What percentage of market value should you bid at a tax deed sale?

There is no fixed percentage. Work backward instead: start from the resale value, subtract selling costs, title-clearing costs, any surviving liens, holding costs, and your target profit, then discount for what you cannot verify. Land investors often end up well below 50 percent of resale value once those costs and the risk discount are applied.

How do you estimate the resale value of a tax-sale parcel?

Pull recent sales of comparable parcels in the same area (similar size, zoning, and access) from the county records or a land-comps source, and adjust for condition and access. Be conservative: the resale value drives the whole calculation, so an inflated number leads straight to overbidding.

Should you bid on a landlocked parcel?

Usually not, or only at a steep discount. A parcel with no legal access can be nearly unsellable and unbuildable, so set the confidence factor to its lowest setting or walk away. Check legal access on the county map before you bid.

Does the max bid include the cost of clearing title?

Yes. The calculator subtracts a quiet-title or title-clearing budget because a tax deed does not usually convey marketable title on its own. If you skip that cost you will overpay.

How do wholesalers use the max bid number?

If you plan to assign the deal instead of bidding and holding it yourself, treat the result as the ceiling for your end buyer: your maximum contract price is this number minus your assignment fee.

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Tax deed max-bid calculator

Work backward from resale value, costs, and your target profit to estimate a maximum auction bid.

State

Auction cost rules are state law (Utah Code 59-2-1351, 59-2-1351.1, 59-2-1351.7, 78B-2-206). More states as they go live.

Resale value of the parcel

What you could sell it for once title is clear

Target profit (% of resale)

Your required profit as a share of resale value

Selling & closing costs (% of resale)

Commissions, closing, marketing

Title clearing (quiet title)

Court work to resolve title claims; use a local quote

Surviving liens

The auditor's deed conveys fee simple and is prima facie evidence of the regularity of every proceeding from the first delinquency, which puts the burden of showing an irregularity on whoever challenges it. That presumption is not title insurance. Utah Code 78B-2-206 bars an action to recover, take possession of, quiet title to or determine ownership against a tax-title holder four years after the sale, subject to a proviso for an owner who actually occupied the property within those four years, so the practical clearing point is that four-year mark rather than the deed itself. The opening bid already contains the delinquent taxes, tax notice charges, penalties, interest and administrative costs, so do not add them here. Note where your overbid goes: under 59-2-1351.1(7) anything above that total is treated as unclaimed property under Title 67, Chapter 4a rather than refunded by the county.

Holding costs

Taxes, upkeep, and carry until resale

Recording & other fees

Utah publishes no statewide recording or transfer-tax figure, and recording is normally already inside the opening bid. Budget for title work instead. Read the bid METHOD before you model a purchase: under 59-2-1351.1 a county may take the highest dollar bid for the whole parcel, or the fixed minimum bid for the smallest portion of it, which counties run as an acreage split or as a bid-down undivided percentage. Under that last form you pay the minimum and become a co-owner with the former owner, so a model that assumes you get the whole parcel is wrong. Utah Code fixes no transfer tax on a county tax sale. The tax-deed recording fee sits inside the administrative costs already contained in the opening bid under 59-2-1351.1(9)(e), so do not add it a second time. Utah County published that component as 165 dollars per parcel in its 2026 notice. Put whatever the county charges in this field.

Confidence in the parcel

Discounts the bid for what you cannot verify before the sale

Estimated maximum bid

Loading calculator (example values shown)...

$5,950

This estimate uses your inputs and selected confidence factor. Unmodeled costs can reduce it.

Resale value: $20,000
Less selling & closing costs: - $2,000
Less target profit: - $8,000
Less title, liens & holding: - $3,000
Less recording & other fees: - $0
Bid ceiling before risk: $7,000
Confidence factor: × 0.85
Risk-adjusted max bid: $5,950

Most of the gap between value and bid here is your own profit target. Adjust it to your strategy.

Estimates only, not financial or investment advice. Confirm every number (especially resale value, surviving liens, and access) before you bid.

State rules & sources · utah

Selected state: utah. Rules record last verified 2026-09-10. Record quality: high.

Sources: Utah Code 59-2-1351.1 - Tax sale, combining certain parcels, acceptable bids, deeds (accessed 2026-09-10); Utah Code 59-2-1351 - Sales by county, notice of tax sale, entries on record (accessed 2026-09-10); Utah Code 59-2-1343 - Tax sale listing (accessed 2026-09-10); Salt Lake County Auditor - property tax sale rules and procedures (accessed 2026-09-10). All state statutes and sources.

Number in hand? What happens at a Florida tax deed auction covers the next step. In Florida, plan on a deposit up front and a tight window to pay the full balance if you win.

Now find a parcel

Browse county sale calendars and rules, then run your number before you bid.

Florida counties Land due diligence

How it works, FAQs & sourcesCalculation details, limitations, and related guides

Built and maintained by Tax Sale Atlas Editorial · How we source facts

About this tool

The most expensive mistake at a tax deed auction is bidding past the point where the deal still makes money. This works backward from what you could sell the parcel for to the most you can pay today and still hit your target, after costs and risk. Nothing is stored or sent.

How the calculation works

A defensible max bid is not a guess or a flat percentage of value. It is what is left after every cost and your profit come out of the resale price, discounted for the risk of a parcel you often cannot walk before the sale:

Start with the resale value, what the parcel sells for once title is clear.
Subtract selling and closing costs, your commission and transaction overhead.
Subtract your target profit, the reason you are bidding at all.
Subtract title clearing, surviving liens, and holding costs, the money it takes to turn a tax deed into something sellable.
Multiply by a confidence factor that discounts the bid for access, condition, and title unknowns.

The confidence factors (1, 0.85, 0.7, and 0.4) are editorial rules of thumb, not measured odds, so treat them as starting points and let your own judgment of the specific parcel override them.

Get the inputs right

The output is only as good as the inputs, and two of them do the most damage when they are wrong:

Resale value. Use conservative comps for similar parcels. See due diligence before a tax sale.
Surviving liens. A tax deed does not wipe out everything. Know what survives a tax deed and add it here.
Confidence. If you cannot confirm legal access or title, drop the factor. A landlocked parcel should fall to the lowest setting.
Title clearing. Budget for a quiet title action unless your state offers a faster path.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of market value should you bid at a tax deed sale?: There is no fixed percentage. Work backward instead: start from the resale value, subtract selling costs, title-clearing costs, any surviving liens, holding costs, and your target profit, then discount for what you cannot verify. Land investors often end up well below 50 percent of resale value once those costs and the risk discount are applied.
How do you estimate the resale value of a tax-sale parcel?: Pull recent sales of comparable parcels in the same area (similar size, zoning, and access) from the county records or a land-comps source, and adjust for condition and access. Be conservative: the resale value drives the whole calculation, so an inflated number leads straight to overbidding.
Should you bid on a landlocked parcel?: Usually not, or only at a steep discount. A parcel with no legal access can be nearly unsellable and unbuildable, so set the confidence factor to its lowest setting or walk away. Check legal access on the county map before you bid.
Does the max bid include the cost of clearing title?: Yes. The calculator subtracts a quiet-title or title-clearing budget because a tax deed does not usually convey marketable title on its own. If you skip that cost you will overpay.
How do wholesalers use the max bid number?: If you plan to assign the deal instead of bidding and holding it yourself, treat the result as the ceiling for your end buyer: your maximum contract price is this number minus your assignment fee.

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.