Vermont runs 4 different redemption windows
Which one applies is decided by the parcel, not by the state, so read the condition before trusting the headline figure.
How the clock works
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.
Who can redeem
The owner, lien holder or mortgagee of the land sold, or the owner's, lien holder's or mortgagee's representatives or assigns.
What the owner pays to redeem
the sum for which the land was sold, plus interest at 1 percent a month or fraction of a month from the day of sale to the day of payment; where the town bought contaminated land, plus all assessment and cleanup costs spent on it.
How your return accrues
Interest runs at 1 percent a month on the sum for which the land was sold, from the day of sale to the day of payment, and a fraction of a month counts as a full month. That is 12 percent a year, but the redemption window is one year, so the most a redeemed parcel returns is about 12 percent of the price, and one redeemed in its first month still returns 1 percent. There is no other minimum. Where the town itself bought contaminated land, the redemption price also includes the assessment and cleanup costs spent on it. A parcel that is not redeemed pays no interest: the buyer takes a deed instead.
How the bidding works
There is no rate to bid down. Bidders compete on price, and every buyer earns the same statutory 1 percent a month on the sum paid if the parcel is redeemed. If no bid equals the taxes and costs, the town may buy the parcel itself by act of its selectboard or mayor (32 V.S.A. § 5259); that is not an investor sale, and the parcel stays redeemable for a year. Several statutory steps look like a sale and are not one: (1) the treasurer's warrant against delinquent taxpayers delivered to the collector (§ 4793) and the collector's annual list of delinquent taxpayers delivered to the treasurer by January 15 (§ 5162) are collection lists, not sale lists; (2) the collector's warrant and levy recorded in the town clerk's land records (§ 5252(a)(1)) announces a sale that may never be held, since the owner can pay until the day of sale; (3) the collector's return of sale filed within 30 days after the sale (§ 5255) and the list of lands not redeemed deposited with the town clerk within 30 days after redemption ends (§ 5262) describe sales already held; (4) a court foreclosure of the tax lien under § 5061(b) ends in a commissioner's sale approved by the Superior Court, not the collector's auction; (5) a sale on distraint (§ 5193) sells seized personal property; (6) a tax sale started after a mobile home park owner's notice under 10 V.S.A. § 6248(b) must be held within 60 days and can sell a mobile home below the taxes due (§§ 5252(a), 5259), which is a different asset from land. The real investor auction is the collector's sale of real estate under §§ 5252 to 5255, held by each town on its own date.
What happens when it ends
Unpaid real estate tax where the owner owes at least $1,500 and has been delinquent more than one year, after the collector has consulted the owner and offered one written reasonable repayment plan that the owner declined, did not answer within 30 days, or failed to keep (§ 5252(a), (c)). From July 1, 2026 the $1,500 floor does not apply to a parcel with no dwelling habitable year-round that is not declared as a homestead (§ 5252(b)(3), 2026 Act 170 Sec. 36). The collector then extends the warrant: records the warrant, tax bill extract, land description and levy statement in the town clerk's office; advertises the sale; posts notice in a public place; and sends certified-mail notice to the owner (with first-class mail or personal service, email where reasonably available, and a notice on the front door if it comes back unclaimed) and to mortgagees and lienholders of record. Separately, after notice from a mobile home park owner under 10 V.S.A. § 6248(b), the collector must start proceedings within 15 days and hold the sale within 60 days.
A redemption pays back your price plus the statutory premium, which is what makes the wait profitable; see how redemption periods work across states. If the window closes unredeemed you keep the Vermont tax deed, which still does not convey marketable title on its own, so budget for a quiet title action.
Verified Sep 27, 2026 against Vermont statutes.
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.