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Tax Sale Atlas

Amherst County, VA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Amherst County, seat of Amherst: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Virginia tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
No fixed annual month.
Format
In person
Registration
No advance registration and no online bidding.
County office
(434) 946-9318
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Amherst County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

Virginia localities do not sell tax lien certificates to investors. The locality holds its own first-priority tax lien and enforces it through a judicial sale of the property.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
Robert C. Goad III, Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Amherst County Circuit Court, of Shrader & Goad Law Office in Amherst
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
No fixed annual month.
Registration
No advance registration and no online bidding.
Sale list
Notice of Judicial Sale for Delinquent Taxes, with the parcel list, tax map numbers and Circuit Court file numbers
When it runs
No fixed annual month. Amherst County holds a judicial sale only when the Circuit Court has entered decrees on a batch of delinquent parcels, so auctions land roughly every one to two years. The most recent notice sets the auction for "NOVEMBER 14, 2025" at "10:00 a.m."; the two prior sales were June 23, 2023 and October 17, 2017, each at 10:00 a.m.
Registration and deposit

No advance registration and no online bidding. Bid in person at the courthouse on sale day. A bidder's deposit of ten percent (10%) of the purchase price, in cash or certified funds made payable to "Robert C. Goad III, Special Commissioner", is required on each parcel, and the balance of the purchase price is due within thirty (30) days of approval of the sale by the Amherst County Circuit Court. Announcements made the day of sale take precedence over any prior written or verbal terms of sale, and the Special Commissioner may withdraw any parcel or reject any bid by declaring "No Sale".

Sale format and venue
The auction is live and in person at the Amherst County General District Court Courtroom, Courthouse of Amherst County, 113 Taylor Street, Amherst, Virginia 24521, and every sale is subject to approval and confirmation by the Amherst County Circuit Court. Parcels are offered AS-IS, WHERE-IS, IF-IS, with all faults and no warranty of zoning, physical condition, topography, soil percolation, public utilities or potable water, and are sold in gross rather than by the acre, subject to possible rights of parties in possession. Title research, title insurance, survey and all recording costs including grantor's tax fall on the purchaser. Amherst County's sales are noticed by its own court appointed special commissioner rather than through a statewide collections firm's auction calendar, so watch the county website and call Shrader & Goad Law Office at (434) 946-5161 for the next auction date and parcel list.
Source: Signed Notice of Judicial Sale for Delinquent Taxes, November 14 2025, Amherst County Circuit Court· Verified Aug 23, 2026

Amherst County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Amherst 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Notice of Judicial Sale for Delinquent Taxes, with the parcel list, tax map numbers and Circuit Court file numbers for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    No advance registration and no online bidding. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    No fixed annual month. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Robert C. Goad III, Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Amherst County Circuit Court, of Shrader & Goad Law Office in Amherst as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Amherst County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Notice of Judicial Sale for Delinquent Taxes, with the parcel list, tax map numbers and Circuit Court file numbers. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    No advance registration and no online bidding. Bid in person at the courthouse on sale day. A bidder's deposit of ten percent (10%) of the purchase price, in cash or certified funds made payable to "Robert C. Goad III, Special Commissioner", is required on each parcel, and the balance of the purchase price is due within thirty (30) days of approval of the sale by the Amherst County Circuit Court. Announcements made the day of sale take precedence over any prior written or verbal terms of sale, and the Special Commissioner may withdraw any parcel or reject any bid by declaring "No Sale".

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Virginia due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. 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 offices

Tax sale office

Amherst County Treasurer's Office

(434) 946-9318

100 Goodwin St, P.O. Box 449, Amherst, VA 24521

Official website

County notes

  • Amherst County runs no online tax sale. The auction is a live judicial sale held in the Amherst County General District Court Courtroom, Courthouse of Amherst County, 113 Taylor Street, Amherst, Virginia 24521.
  • The sale is conducted by a court appointed special commissioner, Robert C. Goad III of Shrader & Goad Law Office, 330 S. Main Street, P.O. Box 428, Amherst, Virginia 24521, (434) 946-5161. His signed notice is the operative announcement of the auction date and the parcel list.
  • There is no fixed annual sale month. Recent Amherst County auctions were held November 14, 2025, June 23, 2023 and October 17, 2017, all starting at 10:00 a.m.
  • Bring certified funds. A ten percent bidder's deposit is due on each parcel at the sale, payable to "Robert C. Goad III, Special Commissioner", with the balance due within thirty days of the Circuit Court's approval of the sale.
  • Nothing is final at the fall of the hammer. Each parcel is subject to approval and confirmation by the Amherst County Circuit Court, and the owner may redeem at any time before the sale date by paying all accumulated taxes, penalties, interest, attorney's fees, costs and the cost of publication.
  • Parcels sell AS-IS, WHERE-IS, IF-IS, in gross and not by the acre, with no warranty of zoning, condition, topography, soil, utilities or potable water. Title research, title insurance, survey and recording costs including grantor's tax are the purchaser's expense, and the Special Commissioner's Deed carries only a Special Warranty of Title.
  • Payoff figures, redemption amounts and delinquent balances go through the Amherst County Treasurer's Office at (434) 946-9318. Real estate bills are due July 1 and December 5, and the 2026 rate is $0.56 per $100 of assessed value.

Virginia rules

Redemption
An owner listed in the published notice, or the owner's heirs, devisees, successors, and assigns, may redeem the real estate at any time before the date set for the judicial sale by paying into court everything due. The right ends when the sale happens; Virginia gives no redemption window after the hammer falls and no redemption window after the deed is recorded. Partial payment does not redeem the property and does not suspend, invalidate, or moot the suit. The treasurer may instead suspend the sale by entering an installment agreement with the owner running no more than 72 months, and an owner who defaults on such an agreement cannot enter a second one for the same property for three years. The same before-the-sale-only cutoff applies on the nonjudicial track under 58.1-3975. What does exist after the sale is not redemption but a challenge: a party served only by publication may petition for a rehearing for good cause within 90 days of the order confirming the sale.
Deed deposit
No statewide deposit percentage exists. Article 4 leaves the terms of sale to the special commissioner and the confirming court, so the deposit is whatever the advertised terms of that sale require. Read the terms of sale published with each auction and confirm accepted funds with the commissioner before bidding.
Surplus proceeds
The former owner and the owner's heirs, devisees, successors, or assigns are entitled to the surplus received from the sale above the taxes, penalties, interest, reasonable attorney fees, costs, and any liens chargeable on the parcel, and the burden is on the claimant to prove entitlement. If no claim is made within two years after the date the sale is confirmed, the clerk pays the money to the locality that received the sale proceeds. On the nonjudicial track, excess proceeds sit in an interest-bearing escrow account held by the treasurer, a claimant has two years from the date of sale to schedule a hearing in circuit court, and unclaimed money goes to the locality's general fund.
Governing statute
Va. Code Title 58.1, Chapter 39, Article 4

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.

See the full Virginiarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Amherst County, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. Virginia sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Amherst County hold tax deed sales?

Amherst County holds its tax deed sale once a year. No fixed annual month. 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. Virginia's redemption rule: Until the date set for the sale. Virginia has no post-sale redemption period. Call the Robert C. Goad III, Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Amherst County Circuit Court, of Shrader & Goad Law Office in Amherst 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.

Where can I find the Amherst County tax sale list?

Amherst County posts its tax sale list at countyofamherst.com. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 23, 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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Virginia tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Amherst County Treasurer's Office