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Tax Sale Atlas

Burke County, NC tax sales

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

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

Format
In person
Registration
No registration is required to attend or bid at the courthouse sale.
County office
828-764-9430
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 18, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Burke County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

North Carolina counties do not sell tax lien certificates to investors; the taxing unit holds its own lien and enforces it by judicial foreclosure.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
Burke County Tax Office (Collections division); foreclosure sales are conducted for the county by Kania Law Firm of Asheville as commissioner
Frequency
annual
Registration
No registration is required to attend or bid at the courthouse sale.
Sale list
Kania Law Firm foreclosure listings (filter to Burke County)
When it runs
Sales are scheduled case by case as foreclosure cases mature, not on a fixed annual calendar. The county Collections page currently lists 'Upcoming Foreclosure Sales Information: Tuesday September 15th at 11:00 am'; recent Burke sales on the Kania calendar have also run at 11:00 a.m.
Registration and deposit

No registration is required to attend or bid at the courthouse sale. The winning bidder pays a deposit of 5% of the bid or $750, whichever is greater, in certified funds or cash. Upset bids are filed in person with the Clerk of Superior Court (828-433-3200) weekdays 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and must raise the prior bid by at least 5%.

Sale format and venue
The sale is held in person at the Burke County Courthouse, 201 S Green St, Morganton, NC 28655, usually outside in the main courtyard; no online auction platform is used. The county's Collections page notes its foreclosure law firm changed and Burke County now partners with Kania Law Firm (828-252-8010), whose listings and county sale dates serve as official notice. The opening bid covers delinquent taxes, court costs, and attorney fees. Every winning bid stays open to a 10-day upset bid period under GS 1-339.25, and each upset bid restarts the 10 days; a July 2026 Burke sale shows an opening bid of $14,700 raised to $18,191.25 this way. After bidding closes, the winner has two weeks to tender funds and receives a Commissioner's Deed once the court confirms the sale. Sales are as is, with no warranty of title or condition. Listings without a posted sale date are not yet open for bidding.
Source: Burke County Tax Office, Collections page (tax foreclosure sale information)· Verified Aug 18, 2026

Burke County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Burke 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Kania Law Firm foreclosure listings (filter to Burke County) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    No registration is required to attend or bid at the courthouse sale. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Burke County Tax Office (Collections division); foreclosure sales are conducted for the county by Kania Law Firm of Asheville as commissioner as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Burke County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Kania Law Firm foreclosure listings (filter to Burke County). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    No registration is required to attend or bid at the courthouse sale. The winning bidder pays a deposit of 5% of the bid or $750, whichever is greater, in certified funds or cash. Upset bids are filed in person with the Clerk of Superior Court (828-433-3200) weekdays 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and must raise the prior bid by at least 5%.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the North Carolina 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.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax sale office

Burke County Tax Office (Tax Administration)

828-764-9430

110 N Green St, Suite C, Morganton, NC 28655 (mailing: PO Box 219, Morganton, NC 28680)

Official website

County notes

  • Foreclosure sale information sits on the Collections page of the county tax site, burkenctax.com, reached from the site menu or from the county homepage news item.
  • The county's own notice states the foreclosure law firm has changed and Burke County now partners with Kania Law Firm, 82 Patton Ave Ste 510, Asheville, NC 28801, phone 828-252-8010; references to any prior firm are out of date.
  • Upset bids are filed at the Clerk of Superior Court's office inside the Burke County Courthouse, 201 S Green St, Morganton, NC 28655, phone 828-433-3200, weekdays 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
  • Kania's live Burke roster showed 13 active cases in August 2026, with sales at 11:00 a.m. at the courthouse and per-parcel court file numbers matching the county's posted sale list.

North Carolina rules

Redemption
North Carolina has no fixed redemption period of the certificate-state type and no post-sale redemption right. In a G.S. 105-374 foreclosure, redemption is allowed before confirmation of the foreclosure sale: paying the taxes, penalties, interest, and costs discontinues the action, and the clerk may confirm the sale once 10 days pass after the report of sale with no upset bid or exception. In an in rem foreclosure, payment in full of the docketed judgment with interest and costs requires the tax collector to certify the payment and cancel the judgment. Because every sale also sits through the 10-day upset bid window, an owner in either path retains a last window to pay after the auction itself but before the sale is final.
Deed deposit
At a G.S. 105-374 sale the commissioner may require the successful bidder to make a deposit of up to 20 percent of the bid; no deposit may be required of a taxing unit. An upset bidder always files a deposit of 5 percent of the upset bid, minimum $750, with the clerk.
Surplus proceeds
Sale proceeds are applied first to the costs of the action, including the commissioner's and attorneys' fees, then to the taxes, penalties, and interest of the foreclosing unit, then to special assessments and the taxes of other taxing units. Any surplus is paid as the court directs or held by the clerk of superior court, where the former owner, junior lienholders, and other claimants can file a special proceeding under G.S. 1-339.71 to establish ownership of the funds.
Governing statute
N.C.G.S. Chapter 105, Article 26

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 North Carolinarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Burke County, North Carolina sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. North Carolina sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the Court-appointed commissioner sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Burke County hold tax deed sales?

Burke County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

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

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. North Carolina's redemption rule: Until the foreclosure sale becomes final; no redemption after confirmation. Call the Burke County Tax Office (Collections division); foreclosure sales are conducted for the county by Kania Law Firm of Asheville as commissioner 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.

Where can I find the Burke County tax sale list?

Burke County posts its tax sale list at kanialawfirm.com. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 18, 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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