54:5-32 - Sale in fee subject to redemption (New Jersey Legislature statutes database) (source accessed 2026-09-28)

Recorded reference information. Verify current sale conditions with the county. Read the full sale details.

Link to this detail

How Essex County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

New Jersey holds no tax deed auction. A certificate holder who is not redeemed files an action in the Superior Court to foreclose the right of redemption: a private purchaser at any time after two years from the sale, the municipality (or anyone who takes the certificate from it by assignment or transfer) after six months, and any holder at any time if the property meets the statutory definition of abandoned property. Judgment bars redemption and vests title in the holder. Since P.L.2024, c.39 the owner or the owner's heirs may, before final judgment, demand that the foreclosure proceed by a sheriff's sale or a sheriff's Internet auction to preserve equity; that sale is run by the county sheriff and is a foreclosure sale of one parcel, not a tax sale, so a sheriff's sale listing is never the date of a municipality's certificate sale. Separately, a municipality holding its own certificates may foreclose by an in rem action once more than six months have passed since the sale and 21 months of taxes are unpaid.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

Run by
Municipal tax collector of each of Essex County's 22 municipalities (the county holds no tax sale)
Frequency
Each municipality holds its own annual sale
Typical timing
Each municipality sets its own date.
When it runs
Each municipality sets its own date. Most Essex towns sell in the fall. 2026 online sales: Nutley on June 9, South Orange Village on September 23, Bloomfield on October 8, Livingston on October 16 and Maplewood on October 21. Newark's most recent sale was October 31, 2025 and the City of Orange's December 29, 2025.
Registration and deposit

On the RealTaxLien towns, such as Bloomfield, register on that municipality's own newjerseytaxsale.com site, which opens about a month before its sale. Post a deposit of 10 percent of intended winnings, including premium bids (minimum $1,000), by ACH, due about one week before the sale. Winning bids are paid by wire transfer by 2:00 PM ET on sale day; a bidder who misses that deadline forfeits the deposit and is barred from future New Jersey online tax sales.

Sale format and venue
Essex County holds no tax sale; each of its 22 municipalities sells its own certificates, so there is no single county date, platform or list. Bidding starts at 18 percent interest and is bid down; under N.J.S.A. 54:5-32, once a bid falls below 1 percent, bidders offer a cash premium instead, and the premium earns no interest. The RealTaxLien town sites take rate bids in 1 percent steps, so there the premium stage starts at 0 percent; premiums rise in $100 steps in most towns and $1,000 steps in Newark. There is no county auction platform: each town sells on its own site or in person.
Source: N.J.S.A. 54:5-32 - Sale in fee subject to redemption (New Jersey Legislature statutes database)N.J.S.A. 54:5-32· Verified Sep 28, 2026

Essex County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Essex County tax sale 2026 searches, use the city and town sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the collector of the city or town holding the sale before you bid.

  1. Confirm the advertised parcel list

    Each city or town sells separately and posts its own list. The municipal notes on this page say where each one appears.

  2. Register to bid

    Ask the collector of the city or town holding the sale how and when to register; many close registration days or weeks before the sale.

  3. Sale day

    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.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, treat the collector of the city or town holding the sale as the source for which parcels are actually offered. Do not rely on a third-party list for final parcel status.

Before you bid in Essex County

  1. Confirm the parcel list before pricing

    There is no county list: each town posts its own. Get the list from the town whose sale you plan to attend and confirm the advertised parcels with its collector before you price a bid.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    On the RealTaxLien towns, such as Bloomfield, register on that municipality's own newjerseytaxsale.com site, which opens about a month before its sale. Post a deposit of 10 percent of intended winnings, including premium bids (minimum $1,000), by ACH, due about one week before the sale. Winning bids are paid by wire transfer by 2:00 PM ET on sale day; a bidder who misses that deadline forfeits the deposit and is barred from future New Jersey online tax sales.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the New Jersey due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. 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

Certificates on parcels that drew no bid are struck off to the municipality at 18 percent. A municipality's governing body may later sell a certificate it holds by assignment or at a separate public sale, at its discretion. Ask the tax collector of the specific municipality.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what New Jersey calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

Local offices

County seat collector (sells that town’s parcels only)

Municipal tax collectors of Essex County's 22 municipalities

Official website

County notes

  • Bloomfield holds its 2026 tax lien sale online on October 8, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET at bloomfield.newjerseytaxsale.com; deposits are due by October 1 at 4:00 PM ET, and the list is posted under Preview Items for Sale on that site.
  • Livingston Township holds its 2026 tax lien sale online on October 16, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET at livingston.newjerseytaxsale.com; deposits are due by October 9 at 4:00 PM ET, and the list is posted under Preview Items for Sale on that site.
  • Maplewood Township holds its 2026 tax lien sale online on October 21, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET at maplewood.newjerseytaxsale.com; deposits are due by October 14 at 4:00 PM ET, and the list is posted under Preview Items for Sale on that site.
  • South Orange Village held its 2026 tax lien sale online on September 23, 2026 at southorangevillage.newjerseytaxsale.com, where its list appears under Preview Items for Sale.
  • Nutley Township held its 2026 tax lien sale online on June 9, 2026 at nutley.newjerseytaxsale.com.
  • Newark, the county seat, held its most recent tax lien sale online on October 31, 2025 at newark.newjerseytaxsale.com, with premium bids in $1,000 steps. Newark tax customer service is at 973-733-3791.
  • Montclair Township keeps a RealTaxLien town site at montclair.newjerseytaxsale.com; contact the Montclair tax collector for its next sale date and list.
  • The City of Orange held its most recent tax lien sale online on December 29, 2025 at orangecity.newjerseytaxsale.com.
  • East Orange, Irvington, West Orange, Verona, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Glen Ridge and Caldwell Borough each have a RealTaxLien site on newjerseytaxsale.com; contact each town's tax collector for its next date and list.
  • Belleville, Millburn, Fairfield, North Caldwell, Roseland and West Caldwell do not sell through RealTaxLien; their sale notices and lists appear in the local newspaper and at each town's tax collector's office.
  • A date, platform or list for one Essex municipality applies to that town only, never to its neighbors or the county.

New Jersey rules

Max interest rate
18% per year, bid down at auction
Minimum return
One-time penalty at redemption by certificate amount (2% over $200, 4% over $5,000, 6% over $10,000), added to the interest
Redemption
The right to redeem lasts until it is cut off by a foreclosure judgment, not for a fixed term. What varies by parcel is how soon the holder may start that action: two years after the sale for a private purchaser, six months for the municipality or its assignee, and any time for abandoned property. Once a foreclosure complaint is filed and notice of it is filed with the tax collector, redemption is made in that court action and carries the court-fixed attorney's fees and costs. All other redemptions must go through the municipal tax collector's office; a lienholder who knowingly takes a redemption outside that office forfeits the certificate.
Surplus proceeds
Surplus arises only from a sheriff's sale or Internet auction demanded by the owner under N.J.S.A. 54:5-87(b). The sheriff deducts the cost of the sale and deposits the surplus with the Clerk of the Superior Court, and the owner or heirs claim it by motion under N.J.S.2A:50-37 and the Rules of Court; that is the exclusive route. If the owner does not demand a sale, the holder may foreclose without one and the owner has no claim against the holder for any equity. In an abandoned-property foreclosure the court may bar claims to surplus equity and no sheriff's sale is required.
Governing statute
N.J.S.A. Title 54, Chapter 5

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.

See the full New Jersey rules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Essex County, New Jersey sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In New Jersey investors buy the lien, not the property; the Municipal tax collector runs the sale.

When is the Essex County tax certificate sale?

Each municipality sets its own date. Most Essex towns sell in the fall. 2026 online sales: Nutley on June 9, South Orange Village on September 23, Bloomfield on October 8, Livingston on October 16 and Maplewood on October 21. Newark's most recent sale was October 31, 2025 and the City of Orange's December 29, 2025. Always confirm the exact date with the Municipal tax collector before the sale.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. New Jersey's redemption rule: 2 years from the sale before a private certificate holder can file to foreclose; the owner can redeem until the court's final judgment. Call the tax collector of the city or town where the property is as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

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 office that runs the sale before you bid.

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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

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