Jefferson County, OR tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Jefferson County, OR tax sale, one of 2,957 counties in 40 states. Oregon sells the deed itself, so no statutory investor interest rate applies. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Sep 26, 2026.
How tax deed sales work in Jefferson County, seat of Madras: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Oregon tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No resale calendar is published.
- Registration
- The county publishes no bidder registration or sale terms for foreclosed real property.
- County office
- (541) 325-0435
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 26, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Jefferson County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Jefferson County Finance and Tax (Tax Collector) forecloses; the Board of Commissioners controls any resale of county-owned tax-foreclosed land
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No resale calendar is published.
- Registration
- The county publishes no bidder registration or sale terms for foreclosed real property.
When it runs
No resale calendar is published. The foreclosure list is published "August 16th or later," judgment follows about 30 days later, and after the 2-year redemption period the property is deeded to the county. The county's Surplus Property / Foreclosures page reads "Foreclosures - None available at this time."
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Oregon sells no tax lien certificates. Jefferson County takes a deed after the 2-year redemption period and may then resell the parcel as county-owned land. The county publishes no resale sale list: its Surplus Property / Foreclosures page lists no foreclosed property for sale, and the county's Public Surplus storefront carries vehicles and equipment, not real estate. The posted redemption-period list shows which accounts were headed to a county deed and on what date; it is a tracking list, not an offering. In July 2026 the Board of Commissioners adopted an ordinance letting it shorten the redemption period to 30 days after a Board order for tax-foreclosed property subject to waste or abandonment, so some parcels can reach county ownership sooner. Watch Board of Commissioners agendas and the Surplus Property / Foreclosures page, and call Finance and Tax before assuming any parcel is for sale.
Source: Surplus Property / Foreclosures, Jefferson County Finance and Tax· Verified Sep 26, 2026
Jefferson County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Jefferson 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 Accounts in the 2-year foreclosure redemption period for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No resale calendar is published. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Jefferson County Finance and Tax (Tax Collector) forecloses; the Board of Commissioners controls any resale of county-owned tax-foreclosed land as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Jefferson County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Accounts in the 2-year foreclosure redemption period. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Oregon 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 Oregon 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
Oregon counties keep no statewide over-the-counter list. Land left unsold after the sheriff's sale may be sold privately under ORS 275.200 at not less than the highest bid received or, with no bid, at a price the county considers reasonable but at least 15 percent of the sale minimum. Whether this county holds any such inventory must be confirmed with the county office that manages tax-foreclosed property.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Oregon calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
County notes
- Jefferson County publishes no sale list for resale of tax-foreclosed land; its Surplus Property / Foreclosures page reads "Foreclosures - None available at this time." Call Finance and Tax at (541) 325-0435 and watch Board of Commissioners agendas for any order to sell county-owned property.
- The annual foreclosure list, covering property three or more years delinquent, is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in August. It is notice of the foreclosure lawsuit, not an investor sale.
- The Tax Collector posts a list of accounts in the 2-year redemption period, each with its court case number, end-of-redemption date and the date the county will take deed.
- A July 2026 county ordinance lets the Board of Commissioners end the redemption period 30 days after a Board order when tax-foreclosed property is subject to waste or has been abandoned, after which the Tax Collector deeds it to the county.
- For payoff and foreclosure status questions the county lists 541-475-4458; Finance and Tax is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Oregon rules
- Redemption
- Redemption in Oregon runs before the public ever buys. After judgment the parcels are held by the county for two years from the date of the judgment of foreclosure, unless redeemed sooner, and the former owner keeps possession during that period unless waste is committed. At least one year before the period ends the tax collector mails a notice of expiration of redemption, and 10 to 30 days before it ends the tax collector publishes a general notice. Unredeemed parcels are then deeded to the county, and all rights of redemption terminate when the deed to the county is executed. A buyer at the county's later sale therefore takes property that is no longer subject to any redemption right. ORS 275.180 separately lets the county governing body sell a parcel back to the record owner or contract purchaser of record at any time, without notice, for the taxes and interest charged when the county acquired it plus six percent a year; that is a discretionary repurchase, not a redemption right.
- Deed deposit
- No statewide deposit amount. ORS 275.110 leaves the conditions and terms of sale to the county governing body's order, and the notice of sale states them. Deposits, bidder registration, and accepted forms of payment therefore vary by county; read the county's notice of sale before the auction.
- Surplus proceeds
- Oregon now returns equity to the former owner. Under ORS 312.530 the surplus is the value of the property, which is the sale price at a broker or auction sale, less the county's allowable costs: the judgment and post-judgment interest, taxes that would have accrued through the sale, county maintenance and title costs, local improvement liens filed with the county, nuisance abatement costs, and reasonable foreclosure and disposition fees including legal, appraisal, commission, and auction fees. The county holds the gross proceeds in a separate interest-bearing account, determines the surplus within 60 days, gives the former owner an itemized accounting, and delivers the surplus to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property within 30 days of determining it. The former owner, or heirs and certain successors, claim it from the State Treasurer; a creditor with a valid lien or debt may also claim against it. These rules apply to claims where the owner received the ORS 312.125 notice on or after May 25, 2023.
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 Jefferson County, Oregon sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. Oregon sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the The county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Jefferson County hold tax deed sales?
Jefferson County holds its tax deed sale once a year. No resale calendar is published. 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. Oregon's redemption rule: 2 years from the foreclosure judgment. Call the Jefferson County Finance and Tax (Tax Collector) forecloses; the Board of Commissioners controls any resale of county-owned tax-foreclosed land 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 Jefferson County tax sale list?
Jefferson County posts its tax sale list at jeffersoncountyor.gov. 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 Sep 26, 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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