Software and services
Best tax deed auction sites
Here is the thing about the best tax deed auction site: you do not pick it, the county does. Counties run their online sales through an official technology vendor, so the right platform is simply the one your target county uses. This is a neutral guide to the major platforms, what each runs, and how registration and deposits work.
How county online tax sales work
A tax sale is run by a county office, usually the tax collector or treasurer for a lien certificate sale and the clerk of court or a sheriff for a tax deed or foreclosure sale. That office contracts a vendor to host the online auction. The vendor is not a marketplace picking its own inventory; it runs the county’s sale under the county’s rules. So the useful question is not which vendor is best overall, but which one your county uses, and how its registration works.
The major platforms
Each profile below is a factual overview, not a ranking or an endorsement. Confirm any detail on the platform’s official site and your county’s page before you rely on it.
RealAuction
Official site- What it runs
- Tax deeds (RealTaxDeed), tax lien certificates (RealTaxLien), and mortgage/tax foreclosure and sheriff sales (RealForeclose).
- Where
- Widely used nationwide. Verified examples include Florida tax deeds, Arizona and New Jersey tax liens, and Washington foreclosure sales.
- Registration
- Register on the platform; a county-set advance deposit is usually required before bidding.
- Note
- One vendor, many brands and domains (realtaxdeed.com, realtaxlien.com, realforeclose.com, state-branded sites, and per-county subdomains). A separate company from Grant Street / LienHub.
LienHub (Grant Street Group)
Official site- What it runs
- Tax lien certificate auctions, county-held certificate sales, and tax deed applications. Grant Street also runs DeedAuction for tax-defaulted property deeds.
- Where
- Many Florida counties use LienHub for the annual tax certificate sale. DeedAuction is used by several California counties.
- Registration
- Register and complete the certificate-sale bidder affidavit; deposit mechanics are set by each county tax collector.
- Note
- Grant Street Group is a separate company from RealAuction. In Florida the Tax Collector certificate sale (often LienHub) and the Clerk tax deed sale (often RealAuction) are different platforms.
GovEase
Official site- What it runs
- Both online tax lien (certificate) sales and tax deed sales, depending on state law.
- Where
- Lists more than 20 states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.
- Registration
- Create an account and register during set dates, complete required documents including a W-9; a county-set deposit is generally required.
- Note
- Lien states on GovEase typically run bid-down-interest auctions (Alabama starts at 12 percent).
Bid4Assets
Official site- What it runs
- Tax-defaulted property (deed) auctions, sheriff sales, tax foreclosures, and government surplus.
- Where
- Many California tax-defaulted-land county sales, Philadelphia sheriff tax sales, and other government auctions.
- Registration
- Free account; most county sales require a refundable, county-set deposit in certified funds before the sale, plus a processing fee.
- Note
- Concentrated on the deed, foreclosure, and surplus side rather than lien-certificate states.
SRI / Zeus Auction
Official site- What it runs
- Indiana tax lien sales, commissioners certificate and deed sales, and sheriff (mortgage foreclosure) sales. Zeus Auction is the bidding platform administered by SRI.
- Where
- Indiana (many counties) and some other states, such as Colorado, via zeusauction.com.
- Registration
- One registration covers all counties SRI services; some counties take no deposit at registration and instead require pre-authorized ACH and a US Taxpayer ID.
- Note
- Like RealAuction, the platform (Zeus Auction) and the operator (SRI Incorporated) are branded separately.
One vendor, many brands
A single vendor often runs dozens of differently branded sites, one per county or state, on different domains. RealAuction alone appears as realtaxdeed.com, realtaxlien.com, realforeclose.com, state-branded sites, and per-county subdomains. Two sites that look nothing alike can be the same company, and a site that looks official may be a look-alike. The safe habit is to reach the auction site only through a link on the county’s own .gov page, never from a search ad or an email.
Registration and deposits
Across platforms, the pattern is similar: a free account, then a refundable deposit set by the county, sometimes with a small non-refundable processing fee. The deposit is per county, so bidding in three counties on the same platform means three deposits. Some counties take certified funds or a wire before the sale; others use a pre-authorized ACH and require a US Taxpayer ID. Because these figures are county-set and change year to year, treat any specific amount you read as an example, and confirm the current number on the county’s official page and the platform’s own terms.
How to find your county’s platform
Start at the county, not the vendor. Find the tax collector, treasurer, or clerk for the county you want, and follow the official link to its sale site. Our guide to finding tax sale lists points to the official sources by state, and each of our county pages links the offices and platform that run that county’s sale. Florida is the clearest example of why this matters: one county can use two platforms, LienHub for the certificate sale and RealAuction for the deed sale. And before you register anywhere, it is worth knowing how to spot look-alike and scam sites.
Frequently asked questions
- Which tax deed auction site is best?
- There is no single best site. The best one is whichever platform the county running your target sale uses, because the county or its official vendor chooses the platform, not the bidder. Start from the county you want, then use its official site.
- Do I need a deposit to bid?
- Usually yes. Registration is typically free, but most counties require a refundable deposit set by the county, sometimes with a non-refundable processing fee. A few platforms use pre-authorized ACH instead of an upfront deposit. Confirm the current terms on the county official page.
- Are RealAuction and LienHub the same company?
- No. LienHub is Grant Street Group’s platform; RealAuction is a separate company whose brands include RealTaxDeed, RealTaxLien, and RealForeclose. In Florida a single county often uses LienHub for its certificate sale and RealAuction for its later tax deed sale.
- Why does the auction site look different for each county?
- Vendors host a separate branded site, often on a different domain, per county or state, so the same platform can look different from one county to the next. Always confirm the site is the one linked from the county official .gov page.
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.
Find the sale, then the platform
Browse counties to see who runs each sale and where, then learn the buying process step by step.