Reference
Tax sale glossary
The terms you will run into at a tax sale, defined in plain English and linked to the guides that go deeper.
28 terms
A
- ACH (bank transfer)
- Automated Clearing House: the electronic bank-to-bank transfer most auction sites use to collect deposits and final payments. ACH is not instant. Counties typically require your deposit to clear several business days before the sale, so funding late can lock you out of bidding.
- Automatic stay
- A restriction that generally takes effect when a bankruptcy petition is filed and stops many collection and foreclosure actions. Exceptions and court orders matter. Do not assume that a stay automatically extends a tax-sale redemption deadline.
- Sources: United States Courts (checked 2026-09-07); United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois (checked 2026-09-07)
- Check the automatic stay before enforcement→
B
- Bankruptcy
- A federal court process for dealing with debt. A filing can affect collection, foreclosure and the timing of a tax-sale investment. Check the case and applicable orders before assuming a sale or enforcement step can proceed.
- Sources: United States Courts (checked 2026-09-07)
- Bankruptcy risk for tax-sale investors→
- Bid-down-interest
- A lien-sale auction format where bidders compete by accepting a lower interest rate rather than paying more. The auction starts at the statutory maximum and the rate is bid down; the lowest rate wins. Florida uses this method, starting at 18 percent.
- Bidding methods explained→
C
- Chain of title
- The sequence of recorded documents showing transfers of an interest in a property. Reviewing that history helps a title professional trace ownership and investigate gaps, reservations or competing claims.
- Sources: Miami County, Ohio, Recorder (checked 2026-09-07)
- Trace ownership before a tax sale→
- County-held certificate
- A Florida tax certificate that received no bid at the annual sale and was struck to the county at the full 18 percent. Any buyer can purchase it over the counter afterward at face value plus 1.5 percent per month plus a fee.
- Over-the-counter tax liens→
D
- Delinquency date
- The date unpaid property taxes become delinquent, which starts the tax sale process. In Florida, taxes become delinquent on April 1 following the year they were assessed.
- How Florida tax sales work→
E
- Easement
- A right to use another person’s land for a stated purpose, such as access or utilities. Some easements arise without a recorded grant. Review the documents and applicable law to confirm who benefits, the permitted use and whether the right serves the parcel you plan to buy.
- Sources: Florida Legislature (checked 2026-09-07)
- Checking legal access→
- Encumbrance
- A claim, right or restriction affecting property, such as a lien or an easement. Its effect on a tax-sale purchase depends on the kind of interest and the governing law. Review what survives before setting a bid.
- Sources: California Department of Insurance (checked 2026-09-07)
- Liens and interests that survive a tax deed→
- Escheat
- The transfer of unclaimed property to the government. In Florida, a tax deed parcel that stays unsold on the Lands Available list escheats to the county three years after it was first offered for sale.
H
- Homestead
- A property that is the owner's primary residence, which often carries legal protections. In a Florida tax deed sale, a homestead parcel's opening bid adds one-half of its latest assessed value, which raises the floor price and cools investor demand.
- How Florida tax sales work→
I
- Insurable title
- Title an insurer is willing to cover under a particular policy, with stated conditions and exceptions. Coverage can exclude a known claim, so read the actual policy and ask what protection remains after any tax-sale exception.
- Sources: American Land Title Association (checked 2026-09-07); California Department of Insurance (checked 2026-09-07)
- Marketable title and insurable title→
L
- Lands available for taxes
- A Florida list of parcels that received no bid at a tax deed sale. The county has a 90-day first-purchase right; after that any buyer can purchase the parcel from the Clerk. Unsold parcels escheat to the county after three years. Other states hold the same inventory under their own names.
- State-held and struck-off land by state→
- Legal access (landlocked)
- An enforceable right to reach a parcel from a road or across adjoining land. A visible track or mapped road frontage does not settle that right. Review road restrictions, easements and applicable law; a parcel without lawful access may be landlocked.
- Sources: Florida Legislature (checked 2026-09-07)
- Checking legal access→
M
- Marketable title
- Title without reasonable doubt that would interfere with a sale or expose the buyer to a probable competing claim. Marketability depends on the law and the transaction. It differs from insurable title, which concerns the coverage an insurer offers.
- Sources: New York State Law Reporting Bureau (checked 2026-09-07)
- Marketable title and insurable title→
O
- Over-the-counter (OTC)
- The purchase of certificates or parcels that went unsold at auction, directly from the county at a fixed price with no bidding. In Florida, unsold certificates become county-held certificates at 18 percent, and unsold deed parcels go on the Lands Available list.
- Over-the-counter tax liens→
P
Q
- Quiet title action
- A lawsuit asking a court to resolve competing claims to property title. The judgment’s effect depends on the claims, parties, notice and governing law. A successful action does not promise that every lien disappears or that an insurer will issue unrestricted coverage.
- Sources: Florida Legislature (checked 2026-09-07); American Land Title Association (checked 2026-09-07)
- Quiet title after a tax deed→
R
- Recorder of deeds
- The county office that maintains recorded land documents and their indexes. Its name may be recorder, register of deeds or clerk. Use its records to research ownership; recording a document does not establish that a tax-sale title is insurable.
- Sources: Miami County, Ohio, Recorder (checked 2026-09-07); California Department of Insurance (checked 2026-09-07)
- Find the ownership records→
- Redeemable deed
- A hybrid instrument where the buyer purchases the deed at auction, but the former owner has a set window to redeem by paying the bid plus a penalty. Redeem, and the buyer earns the penalty; do not, and the buyer keeps the property. Georgia and Texas are examples.
- Tax lien vs tax deed→
- Redemption
- When a delinquent owner reclaims their property by paying the overdue taxes plus interest and penalties. Redemption pays off a lien certificate with interest, or, in a redeemable deed state, pays back the buyer with a penalty.
- Redemption periods explained→
- Redemption period
- The window during which an owner can redeem before an investor can take further action. It is set by state law and ranges from months to years. It determines your timeline and, for lien buyers, how long capital is tied up.
- Redemption periods explained→
S
- Self-directed IRA (SDIRA)
- A retirement account held at a specialized custodian that permits alternative assets, including tax lien certificates. It lets lien interest grow tax-advantaged, subject to strict prohibited-transaction rules.
- Buying tax liens in an IRA→
- Struck off
- What happens when no bid reaches the minimum at a tax sale: the parcel or certificate is struck off to a government body instead of a bidder. On the deed side a taxing unit or county takes title and may resell the struck-off property later, as Texas taxing units do. On the lien side the certificate is struck to the county at the maximum statutory rate and can then be bought over the counter. Struck to the county, bid in, forfeited and taken in trust all name the same step.
- State-held and struck-off land by state→
T
- Tax deed
- A deed issued through a property-tax sale process. Its effect depends on the applicable law, interest sold and sale record. Review remaining claims, possession and insurance requirements before assuming the deed provides clear title.
- What you own after a tax deed→
- Tax lien certificate
- A document representing unpaid property taxes that a county sells to an investor. The investor pays the back taxes and earns interest until the owner redeems. It is an income investment, secured by the property, that rarely turns into ownership.
- Tax lien vs tax deed→
- Title insurance
- Insurance against covered losses from defects in property title. The policy states its coverage, exclusions and exceptions. An owner’s policy protects the insured owner; a lender’s policy protects the lender’s interest.
- Sources: California Department of Insurance (checked 2026-09-07)
- Title insurance after a tax deed→
- Title search
- A review of public records to identify property ownership and recorded claims, such as mortgages, liens and easements. Order the search before bidding and ask what records and dates it covers. A search does not itself provide insurance.
- Sources: California Department of Insurance (checked 2026-09-07)
- Title research before bidding→
See the terms in context
Open a county to watch these concepts play out in a real sale calendar and rule set.