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Tax Sale Atlas

Powhatan County, VA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Powhatan County, seat of Powhatan: 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
Powhatan does not run a fixed annual sale month.
Format
County site
Registration
Simulcast sale: bid in person at the Village Building Auditorium or online.
County office
(804) 598-5627
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Powhatan 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 the County of Powhatan, with delinquent collections and the tax sale suit handled by Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) and the auction conducted by For Sale At Auction, Inc.
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Powhatan does not run a fixed annual sale month.
Registration
Simulcast sale: bid in person at the Village Building Auditorium or online.
Sale list
Delinquent real estate and current auction parcels
When it runs
Powhatan does not run a fixed annual sale month. A sale is scheduled once enough parcels clear the two-year delinquency threshold and the circuit court suit is ready. Recent Powhatan auctions opened at 11:00 am: the sale notice lists "June 12, 2024" at "11:00am", and an earlier judicial sale was set for "December 7, 2022" at "11:00AM". TACS emails its bidder list "approximately 3 weeks prior to a scheduled auction," which is the practical advance warning.
Registration and deposit

Simulcast sale: bid in person at the Village Building Auditorium or online. "Registration and bidding are free of charge" through the auctioneer's website, and online bidders must register and be approved by the auctioneer before bidding. To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to the County of Powhatan and you may not be a defendant in any pending delinquent tax matter. The winning bidder posts a deposit of "twenty-five percent (25%) or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is higher, along with a 10% buyer's premium": in-person buyers pay on the day of the auction, online buyers have seven days after the auction closes to deliver certified funds. Bidders without internet access can call For Sale At Auction at (540) 899-1776 for help placing a bid.

Sale format and venue
Parcels two or more years delinquent are turned over to Taxing Authority Consulting Services (TACS), which files the bill in equity and publishes the sale notice; the court-appointed Special Commissioner conveys the deed after the court confirms the sale. Auctions are held at the Village Building Auditorium, 3910 Old Buckingham Rd, Powhatan, VA 23139, with simultaneous online bidding. Parcels currently at auction are posted at forsaleatauction.biz, and TACS keeps an interested-bidder list that emails notice of upcoming sales. A full list of every delinquent parcel in the county is available from the Treasurer for a $25 payment made payable to the Powhatan County Treasurer; the county limits that list to Virginia residents and requires a valid email address for delivery. Owners can redeem by paying the taxes, interest and costs any time before the sale is confirmed, so a parcel can drop off the list late. Property questions go to TACS at 804-548-4424 or [email protected]; bidding and registration questions go to For Sale At Auction at (540) 899-1776 or [email protected].
Register on Online auction
Source: Powhatan Real Estate Tax Sale Notice, Taxing Authority Consulting Services· Verified Aug 23, 2026

Powhatan County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Powhatan 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 Delinquent real estate and current auction parcels for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Simulcast sale: bid in person at the Village Building Auditorium or online. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Powhatan does not run a fixed annual sale month. 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 the County of Powhatan, with delinquent collections and the tax sale suit handled by Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) and the auction conducted by For Sale At Auction, Inc. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Powhatan County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent real estate and current auction parcels. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Simulcast sale: bid in person at the Village Building Auditorium or online. "Registration and bidding are free of charge" through the auctioneer's website, and online bidders must register and be approved by the auctioneer before bidding. To qualify as a purchaser you may not owe delinquent taxes to the County of Powhatan and you may not be a defendant in any pending delinquent tax matter. The winning bidder posts a deposit of "twenty-five percent (25%) or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is higher, along with a 10% buyer's premium": in-person buyers pay on the day of the auction, online buyers have seven days after the auction closes to deliver certified funds. Bidders without internet access can call For Sale At Auction at (540) 899-1776 for help placing a bid.

  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

Powhatan County Treasurer

(804) 598-5627

3834 Old Buckingham Road, Suite D, Powhatan, VA 23139 (mailing: P.O. Box 87, Powhatan, VA 23139)

Official website

County notes

  • Powhatan sells deeds, not liens. Delinquent real estate moves through a circuit court suit in equity and the buyer receives a Special Commissioner's deed after the court confirms the sale.
  • There is no annual sale calendar to plan around. Powhatan auctions run when a batch of two-year-delinquent parcels is ready, so the reliable way to catch one is the TACS interested-bidder email list, which goes out about three weeks ahead.
  • Sales are simulcast: live bidding at the Village Building Auditorium in Powhatan plus online bidding on the auctioneer's site, so out-of-area investors can compete without traveling.
  • Budget for a 10% buyer's premium on top of the hammer price, and for a deposit of 25% or $1,000, whichever is greater, in certified funds.
  • The full countywide delinquent parcel list is not free or public: the Treasurer sells it for $25 and limits it to Virginia residents. The free view is the parcels already advertised for auction.
  • Redemption stays open until the court confirms the sale, so a parcel you plan to bid on can be paid off and pulled shortly before the auction. Confirm the parcel is still in the sale before you travel or wire funds.

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 Powhatan 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 Powhatan County hold tax deed sales?

Powhatan County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Powhatan does not run a fixed annual sale month. 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 the County of Powhatan, with delinquent collections and the tax sale suit handled by Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS) and the auction conducted by For Sale At Auction, Inc. 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 Powhatan County tax sale list?

Powhatan County posts its tax sale list at powhatanva.gov. 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.

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