Plain English
How do I buy a tax lien?
There are two ways. You bid at the county's annual tax sale, or you buy a lien that nobody bid on afterwards, straight from the county at the full rate the law allows. The second route has no competition.
Prepared by the TaxLienSimple Research Team. Reviewed October 4, 2026. The figures on this page come from inventory we hold and refresh nightly, and each one names the county it came from. See our verification policy.
Route one: how does bidding at the sale work?
The county advertises a list, you register ahead of time, and you bid. Registration often closes weeks before the sale and usually needs a deposit and a bank account on file. Many counties now run it online through a platform rather than in a room.
In most lien states you do not bid the price up, you bid the interest rate down. Bidding starts at the statutory maximum and whoever accepts the lowest rate takes the lien. That is why a published 18 percent can end up at 2.
Route two: how do I buy one without an auction?
You ask the county for what went unsold. Liens that drew no bid are held by the county and sold afterwards, one at a time, at the full statutory rate. Florida counties sell these year round, several through a platform. Arizona counties sell them through the treasurer's office.
You pay the amount owed plus accrued interest and fees, and the certificate is reissued in your name. There is no bidding, so the rate is whatever the statute says rather than whatever the room agreed.
What do I check before I pay anything?
Look at the parcel on a map and on a street view. Look at the assessed value against the amount owed: a figure owed that is close to or above the value is a warning. Read the legal description for words like strip, sliver, easement or access, which often mean you cannot do anything with the land.
Then check whether an earlier year's lien is outstanding on the same parcel, because somebody else may already sit ahead of you, and find out whether that state lets you add later tax payments to your claim.
How do I actually pay?
Usually by certified funds, wire or cashier's cheque, and often on the same day. Washington DC requires payment in full the day of the over-the-counter purchase, which means the amount bid off plus the interest accrued since the sale.
Personal cheques and cards are frequently not accepted. Ask the county's office what instrument they take before you turn up with the wrong one.
Do I need to be in the state to buy?
Usually not. Most counties sell to out-of-state buyers and much of it happens online now. What differs is registration: some want notarised forms, some want a deposit held for weeks, some want a local mailing address for notices.
Treat each county as its own small bureaucracy, because that is what it is.
What happens after I buy one?
You wait, you keep the paperwork, and you watch the deadlines. The owner pays the county and the county pays you with interest. In many states you also get the option to pay the next year's taxes and add them to your claim at the same rate.
If the redemption window passes with no payment, there is a separate legal process to take the property. That is where the cost and complexity live, and it is the exception rather than the plan.
Putting real numbers on it
What the no-auction route costs in practice
- A Palm Beach County, Florida certificate the county still holds, on El Brillo Way.
- Amount payable to the county: $202.23
- Rate: Florida's statutory 18 percent a year, because nobody bid it down
- Competition: none, it is first come first served
- What you get: the certificate reissued in your name at the full rate
Compare that with the same county's annual auction, where the same 18 percent ceiling routinely gets bid into low single digits. The parcels are less attractive, which is exactly why the rate survived. That trade is the whole decision.
What goes wrong
- You miss registration. Many counties close it weeks before the sale and will not make an exception on the day.
- You win the lien and lose the rate. Bidding down means the winner is whoever accepted least, so winning can mean earning almost nothing.
- You turn up with the wrong payment. Certified funds or a wire, usually same day. A personal cheque gets you nowhere.
- You buy behind somebody else. An unpaid earlier-year lien on the same parcel can put another investor ahead of you.
- You skip the map. A low figure often means land that cannot be built on, reached, or resold, and a list will never tell you that.
- You forget the later taxes. In many states not paying them weakens your position, and that is more money after the first cheque.
See it for yourself
Every figure above is taken from inventory we track across 22 states and 280 counties, refreshed nightly from nine county and state sources. You can look at the same rows.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a tax lien online?
Often yes. Many counties run their annual sale through an online platform, and some sell unsold county-held certificates online year round. Others still require forms by post or in person. It is set county by county.
Do I have to attend the auction in person?
Usually not. Most tax sales now run online or accept remote bidding. A few counties still hold them at the courthouse. Check that county's notice, and register early either way, because registration often closes weeks beforehand.
What is the cheapest way to buy a tax lien?
Buying county-held inventory after the sale is normally cheaper to enter, because there is no competition and the amounts on unsold parcels tend to be small. Live inventory today includes Florida certificates around $200. Cheap to enter is not the same as low risk.
How do I find out which liens are for sale?
The county's tax collector or treasurer publishes the list, and unsold inventory is usually available on request afterwards. This site tracks that county-held inventory across 22 states so you can see it in one place rather than county by county.
How long before I get my money back?
Whenever the owner redeems, inside the window the state allows, which runs from months to several years. You cannot choose the date. If you need a fixed maturity, this is the wrong instrument.
Can I inspect the property before buying the lien?
You can look at it from the street and you should. You generally cannot go inside, because somebody else still owns it and in many cases still lives there. Maps, street imagery and the assessor's record are what you have.