The Anne Arundel County tax sale is an annual online auction where the county sells liens on properties whose owners have fallen behind on real estate taxes, water and sewer charges, or environmental fines. The next sale runs on June 3, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern time through the county’s online bidding portal.1Anne Arundel County. General Questions Asked About Tax Sale Winning bidders don’t get the property. They buy the county’s lien, which entitles them to collect the debt plus interest, or eventually to foreclose if the owner never pays. The interest rate is 18% per year on most properties and 10% on owner-occupied homes.
How a Property Gets on the Sale List
A parcel lands on the list when the delinquent balance remains unpaid through the end of the fiscal year. Before the sale, the county publishes a notice of delinquent properties once a week for four consecutive weeks and mails direct notices to owners of record at their last known address.1Anne Arundel County. General Questions Asked About Tax Sale That four-week window is the last easy chance to pay before a third party takes over the debt.
A property cannot be sold for less than the full certified balance owed, including interest, penalties, and the county’s costs of running the sale. Whoever wins the bid steps in as the new lienholder for that full amount.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-817 – Sale at Public Auction
If Your Property Was Sold: How to Redeem
You have not lost your home. A tax sale in Maryland transfers a lien, not title, and you can reclaim the property by paying off the full amount through the Anne Arundel County Office of Finance. That office will calculate the exact redemption figure on request, and the number moves upward the longer you wait.
The Interest Rate Depends on Who Lives There
For most properties, Anne Arundel County charges 18% per year on the certificate amount.3American Legal Publishing. Anne Arundel County Code 4-1-105 – Tax Sales For owner-occupied residential property, state law caps the rate at 10%.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-820 On a $5,000 lien held for a year, that gap is $400. If the home is your primary residence, confirm the county is applying the lower rate.
Redeem Early to Avoid Legal Costs
If you redeem within four months of the sale date, you owe nothing extra to the certificate holder for their expenses. For owner-occupied residential property, that protected window extends to seven months.5Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Frequently Asked Questions about Tax Sale After that, you become responsible for the certificate holder’s reasonable attorney’s fees, capped by statute in most cases but climbing higher once a foreclosure complaint is filed and again after the affidavit of compliance.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-843 – Plaintiff or Holder of Certificate of Sale Reimbursed for Expenses Incurred Every month of delay adds interest, and crossing the four- or seven-month line adds legal costs on top.
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
You must meet all of the following:
- The property is your primary residence
- The home is already in tax sale or at risk of it
- The current assessed value does not exceed $300,000
- Combined annual household income does not exceed $60,000
- Total assets, not counting the home, do not exceed $200,000
Priority goes to homeowners who are 60 or older, receive federal disability benefits through SSDI or SSI, or have lived in the home for at least 10 years. Enrollment is limited, so meeting the criteria does not guarantee a place. Even if you’re not enrolled, the Ombudsman’s Office will help you navigate your options.7Maryland OneStop. State Tax Sale Ombudsman – Homeowner Protection Program
If You’re an Investor: Registration
The whole sale happens online. There is no in-person auction. To bid, you register in advance through the Anne Arundel County Office of Finance.
Registration requires a completed IRS Form W-9, which the county uses to report interest income you later earn on redeemed certificates.8Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification You also submit the county’s Bidder Registration Form with either your Social Security Number (for individuals) or Employer Identification Number (for business entities), an authorized signature, and valid contact information. The entity name on the registration must match your tax documentation exactly. A mismatch can get you rejected. Submit early; the county needs time to verify everything, and late submissions can be shut out.
How the Bidding Works
Registered bidders browse the available liens on the portal and place bids at or above the opening lien amount, which represents the total delinquent balance the county is owed on that parcel. Competition pushes prices upward, and this is where the high-bid premium kicks in.
Under Maryland law, when a winning bid exceeds 40% of the property’s full cash value, the bidder owes an additional premium to the county 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 works as a deposit against later foreclosure costs. Set your maximum bid with that in mind, or the final tab can be larger than you expected.
After bidding closes, winning bidders settle their accounts quickly, typically by ACH or wire. Once funds clear, the county issues a certificate of sale. That certificate is your proof that you hold the lien. It is not a deed.
What Happens After You Win
The certificate starts a clock. Maryland law requires a waiting period of at least six months from the sale date before a certificate holder can file a complaint to foreclose the right of redemption. The outer deadline is two years from the date on the certificate; miss that window and the certificate becomes worthless.5Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Frequently Asked Questions about Tax Sale
A foreclosure complaint is filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. You must name every party with a recorded interest as a defendant, including mortgage lenders, other lienholders, and any co-owners. The court checks that every required notification was made before entering judgment. A single missed notice to a junior lienholder can derail the whole case.
If the court is satisfied, it enters a final judgment that terminates the original owner’s rights and grants the certificate holder fee simple title. Even after the complaint is filed, the owner can still redeem, but the redemption amount now 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 Traps Investors Miss
Federal tax liens. If the IRS has filed a federal tax lien on the property, the government keeps its own right to redeem after a foreclosure sale. The IRS can step in and buy the property at the price you paid, pushing you out of the deal to protect its interest in the original owner’s unpaid federal taxes.10Internal Revenue Service. Redemptions The authority sits in 26 U.S.C. ยง 7425, and the IRS uses it most often when property sells below fair market value. Check the title for federal liens before you bid.
Redemption income is taxable. Interest and penalties you collect when an owner redeems are ordinary income, reported on your federal return for the year you receive them. The W-9 you filed during registration is how the county tells the IRS about those payments, so the agency already has the number. Track your redemption income carefully across every county where you hold certificates, because underreporting investment income is a reliable way to attract IRS attention.