The statutory ceiling
This rate is set by statute rather than bid down at the sale, so every certificate sold carries it. Competition happens on price instead. There is no statutory minimum return.
No minimum rate
District of Columbia sets no statutory minimum return. Because the rate is not bid down, competition shows up in the price instead, which is what erodes your yield.
How interest accrues
Simple interest of 1.5 percent per month or portion of a month, which is 18 percent a year, on the amount paid for the property excluding surplus. It begins on the first day of the month immediately following the tax sale (or following the assignment of a District-held certificate) and runs until the redemption payment is made to the Mayor. No interest accrues on surplus, expenses or the value of improvements. There is no minimum-return floor, so a parcel redeemed before the first of the following month earns nothing. Other taxes the purchaser pays after the 6-month waiting period earn interest on the principal tax only.
How the bidding works
The District does not bid the rate down. Every certificate carries the same statutory rate of 1.5 percent per month, and bidders compete on price at an oral outcry auction. The opening bid is the delinquent taxes, penalties and interest for which the parcel is offered plus a 200 dollar tax sale fee, bids rise in increments of 25, 100, 500, 1,000 or 10,000 dollars, and the parcel goes to the highest bidder. Property may not be sold for less than the taxes. The portion of a winning bid above the taxes, penalties, interest and costs is surplus, and the statute pays no interest on surplus. A parcel whose highest bid does not cover the taxes is bid off to and purchased by the District; that is a statutory transfer to the District, not an investor sale. Several dated OTR items that look like sale events are not the auction: the June tax sale seminars, the late-June posting of the sale list, the late-July newspaper advertisements, the opening of bidder registration and the final-payment deadline 5 business days after the sale. The District also runs a separate Discount Tax Sale for liens it holds (December 3, 2025 was the last one published), where the opening bid is a flat 300 dollars regardless of the taxes owed, and it may sell liens in bulk to third parties under D.C. Code 47-1303.04, which is not open to individual bidders.
When the certificates sell
One annual sale for the whole District, held in person at OTR headquarters, 1101 4th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. The statute fixes no month. The statutory post-sale notice form prints a July tax sale date, and the 2025 sale lists were posted in June and July 2025, but the 2026 sale was held August 19 and 20, 2026. The date of sale for every parcel is the last day of the sale, regardless of the day it was actually offered. OTR publishes the list of properties on its website and in The Washington Times and The Washington Informer before the sale.
The headline figure is a ceiling, not a forecast. To see what a certificate actually pays over a real holding period, run the numbers in the yield calculator, and compare District of Columbia against other states on interest rates by state.
Verified Sep 27, 2026 against District of Columbia statutes.
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.