- Does West Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- West Virginia sells tax liens. References in chapter 11A to the sale or purchase of certified or nonentered lands by or from the Auditor are construed as the sale or purchase of the tax lien on the land. There is no separate tax deed auction: a lien buyer who serves the notice to redeem and is not redeemed receives a quitclaim deed from the Auditor.
- Who runs the tax sale in West Virginia, the sheriff or the State Auditor?
- The State Auditor. Senate Bill 552, passed March 12, 2022 and effective 90 days later, repealed W. Va. Code 11A-3-5 and 11A-3-14 through 11A-3-31, which abolished both the county sheriff's tax lien sale and the separate later Auditor sale of unsold parcels. One consolidated public auction per county is now held by the State Auditor at the county courthouse. The sheriff still collects the taxes and still publishes the delinquent list. A county page advertising a sheriff's tax lien sale is describing repealed law.
- When is the West Virginia tax lien auction held?
- Once a year for each county. The Auditor certifies each county's list of lands subject to sale on or after March 1 and on or before August 1, and the auction must be held on a business day within 90 days of that certification, at the county courthouse during normal operating hours. The Auditor's published property tax calendar puts the county auctions in April, May and June. The counties do not set the dates, so check the Land Sale Listings at wvsao.gov and the notice of auction the Auditor publishes for three consecutive weeks in the county legal newspaper.
- How does the bidding work at a West Virginia tax lien auction?
- Nothing is bid down. Each parcel is sold to the highest eligible bidder, and the bid may not be less than the taxes, interest and charges due on the parcel to the date of sale, so competition is on price above that floor. A qualifying West Virginia 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose principal purpose is building housing or other public facilities is sold the parcel ahead of the high bidder if it tells the Auditor it intends to bid and then bids no more than five percent below the high bid. Every sale is subject to the Auditor's approval, and a disapproved sale is refunded and the parcel offered again.
- What interest does a West Virginia tax lien pay?
- The statutory rate is one percent a month, which is twelve percent a year, and it runs on the taxes, interest and charges due on the date of the sale rather than on any amount bid above that. Read the payout section before assuming that rate is yours. On redemption the purchaser is paid the amount paid at the sale, plus one percent a month on later taxes the purchaser paid and on the notice and title examination costs, capped at five hundred dollars of principal, plus additional statutory costs. No interest is stated on the amount paid at the sale itself, and the base plus its interest is directed elsewhere for disposition. Confirm the payout with the Auditor's land department before treating twelve percent as a yield on your bid.
- How long is the redemption period in West Virginia?
- There is no fixed redemption period. The owner, anyone else entitled to pay the taxes, or any lienholder may redeem at any time before the tax deed is issued. The window closes when the deed issues, and that cannot happen until the Auditor has served the notice to redeem at least 45 days before the first day a deed may be issued and at least 30 days have passed since service. Escheated land and waste and unappropriated land sold at the same auction cannot be redeemed at all.
- Can you buy West Virginia tax liens over the counter?
- Yes. A parcel that draws no bid at the auction, or whose sale the Auditor disapproves, or that was sold in the previous five years without being redeemed or deeded, may be sold by the Auditor with no further auction and no additional advertising. The statute sets a priority order: an adjacent landowner first, then the municipality, then the county commission, then the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation, then any willing buyer. The price is agreed between the Auditor and the buyer, and the Auditor may require reimbursement for a title examination.
- What does a West Virginia tax deed convey?
- The Auditor delivers a quitclaim deed, and the purchaser acquires all the right, title and interest that was vested in or held by any person entitled to redeem at the time the deed was executed and delivered. The tax deed is conclusive evidence of the acquisition of that title, and where the property was sold for nonpayment of taxes the title relates back to July 1 of the year those taxes were assessed. A tax deed holder may bring an action to quiet title.
Ready to act on these rules? Follow how to buy West Virginia tax liens for the registration, bidding, and post-sale sequence in order.
Verified Sep 10, 2026 against West 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.