Richmond City, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Richmond City, seat of Richmond: 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
- There is no fixed annual sale date.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (804) 646-7940
On this page
How Richmond City sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- City of Richmond Office of the City Attorney (Tax Sale Program), with the auction conducted by a court-appointed special commissioner of sale
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- There is no fixed annual sale date.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding happens live at the site named in the special commissioner's notice, and each notice states whether online bidding is also offered. To qualify as a purchaser you "may not owe delinquent taxes to the City of Richmond and you may not be a Defendant in any pending delinquent tax matter." The high bidder posts a deposit of "Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or Twenty Percent (20%) of the Total Purchase Price, whichever is greater" for each property, and bids under $5,000 are paid in full at the auction. A 10% buyer's premium is added to the high bid to reach the total purchase price. The balance, plus deed recording costs, is due within fifteen days of the court confirming the sale. Accepted deposit forms are listed in each sale notice.
Sale format and venue
Richmond City tax sale list and auction calendar
For Richmond 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 Delinquent real estate taxes, six months or more (open data) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
There is no fixed annual sale date. 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.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use City of Richmond Office of the City Attorney (Tax Sale Program), with the auction conducted by a court-appointed special commissioner of sale as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Richmond City
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent real estate taxes, six months or more (open data). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding happens live at the site named in the special commissioner's notice, and each notice states whether online bidding is also offered. To qualify as a purchaser you "may not owe delinquent taxes to the City of Richmond and you may not be a Defendant in any pending delinquent tax matter." The high bidder posts a deposit of "Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or Twenty Percent (20%) of the Total Purchase Price, whichever is greater" for each property, and bids under $5,000 are paid in full at the auction. A 10% buyer's premium is added to the high bid to reach the total purchase price. The balance, plus deed recording costs, is due within fifteen days of the court confirming the sale. Accepted deposit forms are listed in each sale notice.
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 notes
- Richmond is an independent city and a county equivalent. It is not part of Richmond County, whose seat is Warsaw, and the two run completely separate tax sales. Confirm which jurisdiction a parcel sits in before you bid.
- Parcels reach the auction list slowly here. State law allows suit once real estate taxes are two years delinquent, or one year for property that is condemned, derelict, a nuisance or declared blighted, but the Department of Finance refers accounts to the City Attorney's Office only after five years of delinquency.
- The city keeps owner-occupied homes out of the auction program and maintains a separate list of parcels it treats as unbuildable. Unbuildable lots have still reached the auction block, so verify zoning, permitting and buildability with Planning and Development Review before bidding, and order your own title search.
- The city publishes no tax sale calendar of its own. Notices come from the special commissioner and run in the Richmond Free Press and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, so watch those and call the Office of the City Attorney at (804) 646-7940 for the current status.
- For delinquent balances, payoff figures and payment arrangements, the Department of Finance Delinquent Collections Unit answers at (804) 646-7000, 900 East Broad Street. Richmond bills real estate tax semiannually, due January 14 and June 14, with a 10% penalty and 10% annual interest once a bill goes delinquent.
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 Richmond City, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Richmond City hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Richmond 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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