Skip to content
Tax Sale Atlas

James City, VA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in James City, seat of Williamsburg: 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
There is no fixed annual sale date.
Format
County site
Registration
Bidding is handled by the auctioneer, For Sale At Auction.
County office
757-253-6705
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How James City 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

Online auction
Run by
Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Circuit Court of the County of James City, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) acting as the county's delinquent tax counsel
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
There is no fixed annual sale date.
Registration
Bidding is handled by the auctioneer, For Sale At Auction.
Sale list
Special Commissioner's sale notice, parcel list and terms of sale
When it runs
There is no fixed annual sale date. The Circuit Court enters a decree of sale for each group of delinquent parcels and TACS then schedules the auction, so James City County sales come up every year or two rather than on a calendar. The most recent auction was online only and the notice states the sale "will begin to close on May 5, 2026 at 11:00am." No James City County auction appears on the current TACS auction calendar. TACS emails a notice roughly three weeks before each auction to anyone who signs up on that calendar page.
Registration and deposit

Bidding is handled by the auctioneer, For Sale At Auction. The sale notice states: "All interested parties must register and be approved by the Auctioneer. Registration and bidding are free of charge and are done through the Auctioneer's website forsaleatauction.biz." To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to the County of James City and may not be a defendant in any pending delinquent tax matter. Registration and bidding questions go to the auctioneer at (540) 899-1776 or [email protected].

Sale format and venue
The May 2026 sale ran online only, a change from the earlier live format. The high bidder posts a deposit of twenty five percent of the bid or $1,000, whichever is higher, capped at $20,000 per parcel, plus a 10 percent buyer's premium subject to a $150 minimum added to the final bid. Deposit and premium are due within seven days of the auction closing, and bids under $1,000 are paid in full at the auction. Cashier's checks and money orders are made payable to County of James City and sent to TACS, Attn: Tax Sales, P.O. Box 31800, Henrico, Virginia 23294-1800; cash and personal checks are not accepted. All sales are subject to confirmation by the Circuit Court, and the balance of the purchase price plus deed recording costs is due within fifteen days of confirmation. Property conveys by special warranty deed, as is and where is, with no guarantee of a right of way and no title insurance assistance, and the Special Commissioner may reject a bid judged unreasonable against the estimated value. Property questions go to TACS at (804) 893-5176 or [email protected].
Register on Online auction
Source: Special Commissioner's Sale of Real Estate notice, Taxing Authority Consulting Services· Verified Aug 23, 2026

James City tax sale list and auction calendar

For James City 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 Special Commissioner's sale notice, parcel list and terms of sale for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Bidding is handled by the auctioneer, For Sale At Auction. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    There is no fixed annual sale date. Bidding runs on County site; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Circuit Court of the County of James City, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) acting as the county's delinquent tax counsel as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in James City

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Special Commissioner's sale notice, parcel list and terms of sale. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidding is handled by the auctioneer, For Sale At Auction. The sale notice states: "All interested parties must register and be approved by the Auctioneer. Registration and bidding are free of charge and are done through the Auctioneer's website forsaleatauction.biz." To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to the County of James City and may not be a defendant in any pending delinquent tax matter. Registration and bidding questions go to the auctioneer at (540) 899-1776 or [email protected].

  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

James City County Treasurer's Office

757-253-6705

101 Mounts Bay Road, Building B, Williamsburg, VA 23185 (mailing: PO Box 8701, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8701)

Official website

County notes

  • Delinquent real estate tax collection and the tax sale auction for James City County are handled by Taxing Authority Consulting Services (TACS), the law firm serving as court-appointed Special Commissioner. The Treasurer's Real Estate Auctions page directs auction questions to TACS at 804-545-2500, and the parcel list and terms for each sale post on the TACS sale notice page rather than on the county site.
  • Parcels leave the sale right up to the closing date. Of the seven parcels advertised for the May 5, 2026 auction, two were marked redeemed and two removed before bidding closed, so confirm a parcel is still in the sale before spending money on due diligence.
  • Every sale is subject to confirmation by the Circuit Court of the County of James City. The former owner may petition the court for a rehearing for good cause within ninety days of the entry of the decree of confirmation, so possession and clear title follow the court schedule, not the auction date.
  • Sign up for the TACS auction notification list to be emailed about three weeks before a scheduled auction. Jennifer Tomes is the elected Treasurer, and her office handles the underlying delinquency and payoff figures while TACS handles the suit and the sale.

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 James City, 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 James City hold tax deed sales?

James City holds its tax deed sale once a year. There is no fixed annual sale date. 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 Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Circuit Court of the County of James City, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) acting as the county's delinquent tax counsel 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 James City tax sale list?

James City posts its tax sale list at taxva.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.

More Virginia counties

Browse all 133 Virginia counties

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

Virginia tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Treasurer's Office