Augusta County, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Augusta County, seat of Staunton: 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 date.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- There is no online bidding and no absentee bidding.
- County office
- (540) 245-5660
On this page
How Augusta County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Law Office of James W. Elliott, Special Commissioner of Sale for Augusta County, acting on referral from the Augusta County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No fixed annual date.
- Registration
- There is no online bidding and no absentee bidding.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
There is no online bidding and no absentee bidding. The special commissioner states that "Anyone intending to bid on property must attend the auction or have a representative attend on their behalf." Auctions are held in front of the circuit courthouse of the locality where the taxes are due, so call 757-898-7000 to confirm the date and the exact location before you travel. Terms are cash, or a down payment of not less than 25 percent of the bid price with the balance due in ten days. The office accepts cash, cashier's check, certified check, personal check or money order, and takes no credit or debit cards at a delinquent real estate tax auction. Every bid is a binding contract enforceable by the court, and every sale is subject to confirmation by the Circuit Court.
Sale format and venue
Augusta County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Augusta 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Parcel lists and auction notices, by subscription for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No fixed annual date. 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.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Law Office of James W. Elliott, Special Commissioner of Sale for Augusta County, acting on referral from the Augusta County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Augusta County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Parcel lists and auction notices, by subscription. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
There is no online bidding and no absentee bidding. The special commissioner states that "Anyone intending to bid on property must attend the auction or have a representative attend on their behalf." Auctions are held in front of the circuit courthouse of the locality where the taxes are due, so call 757-898-7000 to confirm the date and the exact location before you travel. Terms are cash, or a down payment of not less than 25 percent of the bid price with the balance due in ten days. The office accepts cash, cashier's check, certified check, personal check or money order, and takes no credit or debit cards at a delinquent real estate tax auction. Every bid is a binding contract enforceable by the court, and every sale is subject to confirmation by the Circuit Court.
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.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
County notes
- Augusta County publishes no tax sale calendar or parcel list on its own website. The Treasurer's pages cover billing, penalties, payment arrangements and collection methods only, and confirm that real estate carrying unpaid tax is subject to judicial sale. Track the sale through the special commissioner's auction calendar at vataxsale.com and the legal notices in the local newspaper.
- The county seat moved. Augusta County reports that its new courthouse "opened on June 15, 2026, officially moving the county seat from the City of Staunton to Verona." Because these auctions are held in front of the circuit courthouse, confirm the current location with the special commissioner rather than relying on an older notice that points to Staunton.
- Augusta County and the City of Staunton are separate governments. Staunton is an independent Virginia city with its own treasurer and its own delinquent tax sale, so a parcel inside the city limits is not part of the Augusta County sale even though the two share a history and a name on the map.
- Parcel lists are not posted publicly. The special commissioner posts auction notices and property lists to a members area of vataxsale.com, reached by printing and returning the subscription form with a twenty dollar fee, after which an email arrives to set a password. Budget for that subscription if you want the lists in hand before the crowd, since it is also how priority notice of each auction is delivered.
- Most advertised parcels never reach the block. The special commissioner notes that owners and lienholders such as banks and mortgage companies usually redeem after the initial judicial sale notice runs. Confirm a parcel is still in the sale shortly before you travel, and note the Treasurer's Office takes redemption payments and payment arrangements up to the sale at (540) 245-5660 or [email protected].
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.
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 Augusta County, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Augusta County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Augusta County tax sale list?
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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