How to buy redeemable tax deeds in Vermont

To buy a redeemable tax deed in Vermont you bid on the property at an auction run by the collector of taxes of each town or city, not by the county. The deed does not issue at the sale: the former owner keeps a statutory window to redeem by repaying your price with statutory interest, and your deed issues only after that window closes unredeemed.

New here? There is no certificate step in Vermont. 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.

1. 1

   Step 1: Learn the timeline and lien priority

   Understand this before you commit any money.

   Timeline and lien priority

   Each municipality votes its own payment date or installment dates; without a vote, tax is due 30 days after the tax notice is mailed.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

   Full Vermont rule detail for step 1, Learn the timeline and lien priority

   Within 15 days after the payment date the treasurer issues a warrant against the delinquent taxpayers and hands it to the collector (a town can vote a shorter period). If the town has voted to charge interest, overdue tax carries up to 1 percent a month for the first three months and up to 1.5 percent a month after that, with a part month counted as a whole month (32 V.S.A. § 5136(a)). The tax is a first lien on the real estate, ahead of mortgages and other encumbrances, from the day the grand list is filed with the town clerk, and it lasts 15 years. A tax sale may not start until the owner owes at least $1,500 and has been delinquent for more than one year and the collector has offered one written reasonable repayment plan. From July 1, 2026 the collector may proceed on a smaller debt if the parcel has no dwelling habitable year-round and is not declared as a homestead; the one-year delinquency requirement is not lifted.

2. 2

   Step 2: Learn what sends a parcel to the auction

   What starts it

   Unpaid real estate tax where the owner owes at least $1,500 and has been delinquent more than one year, after the collector has consulted the owner and offered one written reasonable repayment plan that the owner declined, did not answer within 30 days, or failed to keep (§ 5252(a), (c)). 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).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

   The opening bid

   The property is sold to pay the taxes, costs and fees due (§ 5254(a)), so in practice the amount due is the opening figure.32 V.S.A. § 5258, fees and costs allowed after the warrant and levy are recorded, plus a collector's fee of up to 8 percent32 V.S.A. § 5258Verified Sep 27, 2026

   Full Vermont rule detail for step 2, Learn what sends a parcel to the auction

   What starts it, continued. 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.

   The opening bid, continued. Costs are limited to the fees listed in § 5258: $10 levy, $15 recording, actual notice and publication costs, securing costs up to 20 percent of the uncollected tax, legal costs up to 15 percent when the selectboard authorizes them, travel, $10 for the sale, return and deed recording charges, and a collector's fee of up to 8 percent. If no bid equals the tax and costs, the town may buy the property (§ 5259). The owner may ask in writing at least 24 hours before the sale that only a certified subdividable portion be sold (§ 5254(b)).

3. 3

   Step 3: Bid at the tax deed auction

   The collector of taxes of each town or city sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder.

   Deposit and registration

   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. § 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

   Paying the balance

   Not fixed by statute beyond the return form's sale 'for cash'; set by each town.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

4. 4

   Step 4: Wait out the redemption window, then take the deed

   What the buyer earns

   Interest runs at 1 percent a month on the sum for which the land was sold, from the day of sale to the day of payment, and a fraction of a month counts as a full month.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

   The redemption window

   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.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

   What the owner pays

   To redeem, the owner pays the sum for which the land was sold, plus interest at 1 percent a month or fraction of a month from the day of sale to the day of payment; where the town bought contaminated land, plus all assessment and cleanup costs spent on it.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

   When the deed is delivered

   When the one-year redemption period has passed without redemption, the collector (or a successor) executes a deed to the purchaser (§ 5261).32 V.S.A. § 5261, collector's deed to the purchaser after the redemption period passes32 V.S.A. § 5261Verified Sep 27, 2026

   What it means for you

   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.

   Full Vermont rule detail for step 4, Wait out the redemption window, then take the deed

   What the buyer earns, continued. That is 12 percent a year, but the redemption window is one year, so the most a redeemed parcel returns is about 12 percent of the price, and one redeemed in its first month still returns 1 percent. There is no other minimum. Where the town itself bought contaminated land, the redemption price also includes the assessment and cleanup costs spent on it. A parcel that is not redeemed pays no interest: the buyer takes a deed instead.

   The redemption window, continued. 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.

   When the deed is delivered, continued. Within 30 days after redemption expires the collector deposits with the town clerk for record a list of the lands not redeemed, though failing to do so does not affect the buyer's title (§ 5262). The collector must also file a return of the sale with the town clerk within 30 days after the sale (§ 5255). Between 90 and 120 days before redemption ends the collector must mail and post a warning to the owner with the amount needed to redeem (§ 5260(b), (c)).

More Vermont answers, including redemption and statute detail, are on the Vermont tax sale FAQ. New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full Vermont walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.