Portsmouth City, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Portsmouth City, seat of Portsmouth: 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
- Bidding is online only and registration happens on GovDeals, not with the city.
- County office
- 757-393-8651
On this page
How Portsmouth City sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Jason A. Dunn, PLC, Special Commissioner of Sale for the City of Portsmouth, appointed by the Portsmouth Circuit Court on the City Treasurer's certification
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Bidding is online only and registration happens on GovDeals, not with the city.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only and registration happens on GovDeals, not with the city. The Portsmouth sale notice states that online bidding is available only through GovDeals and that bidders must register at www.govdeals.com. A refundable bidder's deposit of $500 is required to bid on vacant lots and $5,000 to bid on houses, with a separate deposit for each property. Losing bidders are refunded by GovDeals; a winner's deposit is applied to the purchase price and is forfeited on default. Delinquent taxpayers and elected officials are not allowed to bid. Terms are cash, or a down payment of at least 20 percent of the high bid in cash or certified funds payable to Jason A. Dunn, PLC by close of business on the day the sale ends, with the balance due in full ten days later. The high bidder also pays recording fees, a deed preparation fee, and a 5.25 percent buyer's premium on top of the bid price.
Sale format and venue
Portsmouth City tax sale list and auction calendar
For Portsmouth 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Portsmouth judicial tax sale property list and terms of sale for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
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 Jason A. Dunn, PLC, Special Commissioner of Sale for the City of Portsmouth, appointed by the Portsmouth Circuit Court on the City Treasurer's certification as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Portsmouth City
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Portsmouth judicial tax sale property list and terms of sale. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is online only and registration happens on GovDeals, not with the city. The Portsmouth sale notice states that online bidding is available only through GovDeals and that bidders must register at www.govdeals.com. A refundable bidder's deposit of $500 is required to bid on vacant lots and $5,000 to bid on houses, with a separate deposit for each property. Losing bidders are refunded by GovDeals; a winner's deposit is applied to the purchase price and is forfeited on default. Delinquent taxpayers and elected officials are not allowed to bid. Terms are cash, or a down payment of at least 20 percent of the high bid in cash or certified funds payable to Jason A. Dunn, PLC by close of business on the day the sale ends, with the balance due in full ten days later. The high bidder also pays recording fees, a deed preparation fee, and a 5.25 percent buyer's premium on top of the bid price.
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
Tax sale office
County notes
- Portsmouth is an independent city and a county equivalent. It is not part of any county, and it runs its own treasurer, its own delinquency certification and its own judicial tax sale.
- For advance notice of a sale, email the City Treasurer's real estate section at [email protected] with your name, phone number and email address and ask to be added to the tax sale notification list. The Special Commissioner keeps a separate mailing list, with a signup form on the Upcoming Auctions page at jasonadunn.com.
- The city's Tax Sale Information page carries the notification list and nothing else, so the operative sale notice, the property roster and the bidding terms all come from the Special Commissioner's Portsmouth auction page.
- Jason A. Dunn, PLC collects delinquent taxes for Portsmouth alongside Norfolk, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Franklin, Hopewell, Emporia, Greensville County, Warren County, Culpeper County and several towns, so the Upcoming Auctions calendar mixes many jurisdictions. Read the locality name on a listing before you register or post a deposit.
- The firm has sold other Virginia localities' judicial tax sales through Virginia Auction Company rather than GovDeals, so confirm the bidding platform named in the notice for the specific Portsmouth sale you intend to bid in.
- Paige D. Cherry is the City Treasurer. The main office at 801 Crawford Street is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a branch at 4934 High Street West and a fax line at 757-393-5095.
- A Portsmouth parcel becomes eligible for judicial sale on December 31 following the second anniversary of the tax due date. The Special Commissioner notes that window shortens to the first anniversary in certain cities, for property valued under $100,000, or for a derelict or blighted parcel.
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 Portsmouth City, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Portsmouth City hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Portsmouth City 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.
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