Wirt County, WV tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Wirt 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 Wirt County, seat of Elizabeth: 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
- on a date the State Auditor sets, in practice between April and June, 2027
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Register with the State Auditor, not with Wirt County.
- County office
- 304-275-4222
On this page
How Wirt 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 (Land/County Collections)
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Register with the State Auditor, not with Wirt County.
- 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
Register with the State Auditor, not with Wirt County. Land Sale Pre-registration is online at wvsao.gov and one sign-up covers every West Virginia county for the year, with each company registered separately. A bidder who has not pre-registered may instead complete and execute a notarized affidavit on the day of the sale affirming they meet the requirements in the article. The form asks for the exact name you want on the deed, the agent acting for you, contact details and last year's Bidder ID, and you must certify that you owe nothing from a prior auction, are not delinquent on real property tax as the most recent owner of record in any West Virginia county, and have no history of code enforcement noncompliance, no open code enforcement proceedings, and no unmet raze or repair order in the past five years. A domestic or foreign entity must be registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State and authorized to do business in the state. Pay by check, U.S. currency or money order before the close of business on the day of sale. Confirm the payee with the Auditor before you travel: W. Va. Code 11A-3-45 says payment is payable to the Auditor, while the Auditor's Land Sale Listings page says "payable to the sheriff of the county."
Sale format and venue
Wirt County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Wirt 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 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
on a date the State Auditor sets, in practice between April and June, 2027 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 (Land/County Collections) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Wirt County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from 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
Register with the State Auditor, not with Wirt County. Land Sale Pre-registration is online at wvsao.gov and one sign-up covers every West Virginia county for the year, with each company registered separately. A bidder who has not pre-registered may instead complete and execute a notarized affidavit on the day of the sale affirming they meet the requirements in the article. The form asks for the exact name you want on the deed, the agent acting for you, contact details and last year's Bidder ID, and you must certify that you owe nothing from a prior auction, are not delinquent on real property tax as the most recent owner of record in any West Virginia county, and have no history of code enforcement noncompliance, no open code enforcement proceedings, and no unmet raze or repair order in the past five years. A domestic or foreign entity must be registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State and authorized to do business in the state. Pay by check, U.S. currency or money order before the close of business on the day of sale. Confirm the payee with the Auditor before you travel: W. Va. Code 11A-3-45 says payment is payable to the Auditor, while the Auditor's Land Sale Listings page says "payable to the sheriff of the county."
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)
Wirt County Sheriff's Tax Office
P.O. Box 669, Elizabeth, WV 26143 (physical: 15 Court Street, Elizabeth, WV 26143)
Official websiteCounty notes
- Ignore any October or November sheriff's tax lien sale. Senate Bill 552, in effect since June 2022, abolished the sheriff's sale and the Auditor's separate later sale of leftovers and replaced both with one annual auction the State Auditor conducts in each county courthouse. The Wirt County Sheriff's helpful-information page still carries the old autumn sale description. The sheriff bills and collects the taxes and publishes the delinquent list, but does not conduct the sale.
- Split your calls between two offices. The Wirt County Sheriff's Tax Office at 304-275-4222 answers questions about the current bill, the delinquent amount, and paying off before the file goes to the state. The State Auditor's land office at 304-558-2251 or 877-982-9148, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Building 1, Room W-100, Charleston, WV 25305, answers questions about the auction itself, bidder registration, redemption after the sale, and buying parcels that went unsold.
- The county collection calendar sets up the sale. Real estate and personal property tickets are mailed around July 15. The first half is delinquent if not paid before October 1 and the second half if not paid before the following April 1. Taxes still unpaid on April 30 are subject to publication, with additional fees, and interest runs at nine percent a year from the delinquency date. The Auditor's office receives the county's delinquent list around November 1, covering the delinquent year plus the current year's taxes.
- Sheriff Michael G. McFee's tax office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at 15 Court Street in Elizabeth, with mail to P.O. Box 669, Elizabeth, WV 26143, and a fax line at 304-275-3303. The auction itself is held at the Wirt County Courthouse, 19 Washington Street, Elizabeth.
- One office schedules all 55 counties, so a sale date or parcel list found on the Auditor's site belongs to whichever county that notice names. Confirm Wirt is the county on the notice before you travel.
- A nonprofit housing or public facilities corporation that notifies the Auditor of its intent to bid can take a parcel with a bid up to five percent below the highest bid from any other bidder, so a winning number at this auction is not always the top number.
- Redemption runs until the tax deed is issued rather than for a fixed number of months. An owner whose home sells at the auction can request a repayment plan from the Auditor, paid in three installments, before the deed goes to the purchaser.
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 Wirt County, West Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Wirt County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Wirt 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.
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