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Tax Sale Atlas

Northumberland County, VA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Northumberland County, seat of Heathsville: 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.

Format
County site
Registration
Registration and bidding are free.
County office
(804) 580-5201
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Northumberland County 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 appointed by the Circuit Court of Northumberland County, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) as the county's delinquent tax counsel and Big Red Auctions as auctioneer; the Northumberland County Treasurer handles the low-value parcels sold under Va. Code 58.1-3975 in the same auction
Frequency
annual
Registration
Registration and bidding are free.
Sale list
Northumberland County sale notice, parcel list and bidder information packets (TACS)
When it runs
Once a year at the Northumberland County Courthouse, and in recent cycles in the first week of November. The current notice reads "at the Northumberland County Courthouse, 220 Judicial Place, Heathsville, Virginia on November 6, 2025 at 11:00am." The two auctions before it ran November 7, 2024 at 11:00am and November 8, 2023 at 2:00pm, and an additional judicial sale was held July 19, 2023 at 11:00am. TACS notifies its bidder mailing list roughly three weeks before each auction.
Registration and deposit

Registration and bidding are free. Online bidders must register and be approved through the auctioneer's site at bigredauctions.hibid.com before the auction, and anyone without internet access can call Big Red Auctions at (804) 577-7449 to arrange bidding. To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to Northumberland County, and on the Special Commissioner parcels you may not be a defendant in a pending delinquent tax matter. On those parcels the high bidder posts a deposit of 25 percent or $1,000, whichever is higher, capped at $20,000 per parcel, plus a 10 percent buyer's premium with a $150 minimum; bids under $1,000 are paid in full at the auction, and the balance plus recording costs is due within 15 days of court confirmation. On the Treasurer's Va. Code 58.1-3975 parcels the full bid, buyer's premium and recording costs come due once the auction closes. In person bidders pay on sale day by personal check, cashier's check or money order, with no cash accepted; online winners sign a purchase contract by email and have seven days to pay by certified funds, cashier's check, money order or wire, payable to County of Northumberland and sent to TACS.

Sale format and venue
Virginia sells the deed rather than a lien, and Northumberland runs both statutory tracks inside one simulcast courthouse auction with online and in person bidding. The J-series parcels are Special Commissioner's sales under Decrees of Sale entered in the Circuit Court of Northumberland County, so every high bid is subject to court confirmation and the Special Commissioner can reject a bid judged unreasonable against the estimated value. The N-series parcels are sold under Va. Code 58.1-3975, the route for low-value delinquent parcels, and settle without a confirmation step. Title passes by Special Warranty Deed subject to easements, covenants, restrictions and rights of record, sold as is and in gross rather than by the acre, with no guarantee of a right of way and no assurance a parcel is not landlocked. Unsold parcels roll into the next auction. The county government site carries no tax sale page of its own, so watch the TACS notice for the parcel list, the information packets and the date, or call TACS at (804) 893-5176 or email [email protected] for property questions; registration and bidding questions go to Big Red Auctions at (804) 577-7449.
Register on Online auction
Source: Northumberland County, Virginia real estate tax sale notice and parcel list, November 6, 2025 auction (Taxing Authority Consulting Services)· Verified Aug 23, 2026

Northumberland County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Northumberland 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Northumberland County sale notice, parcel list and bidder information packets (TACS) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Registration and bidding are free. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    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 appointed by the Circuit Court of Northumberland County, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) as the county's delinquent tax counsel and Big Red Auctions as auctioneer; the Northumberland County Treasurer handles the low-value parcels sold under Va. Code 58.1-3975 in the same auction as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Northumberland County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Northumberland County sale notice, parcel list and bidder information packets (TACS). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration and bidding are free. Online bidders must register and be approved through the auctioneer's site at bigredauctions.hibid.com before the auction, and anyone without internet access can call Big Red Auctions at (804) 577-7449 to arrange bidding. To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to Northumberland County, and on the Special Commissioner parcels you may not be a defendant in a pending delinquent tax matter. On those parcels the high bidder posts a deposit of 25 percent or $1,000, whichever is higher, capped at $20,000 per parcel, plus a 10 percent buyer's premium with a $150 minimum; bids under $1,000 are paid in full at the auction, and the balance plus recording costs is due within 15 days of court confirmation. On the Treasurer's Va. Code 58.1-3975 parcels the full bid, buyer's premium and recording costs come due once the auction closes. In person bidders pay on sale day by personal check, cashier's check or money order, with no cash accepted; online winners sign a purchase contract by email and have seven days to pay by certified funds, cashier's check, money order or wire, payable to County of Northumberland and sent to TACS.

  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

Northumberland County Treasurer

(804) 580-5201

P.O. Box 297, 72 Monument Place, Heathsville, VA 22473

Official website

County notes

  • Pam King is the Northumberland County Treasurer. The office sits at 72 Monument Place in Heathsville, takes mail at P.O. Box 297, and is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
  • The auction is simulcast, so you can bid in the room at 220 Judicial Place in Heathsville or online through Big Red Auctions on HiBid; both routes bid into the same sale.
  • A 10 percent buyer's premium with a $150 minimum is added to every winning bid on both tracks, so build it into your maximum before you bid.
  • Catalogs are small and rural, roughly six to seven parcels per track, weighted toward subdivision lots and acreage around Reedville, Callao, Lottsburg and Edwardsville rather than improved homes.
  • The auctioneer has changed between cycles: For Sale At Auction ran the 2023 sales and Big Red Auctions ran 2024 and 2025, so confirm the current bidding site on the TACS notice before you register.
  • Anyone who owes delinquent taxes to Northumberland County, or who is a defendant in a pending delinquent tax suit, is barred from bidding.

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 Northumberland County, 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 Northumberland County hold tax deed sales?

Northumberland County holds its tax deed sale once a year. 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 appointed by the Circuit Court of Northumberland County, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) as the county's delinquent tax counsel and Big Red Auctions as auctioneer; the Northumberland County Treasurer handles the low-value parcels sold under Va. Code 58.1-3975 in the same auction 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 Northumberland County tax sale list?

Northumberland County 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.

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

Virginia tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Northumberland County Treasurer