Massachusetts Redeemable Tax Deed Sales

16, 37). The collector then either SELLS at a collector's sale after published and posted notice (ss. 40, 42, 43) or TAKES the land for the town after 14 days' notice (s. 53), recording an instrument of taking within 60 days (s. 54). The taking is not a sale: no one bids, the town becomes the tax title holder, and newspaper 'notice of tax taking' lists should not be read as auction notices. For residential (Class one) property, notices since November 1, 2024 must be mailed, posted on the property, published on the municipal website, and carry a DOR uniform notice in the seven most common languages. A tax title becomes title to the land only through a Land Court foreclosure petition filed at least 12 months after the sale or taking (s. 65).M.G.L. c. 60, s. 53, collector's taking of land for the town after 14 days' noticeM.G.L. c. 60, s. 53Verified Sep 28, 2026

The collector runs a collector's sale (s. 43) and the taking (s. 53); the treasurer runs tax title auctions (s. 52) and Land Court foreclosures for town-held titles (s. 50); a custodian of tax possession property appointed by the mayor or select board may auction foreclosed land (s. 77B). Many municipalities hire a licensed auctioneer. Sullivan & Sullivan Auctioneers publishes a single municipal auction calendar covering many Massachusetts cities and towns (plus New Hampshire and Rhode Island) and lists more than 50 Massachusetts municipal clients, so a date read from that calendar belongs only to the municipality named beside it, never to a neighbouring town or to the county.Sullivan & Sullivan Auctioneers, Municipal & State Auctions (tax possession and town-owned property auctions; client list of more than 50 Massachusetts municipalities)Verified Sep 28, 2026

43). No statute sets a deposit for a treasurer's tax title auction or a custodian's auction; each municipality sets it in its terms of sale.M.G.L. c. 60, s. 43, collector's public auction of the smallest undivided part of the land that will bring the tax, with an immediate depositM.G.L. c. 60, s. 43Verified Sep 28, 2026

At a s. 79 sale, a buyer who does not pay the bid within ten days loses the sale and the town is deemed the purchaser (s. 80). A collector's deed must be recorded within 60 days after a collector's sale (s. 45), and an instrument of assignment within 60 days of its date (s. 52).M.G.L. c. 60, s. 80, no adequate bid at a section 79 sale; buyer pays within ten daysM.G.L. c. 60, s. 80Verified Sep 28, 2026

64). Within 30 days after the judgment becomes final, the judgment holder must elect to retain or sell. If it retains, it must obtain an independent appraisal within 120 days and pay out the appraised value above the tax title balance and costs. If it sells, it must list with a licensed broker within 180 days, then auction at not less than two-thirds of appraised value if unsold after 12 months. Excess equity is held in a segregated interest-bearing escrow; claims may be made for 18 months after notice where owners are unknown, unclaimed funds go to the state's abandoned property process after 19 months, and disputes go to the Superior Court with a jury trial right (s. 64A). Owners foreclosed on or after May 25, 2021 had 12 months from the act to sue for excess equity (St. 2024, c. 140, s. 212). Surplus from a s. 79 sale without foreclosure is held for the person entitled for five years, then goes to the town.M.G.L. c. 60, s. 64A, post-foreclosure election to retain or sell, appraisal, broker listing, auction at not less than two-thirds of appraised value, excess equity claimsM.G.L. c. 60, s. 64AVerified Sep 28, 2026