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Tax Sale Atlas

Pittsylvania County, VA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Pittsylvania County, seat of Chatham: 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
In person
County office
434-432-7960
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On this page

How Pittsylvania 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

In person
Run by
Special Commissioner appointed by the Circuit Court of Pittsylvania County, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) administering the sale for the County Treasurer and Williams Auction Company calling the bids
Frequency
annual
Sale list
Sale notices, bid packets and auction calendar, Taxing Authority Consulting Services
When it runs
Auctions are scheduled case by case once the Circuit Court enters Decrees of Sale, and no Pittsylvania County date appears on the published TACS auction calendar. Recent county auctions all began at 12:00 PM: February 23, 2024, February 11, 2025 and April 9, 2025, so late winter through spring is the pattern to watch.
Registration and deposit

Bidding is done in person at the Community Center; there is no online bidding portal and no advance online registration. To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to Pittsylvania County and may not be a defendant in any pending delinquent tax suit. On judicial Special Commissioner parcels the deposit is 25 percent of the bid or $1,000, whichever is higher, capped at $20,000 per parcel, with the balance plus deed recording costs due to the Special Commissioner within 15 days of the court confirming the sale. Parcels advertised under the Treasurer's delinquent tax notice must be paid in full on auction day. A 10 percent buyer's premium applies, subject to a $150 minimum. Payment is by personal check, cashier's check, money order or traveler's check; cash is not accepted. TACS emails its interested bidder list roughly three weeks ahead of each auction, and sign-up is free at taxva.com.

Sale format and venue
Sales run as a live public auction at the Pittsylvania County Community Center, 115 S. Main Street, Chatham. Each sale sheet carries two tracks. Parcels numbered J1, J2 and so on are judicial Special Commissioner sales under a Circuit Court decree and convey free and clear of the tax liens, subject to court confirmation. Parcels numbered N1, N2 and so on are advertised under Va. Code 58.1-3975 and are sold administratively by the Treasurer without a court suit, payable in full the day of the auction. Every parcel is conveyed by Special Warranty Deed, as-is and where-is, subject to easements, covenants and rights of record, with no guarantee of road access and no title insurance provided; several listed tracts are unaddressed or not mapped in GIS. The Special Commissioner may reject a bid judged unreasonable against the estimated value, and unsold parcels roll to the next auction. Bids are binding and irrevocable once made, so inspect the parcel and run an independent title search before bidding. Live in-person auction, no online bidding

Pittsylvania County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Pittsylvania 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 Sale notices, bid packets and auction calendar, Taxing Authority Consulting Services for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.
  3. Sale day

    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.
  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Special Commissioner appointed by the Circuit Court of Pittsylvania County, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) administering the sale for the County Treasurer and Williams Auction Company calling the bids as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Pittsylvania County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Sale notices, bid packets and auction calendar, Taxing Authority Consulting Services. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidding is done in person at the Community Center; there is no online bidding portal and no advance online registration. To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to Pittsylvania County and may not be a defendant in any pending delinquent tax suit. On judicial Special Commissioner parcels the deposit is 25 percent of the bid or $1,000, whichever is higher, capped at $20,000 per parcel, with the balance plus deed recording costs due to the Special Commissioner within 15 days of the court confirming the sale. Parcels advertised under the Treasurer's delinquent tax notice must be paid in full on auction day. A 10 percent buyer's premium applies, subject to a $150 minimum. Payment is by personal check, cashier's check, money order or traveler's check; cash is not accepted. TACS emails its interested bidder list roughly three weeks ahead of each auction, and sign-up is free at taxva.com.

  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

Pittsylvania County Treasurer's Office

434-432-7960

11 Bank Street, P.O. Box 230, Chatham, VA 24531

Official website

County notes

  • Pittsylvania County refers delinquent real estate accounts to Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS), the outside firm that files the suit and serves as Special Commissioner. Reach TACS at 804-545-2500 for account balances and payoffs, and at 804-612-0629 or [email protected] for auction and property questions. Written inquiries go to Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC, Attn: Tax Sales, P.O. Box 31800, Henrico, VA 23294-1800.
  • Auctions are held at the Pittsylvania County Community Center, 115 S. Main Street, Chatham, not at the courthouse. Notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and TACS also emails its interested bidder list about three weeks before a sale.
  • The Town of Chatham has combined its delinquent parcels with the county auction in the past, so one sale can clear accounts for both taxing jurisdictions.
  • County real estate tax bills are due June 10 and December 10. A parcel becomes eligible for the judicial sale process once taxes remain delinquent on December 31 following the second anniversary of the due date, and TACS puts the typical litigation timeline at six to nine months from referral to auction.
  • Owners can stop a sale at any point before the auction by paying all tax, penalties, interest, fees and costs, or by entering a promissory note payment plan, so parcels drop off the advertised list right up to sale day. Confirm a parcel is still in the sale with TACS before travelling to bid.

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 Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County hold tax deed sales?

Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County, with Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) administering the sale for the County Treasurer and Williams Auction Company calling the bids 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 Pittsylvania County tax sale list?

Pittsylvania 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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