When the sale is held
No state office assigns or publishes tax sale dates. Each town's collector sets the date and publishes the notice of sale three weeks in a row in a newspaper circulating in the vicinity, the last at least 10 days before the sale, and posts it in a public place in the town. The owner can pay until the sale, so many listed parcels are withdrawn and a published date is not final until the sale is held.
When taxes go delinquent
Each municipality votes its own payment date or installment dates; without a vote, tax is due 30 days after the tax notice is mailed. 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. 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.
What sends a parcel to the sale
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). 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.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the Vermont county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Vermont.
Verified Sep 27, 2026 against Vermont statutes.
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.