Chittenden County, VT tax sales

Local offices

County notes

• •Chittenden County's towns and cities are Bolton, Burlington, Charlotte, Colchester, Essex, Essex Junction, Hinesburg, Huntington, Jericho, Milton, Richmond, St. George, Shelburne, South Burlington, Underhill, Westford, Williston and Winooski, and each runs its own tax sale. Buels Gore is unorganized: its supervisor, not a town collector, "may, in like manner, sell" delinquent property there under 32 V.S.A. 4966, with the same one-year redemption.
• •Milton: the Assistant Treasurer committed the 2026 Warrant for Collection of Delinquent Taxes to Delinquent Tax Collector John C. Gifford on September 16, 2026, with a five-parcel list of delinquent properties for the 2026 collection and sale process attached to the warrant on the town's Property Taxes page.
• •Milton: no sale date is set in the warrant; the collector must advertise any sale in a local newspaper for three weeks. Town Clerk and Treasurer's Office, 43 Bombardier Road, Milton, (802) 893-4111.
• •Huntington: Delinquent Tax Collector Brent Lamoureux, an elected officer working outside the Town Office, organizes the town's annual property tax sales; 2190 Main Road, Huntington, (802) 434-3686. The town page posts no sale date or list, so watch the newspaper notice.
• •Shelburne: the Town Manager serves as Collector of Delinquent Taxes and may refer accounts in arrears to the Town Attorney for tax sale; the town notes that in almost all cases the owner pays in full before the sale becomes final. Tax office, 5420 Shelburne Road, 802-985-5120.
• •Westford: the Delinquent Tax Collector position is vacant and the town page states no tax sales are scheduled; contact dtc@westfordvt.us.
• •Burlington: property taxes become delinquent after June 22 with an 8 percent penalty; the city posts no tax sale list online, so contact the Clerk/Treasurer's Office at 149 Church Street, 802-865-7000.
• •Colchester: the Town Clerk and Treasurer's Office at 781 Blakely Road, 802-264-5520, handles tax accounts; the town posts no tax sale list online.
• •In the remaining towns, including South Burlington, Essex, Essex Junction, Williston, Winooski, Jericho, Richmond, Hinesburg, Charlotte, Underhill, Bolton and St. George, sale notices appear in the local newspaper and at the town clerk's or collector's office, not on a county list.

Vermont rules

Redemption

The owner, a lienholder or a mortgagee, or their representatives or assigns, may redeem within one year from the day of sale by paying or tendering to the collector who made the sale (or to the town clerk if the collector has died or left town) the sum for which the land was sold plus 1 percent a month, with a part month counted as a full month. The money is paid over to the buyer on demand and no deed is made. Between 90 and 120 days before the year ends the collector must send the owner, by certified mail, and post a warning stating the date redemption ends and the amount due. If no one redeems, the collector executes a deed to the buyer.32 V.S.A. § 5260, redemption within one year from the day of sale at 1 percent a month or fraction on the sum for which the land was sold; notice 90 to 120 days before the end32 V.S.A. § 5260Verified Sep 27, 2026

Deed deposit

No statute sets a deposit or registration requirement. 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. § 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

Surplus proceeds

On a parcel that is not redeemed, the part of the winning bid above the taxes, costs and fees goes to the former owner, not the buyer. No statute says so: §§ 5251 to 5263 are silent, and 2024 Act 106, 2025 Act 73 and 2026 Act 170 did not add a rule. The rule comes from the Vermont Supreme Court. In Bogie v. Town of Barnet, 129 Vt. 46 (1970), the court held that a town cannot take property at tax sale, sell it and keep the proceeds, and in Ran-Mar, Inc. v. Town of Berlin, 2006 VT 117, 181 Vt. 26, it confirmed that excess proceeds paid by a private investor at a tax sale must be paid over to the taxpayer when the taxpayer does not redeem and the property transfers, as the legislature's Act 106 Working Group reported. What is paid over is the excess sale proceeds, not the property's full equity; the working group was asked whether owners should recoup that equity, and as of the 2026 session no change has been enacted. If the property is redeemed, the whole sale price, overbid included, comes back to the buyer with interest (§ 5260(a)). A buyer's return on an unredeemed parcel is the property, never the overbid. By comparison, a sale on distraint of personal property returns the balance to the taxpayer by statute (§ 5193), and in a court foreclosure of the tax lien the commissioner disposes of any residue with the court's approval (§ 5061(b)). Ask the town how it holds and pays over the excess before bidding.Report of the Act 106 Working Group on Vermont's Abatement and Tax Sale Processes (Tax Sales and Tax Abatement), reporting Bogie v. Town of Barnet, 129 Vt. 46 (1970), and Ran-Mar, Inc. v. Town of Berlin, 2006 VT 117, 181 Vt. 26, on excess tax-sale proceedsVerified Sep 28, 2026

Governing statute

32 V.S.A. § 525232 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

What the deed conveys: The collector's deed conveys title against the person whose tax it was sold for and those claiming under that person (§ 5261). The tax is a first lien ahead of mortgages and other encumbrances (§ 5061(a)), and mortgagees and lienholders of record receive notice of the sale and may redeem. An action to recover land from a tax-deed grantee who holds a recorded deed, has been in continuous open possession and has paid the taxes must be brought within one year after it accrues (§ 5263), and a taxpayer's challenge to the collector's acts must be brought within one year from the levy (§ 5294). Real estate sold for unpaid PERSONAL property tax is sold subject to homestead rights and all existing liens and encumbrances (§ 5257). No statute gives the buyer possession during the redemption year.32 V.S.A. § 5263, one-year limit on actions to recover land from a tax-deed grantee in open possession who has paid the taxes32 V.S.A. § 5263Verified Sep 27, 2026 See the due diligence guide.

See the full Vermont rules and every county →