Tompkins County, NY tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Tompkins County Finance Department runs the annual Real Property Tax Foreclosure Auction online through Reynolds Auction Company.
• •Treasury line: (607) 274-5545; Finance/Accounting: (607) 274-5544. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm.

New York rules

Redemption

In Article 11 jurisdictions redemption runs before the public ever buys. 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.RPTL 1110 - redemption by paying the enforcing officer the delinquent tax liens and all charges; period expires two years after lien date unless extended or shortened, or a later date is publishedN.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law 1110Verified Sep 27, 2026

Deed 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.RPTL 1166 - a tax district that took title by Article 11 foreclosure may sell with or without advertising for bids; a sale other than a public auction to the highest bidder needs governing-body approvalN.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law 1166Verified Sep 27, 2026

Surplus proceeds

New York returns surplus to the former owner and lienholders. 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.RPTL 1196 (L.2024, c.55, Part BB) - enforcing officer determines surplus within 45 days of the sale and pays it into courtN.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law 1196Verified Sep 27, 2026

Governing statute

RPTL Article 11 (1100 to 1197)RPTL 1100 - Article 11 is the Uniform Delinquent Tax Enforcement ActN.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law 1100Verified Sep 27, 2026

A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.

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