Madison County, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Madison County, seat of Madison: 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
- Madison County has no fixed annual sale date.
- Format
- County site
- Registration
- Bidding is online through Virginia Auction Company.
- County office
- 540-948-4409
On this page
How Madison County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Circuit Court of Madison County, with the Madison County Treasurer certifying the delinquency and Virginia Auction Company, Inc. conducting the bidding
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Madison County has no fixed annual sale date.
- Registration
- Bidding is online through Virginia Auction Company.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online through Virginia Auction Company. Create a bidder account and complete pre-registration on the Madison County auction listing before parcels are announced; registered bidders then receive the schedule and parcel list by email and text. Account approval is not instant, so register well ahead of the opening bell, and call Virginia Auction Company at 757-538-0123 if an account is still pending once bidding opens. Deposit, buyer's premium and the payment deadline are published in the terms attached to each individual sale, and the winning bidder signs a purchase agreement electronically shortly after the close.
Sale format and venue
Madison County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Madison 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 Madison County Tax Auction Pre-Registration, Virginia Auction Company for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Madison County has no fixed annual sale date. Bidding runs on County site; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Circuit Court of Madison County, with the Madison County Treasurer certifying the delinquency and Virginia Auction Company, Inc. conducting the bidding as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Madison County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Madison County Tax Auction Pre-Registration, Virginia Auction Company. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is online through Virginia Auction Company. Create a bidder account and complete pre-registration on the Madison County auction listing before parcels are announced; registered bidders then receive the schedule and parcel list by email and text. Account approval is not instant, so register well ahead of the opening bell, and call Virginia Auction Company at 757-538-0123 if an account is still pending once bidding opens. Deposit, buyer's premium and the payment deadline are published in the terms attached to each individual sale, and the winning bidder signs a purchase agreement electronically shortly after the close.
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
County notes
- Madison County real estate tax is billed in two halves, due June 5 and December 5. A parcel becomes eligible for judicial sale once it is delinquent on 31 December following the second anniversary of the original due date, with a shorter one year path available for certain derelict or blighted parcels.
- There is no recurring Madison County sale date to diary. Sales are driven by the special commissioner's court docket, so the practical way to track this county is to hold an approved bidder account with Virginia Auction Company and watch the legal advertisements that precede each decree of sale.
- The Treasurer's office is at 410 N Main Street in Madison with mail directed to PO Box 309, Madison, VA 22727, phone 540-948-4409 and fax 540-948-6732. The Clerk of the Circuit Court, where the sale suit and the confirmation order are filed, is at 1 Main Street, Madison, VA 22727, phone 540-948-6888.
- Delinquent personal property accounts more than two years old are assigned to Taxing Authority Consulting Services with an added 20% collection fee. That is a separate collections track from the real estate judicial sale and does not produce parcels for investors.
- Deposit terms, buyer's premium and the payment deadline vary sale by sale in Virginia and are set out in the terms published with each individual auction, so read the terms attached to the Madison County sale rather than assuming figures from another locality.
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 Madison County, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Madison County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Madison 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.
Browse all 133 Virginia counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.