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New York Tax Deed Sales and Auctions

New York sells the deed itself, so no statutory investor interest rate applies under RPTL Article 11 (1100 to 1197). Tax Sale Atlas holds the sale calendar, auction platform and list locations for all 62 New York counties, each read from the county’s own official pages and checked against the statute on Sep 27, 2026.

New York is a tax deed state under Article 11 of the Real Property Tax Law, the Uniform Delinquent Tax Enforcement Act. Read more…

Outside New York City, the county, or a city or village that enforces its own taxes, holds the delinquent tax lien itself and forecloses it in rem in state supreme court or county court. The owner and anyone with an interest can redeem until the redemption period ends, two years after the lien date by default, or three or four years for residential or farm property where the tax district has adopted a local law. A parcel still unredeemed goes to judgment and the county takes title in fee simple absolute. Investors buy only after that, when the county resells the foreclosed parcel, usually at a public auction often run by a contractor such as Auctions International. Since 2024, RPTL 1195 to 1197 require the county to account for any surplus over the taxes and charges and pay it into court for the former owner and lienholders. New York City does not hold these auctions: it sells tax liens in bulk to a single authorized buyer. A few jurisdictions that kept their own charters, such as Nassau County, which sells tax liens at auction, and Suffolk County, which takes tax deeds under its own act, follow local procedures instead.

Rules verified Sep 27, 2026 against New York Statutes.

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Sale type: Tax deed
Redemption: 2 years
Auction method: premium bid
Over-the-counter: Available

Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 27, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify

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Tax deed sales

The deed process can lead to property ownership. Confirm the steps below, the interest conveyed, and the title and possession requirements for the parcel. If the parcels you are bidding on are vacant land rather than houses, see what buying land at a tax sale hands you.

Auction method: premium bid

Runs afterA statutory clock, not an investor's application. More…

The tax becomes a lien on the lien date (January 1 for county taxes). About ten months later the enforcing officer files the List of Delinquent Taxes with the county clerk. Eighteen months after the lien date (thirty or forty-two months for property on a three or four year redemption period) the enforcing officer executes and files a petition of foreclosure in rem, publishes notice in two newspapers and mails notice to owners and parties of record. The redemption period ends two years after the lien date by default, or on a later date stated in the published notice. A parcel not redeemed and not successfully answered goes to final judgment, which awards the parcel to the tax district and directs a deed to it, or at the enforcing officer's request a deed directly to another party. Only after that can the county offer the property for sale.

Run byThe enforcing officer of the tax district, which outside New York City is usually the county treasurer or county director or commissioner of finance, and in some places a city or village that enforces its own taxes or a town under a county administrative code. More…

Counties commonly hire an auction contractor. Two firms run a large share of New York sales: Auctions International (East Aurora, NY; for example St. Lawrence County's 2026 online auction) and Absolute Auctions & Realty, which lists tax foreclosure auctions for Otsego, Onondaga, Dutchess, Orange, Essex and Lewis counties, the City of Poughkeepsie and the Town of Greenburgh on one NYSAUCTIONS.COM index. Each contractor's schedule page covers many jurisdictions at once, so a date on it belongs only to the county named on that specific auction listing.

Deposit

No statewide deposit amount. Deposits, bidder registration deadlines, buyer premiums and accepted payment forms are set in each county's terms of sale or the auction contractor's terms; read them before bidding.

Balance dueSet by each county's terms of sale; no statute fixes the payment window. More…

A sale other than a public auction to the highest bidder is not effective until the county's governing body approves it by majority vote.

Surplus proceedsNew York returns surplus to the former owner and lienholders. More…

Under RPTL 1196, added by L.2024, c.55, Part BB after Tyler v. Hennepin County, the enforcing officer must determine within 45 days after the sale whether a surplus exists by subtracting the taxes, interest, penalties and charges (including the foreclosure cost allowance in RPTL 1102) from the price paid at a public sale, or from the property's full value where the sale was not public. Any surplus is paid into court with a report, and the former owner is notified within ten days. Under RPTL 1197 anyone with an interest just before the judgment may claim a share, adjudicated as in a mortgage foreclosure under RPAPL Article 13. At a public auction the price paid is accepted as full value, so no claim can be brought that the price was too low. For residential property with no claim from the former homeowner, the proceeding stays open at least three years. Unclaimed surplus goes to the tax district to reduce its levy. The buyer's price is not reduced by any of this.

Confirm marketability and insurance requirements with a title professional. Budget any title-clearing work and delays before relying on a resale. See the due diligence guide, or check what survives a tax deed in New York.

Redemption, delinquency, and over-the-counter at a glance

Redemption

How longIn Article 11 jurisdictions redemption runs before the public ever buys. More…

The owner or anyone with an interest can redeem by paying the enforcing officer the delinquent tax liens plus all charges, until the redemption period expires: two years after the lien date by default, or a later date if the published notice of foreclosure names one. A tax district may by local law extend the period for residential or farm property to three or four years, and for residential property of certain deployed military members to four or five years, or shorten it to one year for residential property found vacant and abandoned and placed on a municipal roll. When one tax district holds several liens on a parcel they are redeemed newest first, and foreclosure continues while the oldest lien is unpaid. Anyone who neither redeems nor answers is barred, and the final judgment extinguishes every equity of redemption, so a buyer at the county's later auction takes property no longer subject to redemption. Suffolk County, which enforces under its own tax act, instead records a tax deed and accepts redemption applications within six months of recording.

What the owner pays

The amount of the delinquent tax lien or liens, including all charges authorized by law: interest at the RPTL 924-a rate (never less than 12 percent a year, charged monthly), penalties, mailing, publication, recording and search costs, and an allowance for foreclosure administration and attorney fees of up to 250 dollars per parcel or 2 percent of the taxes, interest and penalties, whichever is greater, or more with court approval.

Delinquency

How it startsCounty and town taxes levied by the county legislature become a lien on January 1 of the fiscal year for which they are levied and remain a lien until paid. More…

When the town or city collecting officer's warrant expires, the collector returns the unpaid taxes to the county treasurer, who from then on holds the delinquent tax lien. Late and delinquent taxes accrue interest at a rate the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance sets each year, charged monthly at one-twelfth of the annual rate, and never less than 12 percent a year. About ten months after the lien date the enforcing officer files a List of Delinquent Taxes with the county clerk, which works as a notice of pendency against every listed parcel. Cities, villages and school districts can have different lien dates under their own laws, which Article 11 recognizes.

Over-the-counter

How to buyNew York has no statewide over-the-counter list. More…

RPTL 1166 lets a tax district that took title through foreclosure sell with or without advertising for bids, so a parcel left unsold at auction may later be sold by negotiated or sealed-bid sale, but any sale other than a public auction to the highest bidder takes effect only after the county governing body approves it by majority vote. Unsold parcels may also go to a land bank or other public entity. Whether a county holds any such inventory must be confirmed with the county treasurer or real property office.

What is available

No statewide Lands Available list. Unsold tax-foreclosed inventory stays with each county.

Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what New York calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

All 62 New York counties

Sales are organized by county. Search your city or county and compare the available sale details. Where deed-sale formats are listed, filter for online or in-person sales. Certificate platforms appear where that sale type is available.

Frequently asked questions

Does New York sell tax lien certificates to investors?

Not under the statewide law. Under Article 11 the county keeps the delinquent tax lien and forecloses it itself, and investors buy the foreclosed property afterward. New York City sells liens only to a single authorized buyer, not the public. Nassau County is an exception with its own public tax lien auction under county law.

How long is the redemption period for New York tax foreclosures?

Two years after the lien date by default, or a later date named in the published foreclosure notice. A tax district can extend it to three or four years for residential or farm property, to four or five years for certain deployed military members, or shorten it to one year for vacant and abandoned homes on a municipal roll.

When does a New York county auction tax-foreclosed property?

There is no statewide month. Each county auctions after its own in rem foreclosure judgment, usually once a year, and dates vary. Many upstate counties hold online auctions through a contractor such as Auctions International; check the county treasurer's auction page for the date and parcel list.

See all New York FAQ

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Open any county for its sale calendar, auction platform, registration rules, and office contacts.

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