Kanawha County, WV tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Kanawha County, WV tax sale, one of 2,862 counties in 36 states. West Virginia sells tax lien certificates paying up to 12%, redeemable for Until the deed issues. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Sep 11, 2026.
How tax lien sales work in Kanawha County, seat of Charleston: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how West Virginia tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No Kanawha County auction date is posted.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- One statewide sign-up covers all 55 counties.
- County office
- 304-357-0210
On this page
How Kanawha County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
West Virginia holds no separate tax deed auction. The deed goes to whoever bought the tax lien at the Auditor's auction, or bought the parcel afterward as unsold land, and it comes from the Auditor rather than from a second sale. Within 120 days after the Auditor approves the sale the purchaser must give the Auditor a list of everyone entitled to notice to redeem, supply the property's physical mailing address if it is Class II property, and deposit the cost of preparing and serving the notice. Miss that and the purchaser loses all benefits of the purchase. A written request filed within the following 30 days buys another 60 days, for one hundred dollars or ten percent of the amount paid at the sale, whichever is greater, plus a twenty five dollar certificate fee. The Auditor then serves the notice at least 45 days before the first day a deed may be issued, and no deed may issue sooner than 30 days after the notices were served.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- West Virginia State Auditor's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No Kanawha County auction date is posted.
- Registration
- One statewide sign-up covers all 55 counties.
- Next expected
- on a date the State Auditor sets, in practice between April and June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
One statewide sign-up covers all 55 counties. Complete the State Auditor's Land Sale Pre-Registration once per year at https://www.wvsao.gov/CountyCollections/Registrations; the Auditor notes that pre-registration "will allow the bidder(s) to sign up one time per year for all counties within the state" and that "multiple companies must be registered individually." A bidder who has not pre-registered may instead complete a notarized affidavit on the day of the sale. Registrants must certify they have not failed to pay at a prior auction, are not delinquent on real property tax in any West Virginia county, and have no code enforcement or raze-or-repair noncompliance in the preceding five years. Corporations and LLCs must show they are registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State and authorized to do business in the state.
Sale format and venue
Kanawha County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Kanawha 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.
Get the advertised list
Use State Auditor land sale listings and certified-to-state search for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No Kanawha County auction date is posted. 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 West Virginia State Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Kanawha County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from State Auditor land sale listings and certified-to-state search. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
One statewide sign-up covers all 55 counties. Complete the State Auditor's Land Sale Pre-Registration once per year at https://www.wvsao.gov/CountyCollections/Registrations; the Auditor notes that pre-registration "will allow the bidder(s) to sign up one time per year for all counties within the state" and that "multiple companies must be registered individually." A bidder who has not pre-registered may instead complete a notarized affidavit on the day of the sale. Registrants must certify they have not failed to pay at a prior auction, are not delinquent on real property tax in any West Virginia county, and have no code enforcement or raze-or-repair noncompliance in the preceding five years. Corporations and LLCs must show they are registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State and authorized to do business in the state.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the West 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.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold certificates
A parcel that draws no bid at the auction, or whose sale the Auditor disapproves, or that was sold at one of these auctions within the previous five years and was neither redeemed nor deeded because the purchaser did not follow through, may be sold by the Auditor with no further auction and no additional advertising. The statute sets a priority order rather than a price contest: an owner of an adjacent tract or parcel first, with the highest bidder taking it if more than one adjacent owner wants the same parcel; then the municipality; then the county commission; then the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation for its Land Bank Program; then any willing buyer. The price is agreed between the Auditor and the buyer, and the Auditor may require the buyer to reimburse the cost of a licensed attorney's title examination or let the buyer engage one at their own cost. These are handled as written bids sent with a check to the Auditor's land department inside a bid window the Auditor posts on its Land/County Collections page.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what West Virginia calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- The Kanawha County Sheriff is still the tax collector, mails the tax tickets and advertises the delinquent list, but the sheriff no longer conducts the tax lien sale. Older sheriff material describing an annual November sheriff's auction of delinquent liens predates the 2022 change that moved the auction to the State Auditor.
- Kanawha is one of six West Virginia counties where the Auditor charges an additional fee for personal service of a Notice to Redeem. The Auditor's office quotes the amount on request; the other five are Berkeley, Greenbrier, Lincoln, McDowell and Mingo.
- Real estate tax statements are mailed by July 15, with the first half due before October 1 and the second half by April 1. Unpaid tickets are what feed the delinquency and certification process that ends at the Auditor's auction.
- Check an individual parcel's tax status through the Sheriff's Tax Office online tax inquiry at http://kanawha.softwaresystems.com/indexp.html, and call 304-357-0210 or email [email protected] for payoff and redemption figures. The Charleston office answers Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- The Auditor also runs a separate bid process for Kanawha parcels already certified to the State, searchable by county, tax year and status on the Auditor's land and county collections page. That round has its own annual closing deadline and postmark cutoff posted on the same page.
West Virginia rules
- Redemption
- West Virginia runs three redemption windows in sequence, and only the last one involves the investor. Before the sheriff certifies the parcel to the Auditor on October 31, the owner pays the sheriff the taxes, interest and charges due. After certification and before the Auditor certifies the list for sale, the owner redeems from the Auditor at twelve percent a year on the amount due at certification. After the Auditor's auction, the owner or any other person entitled to pay the taxes, or any lienholder, may redeem at any time before a tax deed is issued. There is no fixed number of days on that last window: it closes when the deed issues, which cannot happen until the Auditor has served the notice to redeem at least 45 days beforehand and at least 30 days have passed since service. A person whose primary residence was sold may petition the Auditor, on grounds of financial hardship, to redeem in up to three installments before the deed is issued.
- Surplus proceeds
- The former owner is entitled to the surplus received at the Auditor's sale over and above the taxes and interest charged or chargeable including all costs of the sale, but only if a claim is filed in the circuit court of the county where the land sits within two years after the date the sale was confirmed. Unclaimed surplus is paid to the Auditor for credit to the general school 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 Kanawha County, West Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Kanawha County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Kanawha County tax sale list?
Verified Sep 11, 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.
More West Virginia counties
Browse all 55 West Virginia counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.