Fairfax County, Virginia Tax Sales

Counties / Virginia counties / Fairfax County

Quick answerFairfax County, Virginia follows Virginia tax sale law: the state sells tax deeds for delinquent property taxes. Rate / penalty: n/a — pure tax deed state; no lien certificate is sold. Delinquent taxes themselves bear locality penalty/interest owed to the locality, not a return to the deed buyer Redemption: No post-sale redemption after court confirmation and issuance of the deed. LienToDeed is verifying this county's own sale-list source; the state rules below are the law that governs its sales.

How tax sales work in Fairfax County, Virginia

Virginia law controls every tax sale in Fairfax County — the county runs the sale, but what is sold, what it pays and how long the owner can redeem are all set by the state:

What Virginia sells	Tax deeds
Interest / penalty	n/a — pure tax deed state; no lien certificate is sold. Delinquent taxes themselves bear locality penalty/interest owed to the locality, not a return to the deed buyer
Redemption period	No post-sale redemption after court confirmation and issuance of the deed. Owner may redeem by paying all taxes, penalties, interest and costs at any time before the sale (judicial sales, § 58.1-3965; nonjudicial sales, § 58.1-3975 — redeemable at any time prior to the date of sale). Land generally becomes sale-eligible when taxes are delinquent on December 31 following the 2nd anniversary of the due date (1 year for condemned/nuisance/derelict/blighted property)
When sales happen	No fixed statewide annual date; judicial and nonjudicial sales are scheduled as needed, year-round, by locality / special commissioner
Governing law	Code of Virginia § 58.1-3965 et seq. (judicial sales); § 58.1-3975 (nonjudicial sales of low-value parcels)
County (Census)	Fairfax County — county, Virginia · FIPS 51059

Two tracks: court-supervised judicial sales (special commissioner, sale confirmed by the court, typically a special warranty / commissioner's deed) and treasurer-run nonjudicial sales for lower-value parcels. Judicial sales commonly require a 25% or $1,000 deposit and a buyer's premium in many localities.

The process, step by step

1 · The list publishes. Virginia sales run on this rhythm: No fixed statewide annual date; judicial and nonjudicial sales are scheduled as needed, year-round, by locality / special commissioner The county's sale list — the parcels actually being sold — is published ahead of the sale by the county office that runs it, and in many Virginia counties also through the state's sale channels (Bid4Assets; For Sale At Auction; county-specific / Taxing Authority Consulting Services (TACS); in-person commissioner sales).

2 · Register and fund — before sale day. Registration and bidder deposits are handled by the county or its sale platform and close before the sale, in most counties the day before. The amount and ID requirements are set in the county's own sale notice, not in state law — confirm them on the current published notice before you rely on them.

3 · Research every parcel. Compare the taxes owed against assessed value and recorded sales, check property type and occupancy signals, and price in the state's redemption rule above: it decides whether your money comes back with the statutory return, or your path runs to the property itself.

4 · Bid the number you wrote down. Set your max bid (deeds) or floor rate (liens) from the research, before the sale opens. The state's return is paid on the tax obligation — not on whatever extra a bidding war adds on top of it.

5 · After the sale. Owners redeem inside the window above; lists change as they do. Track the parcels you care about, because a watched property redeeming or withdrawing is information you want before — not after — you wire a deposit for the next sale.

What Fairfax County publishes — and our verification status

Under Virginia law, the county publishes its sale list as a public record ahead of each sale. What we have not done is guess at this county's exact channel: which office posts the list, in what format, and on what posting schedule are being verified county by county against the county's own publications. Until that check is complete, this page carries the verified state rules — not a live Fairfax County sale list — and says so plainly.

Coverage status: Fairfax County — verification in progress

Alerts activate county by county as each county's published list is verified. Join the Virginia watchlist and you are first in line when Fairfax County alerts switch on — plus you get the free Virginia sale calendar and law guide today.

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County facts (name, state, FIPS 51059) from the US Census Bureau county list; state rules verified 2026-10-30 — sources on the Virginia law page. Educational only, not investment advice.