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Tax Sale Atlas

Russell County, VA tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Russell County, seat of Lebanon: 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
No fixed annual date.
Format
County site
Registration
Register with the auctioneer before the sale.
County office
(276) 889-8028
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Russell 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 of Sale for Russell County, through Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
No fixed annual date.
Registration
Register with the auctioneer before the sale.
Sale list
Special Commissioner's sale notice and parcel list
When it runs
No fixed annual date. The Circuit Court sets each sale by decree, and Russell County has averaged one to two auctions a year with no set season. Recent sales ran October 2, 2023, May 20, 2024, October 7, 2024 and June 9, 2025, and the most recent notice sets the auction for "March 20, 2026" at "11:00am".
Registration and deposit

Register with the auctioneer before the sale. The notice states that "All interested parties must register and be approved by the Auctioneer," which is done through the auctioneer's website at mitchellauctionfirm.com. Registration is free, and you may bid online or in the room. A bidder may not owe delinquent taxes to Russell County. Deposit terms vary by docket and are printed in each notice; judicial sale parcels call for "twenty-five percent (25%) or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is higher," and a 10% buyer's premium applies with a $150 minimum. Taxing Authority Consulting Services also keeps a statewide interested bidder email list, with a Southwest Virginia region option, that sends notice of upcoming auctions.

Sale format and venue
Russell County runs no administrative tax auction. The Treasurer certifies the delinquency, the county's delinquent tax counsel Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC files suit in Russell County Circuit Court, and the property is sold under a decree of sale as a Special Commissioner's sale. The auction is a live event cried by Mitch-Ell Auction Firm LLC of Lebanon, most recently at the "Russell County Community Room, 136 Highland Drive, Lebanon, Virginia 24266," with simulcast online bidding through the auctioneer's site. One sale usually mixes two dockets: judicial sale parcels under a court decree, and parcels advertised under Va. Code 58.1-3975. Parcels drop out of the sale when an owner redeems, sometimes on the morning of the auction, and the winning bidder receives a deed only after the Circuit Court confirms the sale.
Register on Online auction

Russell County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Russell 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 Special Commissioner's sale notice and parcel list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Register with the auctioneer before the sale. Full requirements are in the sale card above.
  3. Sale day

    No fixed annual date. 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 of Sale for Russell County, through Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Russell County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Special Commissioner's sale notice and parcel list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Register with the auctioneer before the sale. The notice states that "All interested parties must register and be approved by the Auctioneer," which is done through the auctioneer's website at mitchellauctionfirm.com. Registration is free, and you may bid online or in the room. A bidder may not owe delinquent taxes to Russell County. Deposit terms vary by docket and are printed in each notice; judicial sale parcels call for "twenty-five percent (25%) or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is higher," and a 10% buyer's premium applies with a $150 minimum. Taxing Authority Consulting Services also keeps a statewide interested bidder email list, with a Southwest Virginia region option, that sends notice of upcoming auctions.

  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

Russell County Treasurer

(276) 889-8028

137 Highland Drive, Suite B, Lebanon, VA 24266

Official website

County notes

  • The county government website carries no tax sale calendar and no delinquent parcel list. Russell County sale notices are published by the Special Commissioner at taxva.com and advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, so watch that page and join the interested bidder email list for advance warning of a sale date.
  • Mitch-Ell Auction Firm LLC of Lebanon has conducted every recent Russell County sale. Auctioneers of record are Mark A. Mitchell (Virginia license 2907 003469) and Haga "Buck" Statzer (Virginia license 2907 003732); reach Mark Mitchell at (276) 608-0619 about bidder registration. The firm's mailing address is P.O. Box 1396, Lebanon, Virginia 24266.
  • Nothing is final when the hammer falls. A Virginia judicial tax sale closes only when the Circuit Court confirms it, and the bidder's deposit sits with the Special Commissioner until then. Confirm a parcel is still in the sale before you travel to Lebanon, because owners redeem right up to the auction.
  • Sale venues have moved between 136 and 139 Highland Drive in Lebanon across recent years, so read the address on the current notice rather than relying on the last one.
  • General questions about the delinquent suit and the sale terms go to Taxing Authority Consulting Services at (866) 951-0742 or [email protected], Post Office Box 31800, Henrico, Virginia 23294. Deed recording and case records for confirmed sales sit with the Russell County Clerk of Circuit Court, 83 East Main Street, Lebanon, at (276) 889-8023.

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 Russell 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 Russell County hold tax deed sales?

Russell County holds its tax deed sale once a year. No fixed annual date. 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 of Sale for Russell County, through Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC 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 Russell County tax sale list?

Russell 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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