Franklin County, VT tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Franklin County, VT tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Vermont sells redeemable deeds the owner can buy back with a statutory penalty. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Sep 28, 2026.
How tax deed sales work in Franklin County, seat of St. Albans: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Vermont tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No countywide schedule.
- Registration
- No online registration.
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 28, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Franklin County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Each town or city collector of delinquent taxes in Franklin County (the county government does not hold tax sales)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No countywide schedule.
- Registration
- No online registration.
When it runs
No countywide schedule. Each town sets its own sale, and state law requires the collector to advertise it three weeks in a row in a local newspaper, with the last notice at least 10 days before the sale.
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Franklin County covers 15 municipalities: St. Albans City, St. Albans Town, Swanton, Highgate, Georgia, Fairfax, Fletcher, Fairfield, Bakersfield, Enosburgh, Berkshire, Franklin, Richford, Montgomery and Sheldon. Each collector sells property at public auction in person, in the town where the land lies, to the highest bidder. A town may only sell when the owner owes at least $1,500 and has been delinquent for more than one year, and only after offering a repayment plan. The owner, a lienholder or a mortgagee can redeem within one year of the sale by paying the sale price plus 1 percent interest per month or fraction of a month. None of the towns has posted a sale calendar or an online auction, so bidders should follow the St. Albans Messenger legal notices and call each town's collector.
Source: 32 V.S.A. § 5252, Levy and notice of sale; securing property· Verified Sep 28, 2026
Franklin County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Franklin 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.
Get the advertised list
Each city or town sells separately and posts its own list. The municipal notes on this page say where each one appears.Register to bid
Sale day
No countywide schedule. Each city or town picks its own platform or in-person venue. Confirm the date and registration window with that town’s collector before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Each town or city collector of delinquent taxes in Franklin County (the county government does not hold tax sales) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Franklin County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
There is no county list: each town posts its own. Get the list from the town whose sale you plan to attend and confirm the advertised parcels with its collector before you price a bid.Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Vermont 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 Vermont 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.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County notes
- Franklin County does not hold a tax sale. Each of its 15 towns and cities holds its own sale through its collector of delinquent taxes.
- Highgate: the Delinquent Tax Collector is Shelley Laroche, (802) 868-4697 x204, at 2996 VT Rte 78, P.O. Box 189, Highgate Center, VT 05459. The office is open Monday to Thursday, 9 AM to 4 PM.
- St. Albans Town: Anna Bourdon is the Town Clerk, Delinquent Tax Collector and Treasurer, 802-524-2415 ext. 101, at 398 Georgia Shore Road, St. Albans, VT 05478 (mail to PO Box 37, St. Albans Bay, VT 05481).
- St. Albans City: tax questions go to the City Clerk's Office, 100 North Main Street, Saint Albans, VT 05478, (802) 524-1500.
- Richford: Kiley Deuso is the Town Clerk, Treasurer and Delinquent Tax Collector, reachable at the town offices on 848-7751, ext. 3.
- Montgomery: taxes are due the second Friday in November by 4:00 PM, and later payments carry an 8 percent penalty plus 1 percent interest. Treasurer: 802-326-4719 ext. 209, P.O. Box 356, Montgomery Center, VT 05471.
- Enosburgh: the Collector of Delinquent Taxes is an elected town office. Contact the town clerk at 802-933-4421.
- Swanton, Georgia, Fairfax, Fletcher, Fairfield, Bakersfield, Berkshire, Franklin and Sheldon publish their tax sale notices and sale lists in the local newspaper and at the town clerk's or collector's office.
- No Franklin County town has posted a current sale date. Watch the newspaper legal notices, which state law requires for three weeks before each sale.
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.
- 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.
- Surplus proceeds
- No Vermont statute addresses what happens to the part of a winning bid above the taxes, costs and fees when the property is not redeemed. §§ 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.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Franklin County, Vermont sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. Vermont sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the collector of taxes of each town or city sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Franklin County hold tax deed sales?
Franklin County holds tax deed sales once a year. No countywide schedule. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Vermont's redemption rule: 1 year from the day of sale. Call the Each town or city collector of delinquent taxes in Franklin County (the county government does not hold tax sales) as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.
Verified Sep 28, 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 county office before you bid.
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