Each step below is drawn from Washington statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.
New here? Most beginners start with a certificate (the lien path). The deed steps below apply once you hold a certificate long enough to force a sale, or you bid directly at a tax deed auction. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Learn the timeline and lien priority
Property taxes are due April 30. If at least half is paid by April 30, the remainder is due October 31, and each installment becomes delinquent the day after its due date. Delinquent taxes bear interest computed monthly from the date of delinquency: 9 percent per year on residential real property with four or fewer units per taxable parcel, and 12 percent per year on all other property. Other property also takes a penalty of 3 percent of the delinquent tax on June 1 and a further 8 percent on December 1; penalties may not be assessed on residential real property with four or fewer units. The tax lien has priority over mortgages, judgments, and other obligations, which is why a completed tax foreclosure clears most junior encumbrances. Understand this before you commit any money.
Collect interest or wait out redemption
Not applicable to investors. Interest on delinquent taxes accrues to the county, at 9 percent per year on residential real property with four or fewer units and 12 percent per year on all other property, computed monthly from the date of delinquency, plus penalties of 3 percent on June 1 and 8 percent on December 1 on property other than residential with four or fewer units. A buyer at the foreclosure auction earns no interest; the return comes from the property itself. Any property on which a certificate of delinquency has been issued may be redeemed at any time before the close of business the day before the day of the sale. Washington has no general post-sale redemption period: once the treasurer sells the parcel, the sale is final for a competent adult owner. The one exception protects minors and persons adjudicated legally incompetent, whose property may be redeemed at any time within three years after the date of sale, on payment of the amount for which the property was sold plus interest at the statutory delinquent-tax rate from the date of sale, plus the reasonable value of improvements made in good faith on the property, less the value of their use. No fee may be charged for any redemption. To redeem, the owner pays Before the sale: all taxes, interest, and costs due on the property, with interest at 9 percent per year on residential real property with four or fewer units and 12 percent per year on other property, plus the 3 percent and 8 percent penalties where they apply. Amounts deferred under chapter 84.37 or 84.38 RCW need not be paid unless they have become payable. After the sale (minors and legally incompetent persons only): the sale amount plus statutory-rate interest from the date of sale and the value of good-faith improvements, less the value of their use. If they redeem, that payoff is your return; if they never do, the certificate becomes your path to the property.
Apply for a tax deed
Three years after the date of delinquency, the county treasurer must issue a certificate of delinquency to the county on every parcel still on the tax rolls, file it with the clerk of the superior court, and foreclose the tax lien. The owner is served notice and has thirty days to defend the action or pay the amount due. The treasurer may not file a certificate when the delinquency is one hundred dollars or less excluding interest and penalties, unless the parcel has been declared a nuisance, and may not sell property that is eligible for tax deferral under chapter 84.38 RCW without requiring a deferral declaration first. The court gives judgment for the taxes, interest, and costs due, and the minimum acceptable bid is that total. On top of the judgment amount, every bidder except the county must also pay all taxes, interest, and costs that are delinquent at the time of sale even if they were not included in the judgment. Property is sold as is, with no warranty as to title, zoning, or fitness for use.
Bid at the tax deed auction
The County Treasurer, after a superior court foreclosure judgment obtained in the name of the county with the prosecuting attorney sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. For an auction conducted by electronic media, prospective bidders must deposit funds with the treasurer to participate, deposits of non-winning bidders are refunded within ten business days, and payment is by electronic funds transfer. Deposit amounts for in-person sales are set county by county, so confirm the figure on the county treasurer page or the auction platform terms. At an electronic-media auction the winning bidder has no less than forty-eight hours to pay the bid by electronic funds transfer. In-person sales are cash sales in most counties, with payment due on the day of sale under terms the treasurer announces. Confirm the county's payment deadline before bidding.
Or buy over the counter
You do not have to wait for an auction. Washington has no standing over-the-counter list of the Florida type. When no bidder covers the minimum bid at the foreclosure auction, the county is deemed the bidder and takes title in trust for the taxing districts. That inventory becomes tax-title property, and the county resells it under chapter 36.35 RCW: the county legislative authority orders the sale and fixes a minimum price, and the treasurer publishes notice once a week for three consecutive weeks and sells at not less than that price. Counties may accept installment contracts of thirty percent down with ten equal annual installments at twelve percent interest. In listed cases the county may sell without calling for bids at all, including a sale made within twelve months after an auction that drew no acceptable bid, a sale to a government agency, a sale of a parcel assessed under five hundred dollars to an adjoining owner, and transfers to land bank authorities or for affordable housing. Inventory and process vary widely by county, so check the county's tax-title or surplus property page. Washington keeps no statewide Lands Available list. Tax-title inventory is held and resold county by county, and some counties go years between tax-title sales.
One more step: clear the title
Winning a tax deed does not hand you marketable title. Before you can resell to a normal buyer or insure the parcel, you will usually need a quiet title action, which takes months and costs money. Fold that cost into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed before you bid. A tax deed also does not wipe out everything: select governmental and municipal liens can survive, and a federal tax lien carries a 120-day IRS redemption right, so check what survives a tax deed too.
New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full Washington walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Aug 16, 2026 against Washington 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.