Arlington County, VA tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Arlington County does not sell tax lien certificates. The Treasurer's Office states that real property in Arlington County can be sold once taxes are delinquent on December 31 two years after they were due, and that the sale process usually requires Circuit Court approval before an auction can be held.
• •Taxing Authority Consulting Services (TACS), a law firm in Henrico, is the county's delinquent tax counsel and its Special Commissioner of Sale. TACS files the suit, advertises the parcels, runs the auction and takes the money. Bidder questions go to Cathryn Bertram at TACS, 804-545-2377, or questions@taxva.com.
• •To get advance warning of an Arlington auction, join the TACS interested bidder list at taxva.com through the "Interested Bidders Sign-up" box. TACS emails subscribers roughly three weeks before a scheduled auction, and the county Tax Sales page points bidders to that same signup.
• •The last Arlington judicial auction was a timed to live simulcast: bidders could attend in person at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard, County Board Room 307 on the third floor, or bid online through For Sale At Auction at forsaleatauction.biz. TACS uses different auctioneers across Virginia, so read the auctioneer name and bidding method off the notice for the specific sale you want.
• •Money terms from that sale: a deposit of 25 percent of the bid or $1,000, whichever is higher, capped at $20,000 per parcel, plus a 5 percent buyer's premium with a $150 minimum. Bids under $1,000 are paid in full at the auction. Online winners have 7 days to deliver the deposit and premium, and the balance plus recording costs are due within 15 days of court confirmation. Cash and personal checks are refused.
• •Arlington also runs occasional non-judicial sales under Va. Code 58.1-3975 for small or hard to build parcels, such as an alley vacation remnant. Those run online only through For Sale At Auction and carry a steeper buyer's premium of 10 percent or $150, whichever is greater, with the full contract price due within five business days of closing.
• •Every sale is subject to confirmation by the Arlington County Circuit Court, and the Special Commissioner may reject a bid judged unreasonable against the estimated value of the property. Unsold parcels are carried forward to a later auction.
• •Redemption stops the sale: owners and lienholders can pay all accumulated taxes, penalties, interest, costs and fees at any point before the auction. Payments are made payable to Arlington County and mailed to TACS at P.O. Box 31800, Henrico, VA 23294-1800. Parcels are routinely marked redeemed on the notice right up to sale day, so verify a target is still in the sale before you travel.
• •The Treasurer publishes a delinquent real estate tax list as a PDF on its Delinquent Tax Account Lists page, refreshed periodically. Treat it as a collections list rather than an auction list: only parcels named in a TACS sale notice are actually headed to auction. Questions about the lists go to 703-228-4000, option 4.
• •Arlington County is a county, not one of Virginia's independent cities, and it contains no incorporated towns. The neighboring City of Falls Church and City of Alexandria are separate jurisdictions with their own treasurers and their own sales, even though TACS handles delinquent collections for all three.

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.Va. Code 58.1-3974 - Redemption of land by owner; lien for taxes paidVa. Code 58.1-3974Verified Aug 23, 2026

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.Va. Code 58.1-3967 - How proceedings instituted; parties; title acquired; disposition of surplus proceeds of saleVa. Code 58.1-3967Verified Aug 23, 2026

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.Va. Code 58.1-3967 - How proceedings instituted; parties; title acquired; disposition of surplus proceeds of saleVa. Code 58.1-3967Verified Aug 23, 2026

Governing statute

Va. Code Title 58.1, Chapter 39, Article 4Code of Virginia Title 58.1, Chapter 39 - Enforcement, Collection, Refunds, Remedies and Review of Local TaxesVa. Code Title 58.1, Ch. 39Verified Aug 23, 2026

What the deed conveys: Title from a judicial sale under Article 4 is governed by the principles that apply to purchasers at judicial sales of real estate generally. It bars the disabilities of parties defendant and is free of all claims of any creditor, person, or entity, including beneficiaries under any deed of trust or mortgage, provided that the creditor was made a party defendant. Easements recorded before the date of sale are not affected. That proviso is the whole risk: the wipe-out depends on the plaintiff having named and served every interested party, so check the pleadings and the title work behind the sale.Va. Code 58.1-3967 - How proceedings instituted; parties; title acquired; disposition of surplus proceeds of saleVa. Code 58.1-3967Verified Aug 23, 2026 See the due diligence guide.

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