Chittenden County, VT tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Chittenden County, VT tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Vermont sells redeemable deeds the owner can buy back with a statutory penalty. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Sep 28, 2026.
How tax deed sales work in Chittenden County, seat of Burlington: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Vermont tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No countywide sale date.
- Registration
- No county registration.
- County office
- 802-865-7000
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 28, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Chittenden County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- The collector of delinquent taxes of each town or city in Chittenden County. The county itself holds no tax sale.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No countywide sale date.
- Registration
- No county registration.
When it runs
No countywide sale date. Each town's collector sets its own sale and must advertise it 'three weeks successively in a newspaper circulating in the vicinity, the last publication to be at least 10 days before such sale.' A sale can proceed only where the taxpayer owes at least $1,500 and has been delinquent for more than one year.
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Sales are in person, town by town, with no online platform. The winning bidder takes subject to a one-year redemption: the owner can redeem by paying the sale price plus interest at one percent per month or fraction of a month from the day of sale, and the collector's deed issues only if the land is not redeemed. The town must offer the owner a written repayment plan before extending the warrant, and many parcels are paid off before the sale date. Towns in the county sell on different dates, so check each town's notice rather than expecting one county auction.
Chittenden County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Chittenden County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.
Get the advertised list
Chittenden County publishes no tax sale list online. The The collector of delinquent taxes of each town or city in Chittenden County. The county itself holds no tax sale. advertises the parcels ahead of the sale rather than posting them, so the list reaches bidders through the county legal newspaper and the office itself. Call 802-865-7000 to ask for the current advertisement.Register to bid
Sale day
No countywide sale date. Each city or town picks its own platform or in-person venue. Confirm the date and registration window with that town’s collector before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use The collector of delinquent taxes of each town or city in Chittenden County. The county itself holds no tax sale. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Chittenden County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
There is no online list to price against. Chittenden County advertises the parcels before the sale rather than posting them, so get the advertisement from the office on 802-865-7000 and price from the parcel numbers it carries.Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Vermont due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Vermont before you price the title work.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
County notes
- Chittenden County's municipalities are Bolton, Buels Gore, Burlington, Charlotte, Colchester, Essex, Essex Junction, Hinesburg, Huntington, Jericho, Milton, Richmond, St. George, Shelburne, South Burlington, Underhill, Westford, Williston and Winooski, and each runs its own tax sale.
- Milton: the Assistant Treasurer committed the 2026 Warrant for Collection of Delinquent Taxes to Delinquent Tax Collector John C. Gifford on September 16, 2026, with a five-parcel list of delinquent properties for the 2026 collection and sale process attached to the warrant on the town's Property Taxes page.
- Milton: no sale date is set in the warrant; the collector must advertise any sale in a local newspaper for three weeks. Town Clerk and Treasurer's Office, 43 Bombardier Road, Milton, (802) 893-4111.
- Huntington: Delinquent Tax Collector Brent Lamoureux, an elected officer working outside the Town Office, organizes the town's annual property tax sales; 2190 Main Road, Huntington, (802) 434-3686. The town page posts no sale date or list, so watch the newspaper notice.
- Shelburne: the Town Manager serves as Collector of Delinquent Taxes and may refer accounts in arrears to the Town Attorney for tax sale; the town notes that in almost all cases the owner pays in full before the sale becomes final. Tax office, 5420 Shelburne Road, 802-985-5120.
- Westford: the Delinquent Tax Collector position is vacant and the town page states no tax sales are scheduled; contact dtc@westfordvt.us.
- Burlington: property taxes become delinquent after June 22 with an 8 percent penalty; the city posts no tax sale list online, so contact the Clerk/Treasurer's Office at 149 Church Street, 802-865-7000.
- Colchester: the Town Clerk and Treasurer's Office at 781 Blakely Road, 802-264-5520, handles tax accounts; the town posts no tax sale list online.
- In the remaining towns, including South Burlington, Essex, Essex Junction, Williston, Winooski, Jericho, Richmond, Hinesburg, Charlotte, Underhill, Bolton and St. George, sale notices appear in the local newspaper and at the town clerk's or collector's office, not on a county list.
Vermont rules
- Redemption
- The owner, a lienholder or a mortgagee, or their representatives or assigns, may redeem within one year from the day of sale by paying or tendering to the collector who made the sale (or to the town clerk if the collector has died or left town) the sum for which the land was sold plus 1 percent a month, with a part month counted as a full month. The money is paid over to the buyer on demand and no deed is made. Between 90 and 120 days before the year ends the collector must send the owner, by certified mail, and post a warning stating the date redemption ends and the amount due. If no one redeems, the collector executes a deed to the buyer.
- Deed deposit
- No statute sets a deposit or registration requirement. The statutory return form records the sale as made 'for cash' to the highest bidder (§ 5255). Each town sets its own payment terms; read them in the town's notice.
- Surplus proceeds
- No Vermont statute addresses what happens to the part of a winning bid above the taxes, costs and fees when the property is not redeemed. §§ 5251 to 5263 are silent, and no act of 2023 through 2026 amends §§ 5253 to 5263. If the property is redeemed, the whole sale price comes back to the buyer with interest (§ 5260(a)). 2024 Act 106 Sec. 7 created a working group to recommend whether an owner whose property passes by collector's deed should be able to recoup the equity above the tax debt; as of the 2026 session no such change has been enacted. By contrast, a sale on distraint of personal property returns the balance to the taxpayer (§ 5193), and in a court foreclosure of the tax lien the commissioner disposes of any residue with the court's approval (§ 5061(b)). Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023) bears on this, so ask the town how it handles excess proceeds before bidding.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chittenden County, Vermont sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. Vermont sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the collector of taxes of each town or city sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Chittenden County hold tax deed sales?
Chittenden County holds tax deed sales once a year. No countywide sale date. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Vermont's redemption rule: 1 year from the day of sale. Call the The collector of delinquent taxes of each town or city in Chittenden County. The county itself holds no tax sale. as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.
Verified Sep 28, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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.
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