To buy a redeemable tax deed in Rhode Island you bid on the property at a county auction run by the tax collector of each city or town. The deed does not issue at the sale: the former owner keeps a statutory window to redeem by paying you a premium, and your deed issues only after that window closes unredeemed.
Each step below is drawn from Rhode Island statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.
New here? There is no certificate step in Rhode Island. You bid on the property itself, so the money is at risk on the parcel from day one and the research has to happen before the auction, not after. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Learn the timeline and lien priority
City and town taxes are assessed on valuations as of December 31 at midnight, and the tax is a lien on the real estate from the date of assessment, superior to mortgages and other liens except easements, restrictions and prior tax titles held by Rhode Island Housing. Every city and town must let taxpayers pay in equal quarterly installments on dates it sets in its own tax resolution, so due dates differ by municipality. A missed installment makes the whole remaining tax (or, where the municipality chooses, just that installment) due at once, with a penalty the municipality sets at between 6 and 18 percent a year (Cranston no more than 12). No statute sets a minimum delinquency age before a parcel can be offered: once the taxes are unpaid, the collector may advertise and sell, subject to the notice timeline (first-class mail to the taxpayer at least 90 days before the sale, certified mail at least 40 days before). Understand this before you commit any money.
Learn what sends a parcel to the auction
Unpaid city or town taxes, assessments, rates and certain municipal liens. No statute sets a minimum delinquency age: once taxes are unpaid, the collector may advertise and sell (44-9-7, 44-9-8). Before the sale the collector must post notice in two or more public places at least three weeks ahead, publish the parcel list in a local newspaper at least three weeks ahead with weekly legal notices after that, mail the taxpayer first class at least 90 days ahead and certified at least 40 days ahead, send copies to Rhode Island Housing at least 40 days ahead (a sale is void as to any parcel where that notice was not given), notify the Office of Healthy Aging for age-based abatement recipients, and notify mortgagees and other recorded parties in interest by registered or certified mail at least 20 days ahead. For owner-occupied homes of three or fewer units, Rhode Island Housing has a right of first refusal to take the tax title at the sale if it notifies the collector in time (44-9-8.3). The price is fixed, not opened: each parcel sells for the amount of the taxes, assessments, rates, liens, interest and necessary intervening charges due (44-9-8). Bidders compete on the smallest undivided share of the land they will take for that amount, not less than 1 percent. If no one bids an amount equal to the tax and charges, the collector declares the land purchased for the city or town (44-9-14).
Bid at the tax deed auction
The tax collector of each city or town sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. No statewide deposit rule. Each municipality sets its own. Providence required a $1,500 certified-check bond at registration for its 2024 online sale, returned afterward and forfeited if a winning bid is not paid; East Providence's 2026 notice states terms of cash or bank check only. Not fixed by statute. Municipalities set payment terms; Providence's platform sales call for payment shortly after winning, and East Providence's in-person sale calls for cash or bank check.
Wait out the redemption window, then take the deed
The return is a statutory penalty on the purchase price, not an annual interest rate. It is 10 percent of the purchase price if the owner redeems within six months after the sale, plus 1 percent of the purchase price for each succeeding month, so 11 percent in month seven and 16 percent at twelve months. The penalty keeps rising by 1 percent a month for as long as redemption stays open, which is until a foreclosure petition is filed. On top of the penalty, the redeeming party repays any later taxes the buyer paid to the municipality with interest at 1 percent a month, the buyer's costs, and the deed recording fee the buyer paid. Once a petition is filed, redemption runs through the court on terms it fixes, including costs and a reasonable counsel fee. Any person entitled to notice of the sale may redeem at any time before a petition to foreclose is filed, and a private buyer cannot file that petition until one year after the sale, so the owner always has at least a year. There is no fixed outer deadline: redemption stays open until the petition is filed, and during the proceeding the court may still allow a party who files a timely answer to redeem on terms it fixes. For the first year the city or town treasurer acts as the buyer's agent to receive redemption money; after that, redemption is paid to the buyer or the buyer's agent. Shorter and longer tracks apply to abandoned or vacant property and to tax titles held by Rhode Island Housing. To redeem, the owner pays the purchase price, plus a penalty of 10 percent of the purchase price if redeemed within six months after the sale and an additional 1 percent of the purchase price for each succeeding month, plus any later taxes the buyer paid to the municipality with interest at 1 percent a month, plus the buyer's costs and the recorded-deed fee. Where the tax title was assigned by the city or town, the base is the amount stated in the assignment. After a foreclosure petition is filed, the court fixes the amount, including the costs of the proceeding and a reasonable counsel fee. The collector executes and delivers the collector's deed after the sale and must record it within 60 days; the buyer pays the recording fee and is reimbursed on redemption. That deed is not yet full title: it is held as security until redemption or until the right of redemption is foreclosed, and the buyer has no right to possession, rents or profits for one year after the sale. After one year the buyer petitions the Superior Court to foreclose all rights of redemption (depositing an estimated sum for costs with the court clerk), and title becomes absolute only on the court's decree. A decree can be challenged only in a separate action filed within six months, and only for inadequate notice or because the taxes were paid, not due, or the property exempt. If they redeem, that payoff is your return. If the window closes without a redemption, the deed issues to you only then, so the parcel is not yours at the auction.
Or buy over the counter
You do not have to wait for an auction. There is no standing over-the-counter list. When no bid equals the tax and charges, the collector buys the parcel for the city or town (44-9-14). The city or town treasurer may later assign a tax title it holds to any person for exactly the amount then needed to redeem, after at least 10 days' mailed notice to the owner of record; the assignee then stands in the shoes of a sale purchaser, with the redemption base being the amount stated in the assignment (44-9-18, 44-9-21). Whether and how a municipality offers its tax titles is its own choice, so ask the treasurer. Separately, after one year a treasurer may auction low-value city-held parcels without foreclosure, with title absolute on recording (44-9-36). No statewide list. Each city or town treasurer holds its own tax titles; none of the municipal pages reviewed published an assignment list.
One more step: clear the title
Winning a tax deed does not hand you marketable title. Before you can resell to a normal buyer or insure the parcel, you will usually need a quiet title action, which takes months and costs money. Fold that cost into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed before you bid. A tax deed also does not wipe out everything: select governmental and municipal liens can survive, and a federal tax lien carries a 120-day IRS redemption right, so check what survives a tax deed too.
Buying redeemable tax deeds in Rhode Island: common questions
How do you buy a redeemable tax deed in Rhode Island?
Can you buy Rhode Island redeemable tax deeds online?
More Rhode Island answers, including redemption and statute detail, are on the Rhode Island tax sale FAQ.
New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full Rhode Island walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Sep 27, 2026 against Rhode Island statutes.
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.