Vermont Redeemable Tax Deed Sales

From July 1, 2026 the $1,500 floor does not apply to a parcel with no dwelling habitable year-round that is not declared as a homestead (§ 5252(b)(3), 2026 Act 170 Sec. 36). The collector then extends the warrant: records the warrant, tax bill extract, land description and levy statement in the town clerk's office; advertises the sale; posts notice in a public place; and sends certified-mail notice to the owner (with first-class mail or personal service, email where reasonably available, and a notice on the front door if it comes back unclaimed) and to mortgagees and lienholders of record. Separately, after notice from a mobile home park owner under 10 V.S.A. § 6248(b), the collector must start proceedings within 15 days and hold the sale within 60 days.32 V.S.A. § 5252, collector's warrant and levy on real estate: $1,500 and more-than-one-year delinquency threshold, repayment-plan offer, recording, advertising and mailed notice32 V.S.A. § 5252Verified Sep 27, 2026

§ 4966). No county and no state agency runs, schedules or publishes the sales. With selectboard approval the collector may hire legal help to prepare and conduct a sale, charged to the delinquent owner up to 15 percent of the uncollected tax (§ 5258(a)(5)), so some towns' sales are run through a law firm. Where one firm handles several towns, its notices list many towns side by side, and a date read from one belongs only to the town named against it.32 V.S.A. § 4966, supervisors of unorganized towns and gores collect and sell like town collectors, with the same right of redemption32 V.S.A. § 4966Verified Sep 27, 2026

The statutory return form records the sale as made 'for cash' to the highest bidder (§ 5255). Each town sets its own payment terms; read them in the town's notice.32 V.S.A. § 5255, collector's return of sale filed with the town clerk within 30 days, reciting a sale for cash to the highest bidder32 V.S.A. § 5255Verified Sep 27, 2026

§§ 5251 to 5263 are silent, and no act of 2023 through 2026 amends §§ 5253 to 5263. If the property is redeemed, the whole sale price comes back to the buyer with interest (§ 5260(a)). 2024 Act 106 Sec. 7 created a working group to recommend whether an owner whose property passes by collector's deed should be able to recoup the equity above the tax debt; as of the 2026 session no such change has been enacted. By contrast, a sale on distraint of personal property returns the balance to the taxpayer (§ 5193), and in a court foreclosure of the tax lien the commissioner disposes of any residue with the court's approval (§ 5061(b)). Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023) bears on this, so ask the town how it handles excess proceeds before bidding.2024 Acts and Resolves No. 106 (H.629), an act relating to changes to property tax abatement and tax sales: repayment-plan offer, notice changes, and a working group on whether owners should recoup equityVerified Sep 27, 2026