Union County, NJ tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Union 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 state rules plus city and town notices on Sep 28, 2026.
How tax lien sales work in Union County, seat of Elizabeth: 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.
- Next sale
- Set by each city or town
- Registration
- Register separately with each municipality whose sale you plan to bid in.
On this page
How Union 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 Union County's 21 municipalities (there is no county-run sale)
- Frequency
- Each municipality holds its own annual sale
- Typical timing
- Each municipality sets its own date.
- Registration
- Register separately with each municipality whose sale you plan to bid in.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Union County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Union 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.
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.Register to bid
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.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 Union County
4 checks
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.Confirm registration and deposit
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.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
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 notes
- Elizabeth (county seat): the City of Elizabeth Tax Collector holds its annual sale online, typically in June; the most recent sale was an online auction on June 8, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. The list of parcels and bidding instructions appear at elizabeth.newjerseytaxsale.com. Tax office: 908-820-4111.
- Township of Union: the Collector of Taxes will sell at a live public auction on Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. in the main meeting room of the Municipal Building, 1976 Morris Avenue, Union. Bids start at 18 percent; payment is due before the sale concludes by certified check, money order or wire transfer, and the sale list is posted on the township website.
- Rahway: the City of Rahway Tax Collector will sell at a live public auction on Friday, October 30, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 1 City Hall Plaza. Payment is cash, certified check or money order only, with no personal checks. The list is posted online through the city's tax sale list page. Tax Collector: 732-827-2050.
- Linden: the City of Linden Tax Collector held its most recent sale as an online auction on June 5, 2026 at linden.newjerseytaxsale.com, with the tax sale list published by the city. Office: 301 North Wood Avenue, Linden, 908-474-8434.
- Roselle: the Borough of Roselle held its most recent sale online on December 3, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. The list of parcels and bidding instructions were posted at roselle.newjerseytaxsale.com. Tax Collector: 108 W. Third Avenue, Roselle, 908-259-3027.
- Cranford: the Township of Cranford sells online through cranford.newjerseytaxsale.com and posts its 2026 tax sale list on the Tax Collector page; confirm the next date with the Tax Collector at 908-709-7229.
- New Providence: the Borough of New Providence has tentatively scheduled its 2026 tax sale for December 9, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.; the borough held no sale in 2025. Tax Collector: 908-665-8031.
- Berkeley Heights, Clark, Fanwood, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Mountainside, Plainfield, Roselle Park, Scotch Plains, Springfield, Summit, Westfield and Winfield publish their sale notices and lists in the local newspaper and at each town's tax collector's office.
- New Jersey requires each town to publish its sale list in a local newspaper once a week for four weeks before the sale and to post it in public places in the municipality, so the newspaper notice is the most reliable way to track the smaller towns.
New Jersey rules
- 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.
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 Union County, New Jersey sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Union County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
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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