You buy tax yield investments at county-run tax sales. Some counties still hold those sales in person at the tax collector’s office or on the courthouse steps, most large counties now run them through online auction platforms, and a smaller secondary market exists where private brokers resell certificates and deeds that were bought at earlier auctions. Which venue you use matters less than understanding what’s actually on the block, because the same auction can sell one of two very different things.
A tax lien certificate means you’re paying someone else’s overdue property taxes in exchange for the right to collect them back with interest. You don’t own the property. A tax deed means you’re bidding on the property itself, and if you win, ownership transfers to you. Roughly half of all states run lien sales, the rest run deed sales, and a handful use hybrid systems or leave the choice to individual counties. Confirm which system your target jurisdiction uses before you register anywhere.
County Tax Collector Offices
Every tax sale starts with the county government that originally assessed the tax. The official running the auction varies: county treasurer, tax collector, county clerk, or sheriff, depending on the state. Whatever the title, that office handles registration, publishes the delinquent property list, and conducts or oversees the sale.
Smaller counties often still hold sales in person, sometimes literally on the courthouse steps or in a municipal meeting room. Auction dates appear in local newspapers as legal advertisements, usually weeks ahead. The delinquent list is available from the tax collector’s office and, in most places now, posted on the county website. Some offices charge a small fee for a printed copy.
In-person auctions can be less competitive than online ones, particularly in rural counties where fewer investors turn up. The trade-off is that you have to physically attend, track legal notices, and bring certified funds on the day. If you’re targeting a specific county, call the tax collector’s office. They’ll walk you through their schedule and registration requirements.
Online Auction Portals
Most large counties, and a growing number of smaller ones, contract with third-party platforms to run their sales digitally. RealAuction and Grant Street Group host auctions for hundreds of jurisdictions, so you can browse and bid across multiple counties from one account.
These platforms typically let you filter listings by property type, minimum bid, location, and (for lien sales) interest rate. Many include GIS mapping tools and links to county assessor records so you can evaluate parcels without visiting them. Automated bidding is standard: you set a maximum bid or a minimum interest rate you’ll accept, and the system competes on your behalf during the auction window.
Online auctions draw more bidders than courthouse sales, which pushes returns down. In lien states using a reverse auction format, certificates in high-demand counties routinely get bid down to very low rates. What you get in exchange is reach. You can participate in auctions across the country without leaving your desk, and the platform handles most of the administrative work.
To use any of these portals, create an account, complete the county’s registration, and deposit funds before the auction opens. Each county sets its own rules even when using the same platform, so read the specific terms for every jurisdiction you plan to bid in.
Secondary Market and Private Brokers
Not every tax yield investment comes straight from a government auction. After the initial sale, original purchasers sometimes resell their certificates or deeds. Private brokerage firms assemble bulk portfolios of tax liens, often containing hundreds of individual certificates, and sell them to institutional buyers or high-net-worth investors.
Buying on the secondary market skips the competitive bidding process, which helps if you want liens in high-demand areas where auction returns have been compressed. The downside is cost. Brokers add a markup, you’re relying on their due diligence on the underlying liens, and you lose the ability to hand-pick parcels the way you would at a live auction.
This channel suits investors deploying larger amounts of capital who want geographic diversification without registering for dozens of individual county auctions. For smaller investors, the government auction itself is almost always the better entry point.
What You Need to Register and Bid
Every jurisdiction requires registration before you can bid. The specifics vary, but the pattern is consistent.
You’ll need a taxpayer identification number: your Social Security number if you’re bidding as an individual, or an EIN if you’re bidding through an LLC or other entity. Most counties require a completed IRS Form W-9, which the county uses to report interest income back to the IRS. Registration forms ask for contact information, the legal name of the bidding entity, and bank account details for electronic fund transfers.
Nearly all jurisdictions require cleared deposit funds before the auction. Some counties ask for a flat amount, from a few hundred to a thousand dollars; others set the deposit as a percentage of your intended bidding total. Funds must clear the county’s account before the auction begins, so submit your deposit several business days early. Wire transfers and cashier’s checks are the most commonly accepted methods.
Some jurisdictions bar certain people from bidding. The delinquent property owner is almost always excluded. Several extend that restriction to anyone with an ownership stake in the delinquent property, people who are themselves behind on local property taxes, and in some places, government employees involved in tax collection.
If you win, most counties require the balance within 24 to 48 hours after the auction closes. Miss that deadline and you can forfeit your deposit and be barred from future sales in that jurisdiction.
Due Diligence Before You Commit Money
The delinquent list tells you what’s available. It won’t tell you whether a parcel is worth buying, and skipping this step is where most losses in tax yield investing originate.
Start with the county assessor’s records, which are typically searchable online. Pull the assessed value, zoning classification, lot size, and any structures on the parcel. Most assessor sites include GIS tools showing property boundaries, surrounding land use, and aerial imagery. Cross-reference the parcel number from the delinquent list against the assessor record so you’re evaluating the right property.
For tax deed purchases, physically visiting the property, or at least viewing it on satellite imagery, is worth the effort. Vacant lots in the middle of nowhere, landlocked parcels with no road access, and properties with severe structural damage are common fixtures at tax sales. There is usually a reason the owner stopped paying.
Liens That Can Survive the Sale
A tax sale generally wipes out junior liens like mortgages, but certain encumbrances can outlast it, and this is easy to miss when you’re focused on the auction itself. Federal tax liens are the most consequential example. A federal tax lien is not discharged by a nonjudicial sale unless the foreclosing party provided the IRS with proper written notice at least 25 days before the sale. The IRS also retains a 120-day right of redemption on properties sold at judicial sales where a federal lien existed.1Internal Revenue Service. 5.17.2 Federal Tax Liens Special assessment liens for public improvements like sewers, roads, and sidewalks can also hold a priority position that survives.
Environmental cleanup obligations are the other surprise. Buy a contaminated parcel and you can inherit liability that dwarfs the land’s value. A title search through the county recorder’s office is the minimum, and searching the IRS’s federal tax lien index under the property owner’s name adds another layer of protection before you bid.
One more thing about tax deed purchases: the deed you receive does not carry the title warranties of a conventional real estate transaction. Most title insurance companies will not insure a tax deed property without additional legal work, usually a quiet title action. Until a court quiets title, reselling at full market value or borrowing against the property is difficult. Budget for that step before you decide what a deed is worth to you.