Marion County, OR tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Marion County, OR tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Oregon sells tax-foreclosed land the government already owns, 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 Marion County, seat of Salem: 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 tax deed sale
- No fixed month.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (503) 373-4364
On this page
How Marion County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Marion County Finance Department (Property Management Division), with the Board of Commissioners ordering each sale and the sheriff or an appointed representative conducting the auction
- Frequency
- at least once a year under county procedure
- Typical timing
- No fixed month.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Join the county's Tax Foreclosed Property interest list online to be notified by email and mail when a sale is scheduled. On auction day, register at least half an hour before the sale to receive a bidder number; the auctioneer does not recognize unregistered bidders. A 25% non-refundable down payment is due within one hour after the auction closes, by cash, cashier's check, money order or certified check.
Sale format and venue
Marion County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Marion 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.
Confirm the advertised parcel list
Use Auction property list (posted only when a sale is scheduled) as a starting reference. Check which sale or list it covers; a Lands Available or office information page is separate from an auction parcel list. Ask the sale office for the advertised parcels for the auction you plan to attend.Register to bid
Ask the Marion County Finance Department how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
No fixed month. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the Marion County Finance Department before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the Marion County Finance Department as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Marion County
4 checks
Confirm the parcel list before pricing
Open Auction property list (posted only when a sale is scheduled). Confirm whether this reference contains the auction parcels or covers a different list. Get the advertised parcel list from the county before you price a bid, and recheck it before the sale.Confirm registration and deposit
Join the county's Tax Foreclosed Property interest list online to be notified by email and mail when a sale is scheduled. On auction day, register at least half an hour before the sale to receive a bidder number; the auctioneer does not recognize unregistered bidders. A 25% non-refundable down payment is due within one hour after the auction closes, by cash, cashier's check, money order or certified check.
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 notes
- The Marion County Tax Office (PO Box 2511, Salem, OR 97308; 503-588-5215) handles delinquent taxes and foreclosure. Its foreclosure list is published in a local newspaper on or after August 16 each year; those parcels are entering the two-year redemption period and are not for sale.
- Parcels still unredeemed two years after the foreclosure judgment are deeded to Marion County. The county first reviews them for its own use, a sale back to the prior owner, or a sale to neighbors before offering the rest at public auction.
- Questions about upcoming auctions go to the Property Coordinator at (503) 373-4364 or the foreclosed property hotline at (503) 566-3942.
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, notifies the former owner of the surplus amount, and delivers the surplus to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property within 30 days of determining it, with an itemized accounting of the allowable costs in its report to the Treasurer. 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.
What the deed conveys: When the county takes its deed after foreclosure, ORS 312.270(1) vests title in the county free from all liens and encumbrances except local improvement assessments of a municipal corporation, and ORS 312.270(2) gives a private purchaser at the county's resale title free and clear of those local improvement assessments as well. ORS 312.214 to 312.230 declare that the county's tax-foreclosure title should have the utmost stability. Buyers should still order a title report before bidding, because the statutes do not address every interest, such as federal liens. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Marion County, Oregon sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Marion County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Marion County tax sale list?
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 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.