How the clock works
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.
Who can redeem
Any owner of the real estate described in the published notice or the complaint, and the owner's heirs, devisees, successors, and assigns. On the nonjudicial track under 58.1-3975 the owner or any other interested party may redeem. Anyone who pays taxes on the real estate gets a lien on it for the taxes paid, plus interest at 6 percent per year.
What the owner pays to redeem
All taxes, penalties, and interest due on the real estate, including any outstanding taxes, penalties, and interest owed to a town or other concurrent taxing entity, together with all costs, including the costs of publication and a reasonable attorney fee set by the court. The pro rata cost of the required advertisement and the cost of any title examination done to satisfy the notice requirements are part of that figure whether or not court proceedings have started. Nonpayment penalties run to 5 percent by default, or up to 10 percent of the tax past due under a local ordinance, and interest runs at 10 percent per year, or the ordinance rate.
How your interest accrues
Not applicable to investors. The 10 percent per year interest on delinquent taxes, and the 5 percent nonpayment penalty, are collected by the treasurer for the locality. A buyer at a Virginia tax sale earns no interest and holds no certificate; the return comes from the property itself.
How the sale works
Not applicable. Virginia runs no interest bid-down auction, so there is no zero percent bid and no minimum return floor. Parcels are sold at public auction to the highest bidder, subject to confirmation by the circuit court.
What happens when it ends
Real estate becomes eligible for a judicial sale when its taxes are delinquent on December 31 following the second anniversary of the date they became due. Several conditions shorten that clock, and the treasurer must send written notice to the owner and, where different, to the property address at least 30 days before any suit is filed, and publish a list of the parcels at least 30 days beforehand.
A redeemed certificate, plus your accrued interest, is what makes the wait profitable; see how redemption periods work across states. An unredeemed certificate is instead your path to the property through a tax deed sale, which still does not convey marketable title on its own, so budget for a quiet title action.
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against Virginia statutes.
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.