The Anne Arundel County tax sale is an annual online auction where the county sells liens on properties with unpaid real estate taxes, water and sewer charges, and environmental fines. The 2026 sale runs on June 3, 2026, with bidding open from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern time through the county’s online portal.1Anne Arundel County. General Questions Asked About Tax Sale Winning bidders don’t buy the property. They buy the county’s lien, which earns interest if the owner pays off the debt and can be foreclosed in court if the owner doesn’t.
How a Property Lands on the Sale List
A parcel goes to tax sale when the owner leaves real estate taxes, water and wastewater charges, or environmental fines unpaid through the end of the fiscal year. Before the auction, the county publishes the delinquent list once a week for four consecutive weeks and mails direct notices to the owner of record at the last known address.1Anne Arundel County. General Questions Asked About Tax Sale Paying the full balance before the sale date pulls the property off the list.
No property can be sold for less than the total certified taxes plus interest, penalties, and the county’s costs of conducting the sale. That full amount is what passes to the winning bidder as the new lien.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-817 – Sale at Public Auction
If Your Property Was Sold: How to Redeem
A sale at auction is not the loss of your home. You can redeem by paying off the delinquent taxes, accrued interest, and penalties through the Anne Arundel County Office of Finance, which will calculate the exact amount on request. Once you pay, the certificate is void and the lien lifts.
The Interest Rate Depends on Whether You Live There
Anne Arundel County charges 18% per year on redeemed certificates for most properties.3American Legal Publishing. Anne Arundel County Code 4-1-105 – Tax Sales For owner-occupied residential property, state law caps the rate at 10% per year.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-820 On a $5,000 lien held for a full year, that gap works out to $400. If the property is your primary residence, confirm the county is calculating your payoff at the lower rate.
Redeem Early to Avoid Legal Costs
Timing changes what you owe beyond the lien itself. Redeem within four months of the sale date and you owe the certificate holder nothing extra for their expenses. For owner-occupied homes, that window stretches to seven months.5Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Frequently Asked Questions about Tax Sale Past those cutoffs, you become responsible for reasonable attorney’s fees that climb as the certificate holder moves closer to filing and then prosecuting a foreclosure case, with statutory caps set by Maryland law.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-843 – Plaintiff or Holder of Certificate of Sale Reimbursed for Expenses Incurred Every month you wait also adds interest. The practical rule is simple: redeem as soon as you can, and if a deadline is close, pay before it passes rather than after.
Help If You Can’t Afford to Redeem
Maryland’s State Tax Sale Ombudsman runs a Homeowner Protection Program that can pull your property out of the tax sale process for up to three years while you repay the debt on a monthly schedule. There is no application fee.7Maryland OneStop. State Tax Sale Ombudsman – Homeowner Protection Program
The program is income-limited and reserved for principal residences. To qualify, the home must be your primary residence and already in or at risk of tax sale, with an assessed value no greater than $300,000, household income no greater than $60,000, and non-home assets no greater than $200,000. Priority goes to homeowners who are 60 or older, receive SSDI or SSI, or have lived in the home for at least 10 years. Spots are limited, so meeting the criteria doesn’t guarantee enrollment. Even if you don’t qualify, the Ombudsman’s Office can help you work through your options.
If You’re Bidding: Registration and the Auction
Everything happens online. There is no in-person auction, and only pre-registered bidders can place bids.1Anne Arundel County. General Questions Asked About Tax Sale
Register in advance through the Anne Arundel County Office of Finance. You’ll need a completed IRS Form W-9, which the county uses to report any interest income you later earn,8Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification along with the county’s Bidder Registration Form carrying either your Social Security Number or your business EIN, an authorized signature, and current contact information. The name on your registration must match your tax documents exactly, or the county can reject the paperwork. Submit everything early. Verification takes time, and late filers can get locked out of the platform.
During the auction, registered bidders browse the available liens and place bids that meet or exceed the opening lien amount. Competition can push bids higher, and that triggers the high-bid premium. Under Maryland law, when a winning bid pushes past 40% of the property’s full cash value, the bidder owes the county an additional premium calculated as a percentage of the amount over that threshold.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-817 – Sale at Public Auction The premium functions as a deposit against future foreclosure costs. Work it into your maximum bid before you start clicking.
Winning bidders settle quickly after the auction closes, typically by ACH or wire. Once the county confirms the funds, it issues a certificate of sale. That certificate is proof you hold the lien. It is not a deed, and it does not give you possession.
What Happens Between the Sale and a Deed
A certificate holder has to wait at least six months from the sale date before filing a complaint to foreclose the right of redemption, and the complaint must be filed within two years of the certificate date. Miss that two-year window and the certificate becomes worthless.5Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Frequently Asked Questions about Tax Sale
The complaint is filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County and must name every party with a recorded interest in the property, including mortgage lenders, other lienholders, and co-owners. The court verifies that every notification step was followed before entering judgment. A single missed notice to a junior lienholder can sink the case.
If the court is satisfied, it enters a final judgment that terminates the owner’s rights and vests fee simple title in the certificate holder. The owner can still redeem after the complaint is filed, but at that point the redemption amount also includes the certificate holder’s attorney fees and any taxes paid on the property since the sale.9New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-833 – Foreclosing Right of Redemption
Two Investor Traps Worth Checking For
Federal tax liens. If the IRS has recorded a lien against the property, the federal government holds its own right to redeem after a foreclosure sale and can buy the property out from under you at the price you paid.10Internal Revenue Service. Redemptions The IRS uses this authority most often when property sells below fair market value. Pull a title report before bidding.
Taxes on redemption income. Interest and penalty payments you collect when an owner redeems are ordinary income on your federal return for the year you receive them. The W-9 you filed at registration is how the county reports those payments to the IRS, so the agency already has the numbers. If you hold certificates in more than one Maryland county, keep clean records. If you end up acquiring property through foreclosure rather than collecting a redemption, you’ll also face recordation and transfer taxes when you record the deed, plus ongoing property tax from the date of judgment forward. Price those costs into any bid where foreclosure is the likely outcome.