Fauquier County, VA tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Fauquier County does not run an annual tax auction. Sales are one-off court proceedings, so watch the Treasurer's Judicial Tax Sale page, where the Notice of Judicial Sale and the parcel write-ups are posted, and sign up for the county's eNotification list under Judicial Tax Sales on the Calendar to get sale dates by email.
• •The Treasurer's current notice, filed under Code of Virginia 58.1-3965, names seven parcels in the Scott and Marshall magisterial districts and near Marshall, The Plains, Bealeton and Rosstown Road. Several are small unimproved tracts with no physical address and owners of record dating to the 1920s and 1930s, which is typical of the heir-property parcels that reach a Virginia judicial sale.
• •The Treasurer's Delinquent Listings page carries a separate annual real estate delinquent list. That list is a collections roster, not a sale list, and the county cautions that inclusion does not mean a parcel is eligible or authorized for tax sale.
• •Bring a cashier's check. Cash is refused, the deposit must be tendered the moment the auction closes, and the check has to be payable to "Clerk, Fauquier County Circuit Court" rather than to the county or the Special Commissioner.
• •Questions before a sale is scheduled go to the Treasurer's Office at treasurer@fauquiercounty.gov or (540) 422-8180. Once a sale is on the calendar, direct questions to the Special Commissioner named on that Notice of Judicial Sale. Payment agreement inquiries from owners go to the Real Estate section of the Treasurer's Office at (540) 422-8193.

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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