Washington County, VA tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Washington County refers its delinquent real estate to Taxing Authority Consulting Services, P.C., the firm that acts as Special Commissioner of Sale for many Virginia localities. Sale questions go to the TACS real estate tax sale line at (804) 893-5176 or [email protected]. General collections is (866) 951-0742 and the mailing address is Post Office Box 31800, Henrico, Virginia 23294.
• •The Treasurer's Office states that "your property can be sold for delinquent taxes when delinquent for three years" and that "Real estate is sold under the Judicial Sale 'Bill in Equity' code section through the Circuit Court." Before that stage the office uses state income tax refund set-off, DMV stops, wage and bank liens, and warrants in debt, so the parcels that reach auction are the ones those tools failed to collect.
• •The auction runs as a simulcast through The Counts Realty & Auction Group, so a bidder can attend in Abingdon or bid online from anywhere. The auctioneer contact named on the last Washington County sale was George McDaniel, (434) 525-2991, [email protected].
• •The last offering was a small rural docket: twelve tracts advertised, two of them redeemed before the sale, with parcels in Damascus, Abingdon, Glade Spring, Meadowview and Bristol ranging from roughly 0.18 to 9.3 acres. Expect unimproved land and estate parcels rather than a large urban lineup.
• •The suit and the confirmation hearing sit in the Circuit Court of Washington County, Clerk Patricia S. Moore, 189 East Main Street, Abingdon, VA 24210, (276) 676-6226. That is where the case file, the decree of sale and the confirmation order are recorded, and where a title search on a listed parcel should start.
• •Washington County is an ordinary Virginia county seated at Abingdon in the far southwest of the state. It is separate from the independent City of Bristol, which is a county equivalent running its own treasurer and its own sales, even though some Washington County parcels carry Bristol mailing addresses.

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.Va. Code 58.1-3974 - Redemption of land by owner; lien for taxes paidVa. Code 58.1-3974Verified Aug 23, 2026

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.Va. Code 58.1-3967 - How proceedings instituted; parties; title acquired; disposition of surplus proceeds of saleVa. Code 58.1-3967Verified Aug 23, 2026

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.Va. Code 58.1-3967 - How proceedings instituted; parties; title acquired; disposition of surplus proceeds of saleVa. Code 58.1-3967Verified Aug 23, 2026

Governing statute

Va. Code Title 58.1, Chapter 39, Article 4Code of Virginia Title 58.1, Chapter 39 - Enforcement, Collection, Refunds, Remedies and Review of Local TaxesVa. Code Title 58.1, Ch. 39Verified Aug 23, 2026

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.

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