Washington County tax sales, Tennessee

Verified

Washington is the GovEase county in this set: an online only sale with registration and proof of funding handled on the platform before sale day, and an opening bid that can include City of Johnson City liens as well as the delinquent taxes held by the Clerk and Master. The county's 2026 sale ran March 4, 2026. The next day payment deadline and the proof of funding registration below are verified from the county's published releases for its 2021 and 2022 sales and its 2025 auction flyer; the 2026 sale's own payment sheet was not read, so those two items are marked unverified for 2026 specifically.

Selling office: Clerk and Master of Washington County

Next sale: Online tax sale, March 4, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.; held. The county's Property Tax Sale page announces the online sale for March 4, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. through GovEase.com. The prior year sale ran March 5, 2025 on the same platform, with registration from February 3, 2025 to March 3, 2025. As of November 9, 2026, the 2026 sale has run and no 2027 date is published on the pages read.

The 2026 online sale ran March 4, 2026 on GovEase. As of November 9, 2026, no 2027 sale date is published on the county pages read.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	Online tax sale, March 4, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.; held
The sale	A judicial sale by the Clerk and Master, held online only through GovEase, opening at 10:00 a.m. on the county pattern and announced for 10:30 a.m. in 2026. The opening bid on each parcel contains all delinquent taxes held by the Clerk and Master, and some parcels also include City of Johnson City liens collected as part of the minimum bid. Parcels are sold as is, with no warranty.
The list	The property list and disclosures are posted at the Washington County Court Sales site, listed by owner's last name with the property address, and linked from the county Property Tax Sale page.
Registration	Bidders register on GovEase before the sale. The county published releases for its recent sales require bidders to provide current proof of funding prior to the sale, and the 2025 auction flyer set registration from February 3, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, closing March 3, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Proof of funding is a documentation requirement, not a cash deposit.
Bidding and payment	Winning bidders under the county's published releases for its 2021 and 2022 sales had to pay before 4:00 p.m. on the day after the sale, and received a copy of the order confirming the sale; the 2021 release also allowed the highest bidder to request a deed from the tax attorney for an additional 100 dollars. The 2026 sale's own payment deadline was not read and is unverified for 2026.
Redemption	The county releases describe a one year redemption period from the order confirming the sale, with the purchaser repaid the bid plus interest at twelve percent per annum from the date of sale if the property is redeemed. The governing scale is 67-5-2701 in the state frame, which now tiers the period by years of delinquency for confirmations on or after July 1, 2026.
Unsold parcels	The pages read do not publish a separate resale channel for parcels Washington County takes in at the sale. Under the state frame they pass to the county under 67-5-2507 after redemption; this item is unverified on the county pages read.
Format	Online only: The sale is held online only through GovEase.com. The county's Property Tax Sale page announces the sale and links to the Washington County Court Sales site for the upcoming sale information and parcel list.
Selling office	Clerk and Master of Washington County

Sources: Washington County, Property Tax Sale. Washington County, tax sale press release (Clerk and Master Sarah Lawson). Washington County, 2025 Auction Flyer. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and parcels are pulled up to sale day.

Research Washington County parcels before you bid

A sale list gives you the parcels, the date, and the opening terms. It does not give you the owner, the value, or the rest of the picture: liens, foreclosure status, and parcel history. PropertyRadar is the data platform for that layer. It carries owner records, assessed and market values, foreclosure and tax data, and property history for parcels across Washington County, searchable by address, owner, or county, including parcels that never reach a sale list.

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How Tennessee delinquent tax sales work

The trustee collects first; the court sells. Property taxes become delinquent on March 1, and unpaid taxes are turned over for suit. The delinquent tax attorney files in chancery court, and the sale is a judicial sale conducted by the clerk and master under court order under TCA 67-5-2501, not a treasurer or auditor auction. The court may order an internet sale in lieu of public outcry under TCA 67-5-2501(a)(1), and several counties in this set sell online.
The government opens the bidding on every parcel. Under TCA 67-5-2501(a)(2) and TCA 67-5-2506, the clerk bids the amount of the judgment, the delinquent taxes with interest, penalties, costs and fees, on behalf of the tax entities prosecuting the suit, whenever no other bidder offers the same or a larger bid. The exception is a parcel the legislative body has flagged for environmental risk or as a nonconforming parcel, where the clerk does not bid at all.
Confirmation starts both clocks. The clerk reports the sale to the court within five business days, and the right of possession and the redemption clock both run from the entry of the order confirming the sale under TCA 67-5-2503(a). What the purchaser eventually receives as a title document varies by county: some counties issue a clerk and master deed, and others, Shelby and Davidson among them, treat the recorded order confirming sale itself as the title document. The county page states which document its sales produce.
Redemption is tiered by delinquency, and the scale changed in 2026. The court sets the redemption period for each parcel before the sale, and it is never more than one year. For orders confirming a sale entered on or after July 1, 2026, Public Chapter 971 sets the period at one year where the taxes were delinquent three years or less, and ninety days where they were delinquent more than three years; the thirty day period for property shown to be vacant or abandoned continues unchanged. Orders entered before July 1, 2026 keep the older scale. Redemption pays the purchaser interest at 12 percent per year on the entire purchase price under TCA 67-5-2701(b).
Unsold parcels vest in the tax entities and come back through the county. A parcel that draws no bid at the judgment amount is bid in for the tax entities. The county later resells the parcels it acquired under TCA 67-5-2507 as amended in 2024, with no minimum bid by default and published lists of properties for sale. In Shelby County the resale channel is the Shelby County Land Bank; in most other counties it is the county's own surplus sale process, and each county page names the channel its county actually runs.

How bidding works in Washington County

Registration is on GovEase, in advance of the sale. The county releases for its 2021 and 2022 sales required each bidder to register at GovEase and provide current proof of funding prior to the sale, and the 2025 flyer ran registration from February 3 to March 3, 2025. Whether the 2026 registration repeated the proof of funding requirement word for word was not read; it is unverified for 2026.

The redemption clock is a property of the parcel, not of the sale. Under the 2026 scale, a parcel whose taxes were delinquent more than three years redeems in ninety days, while a recently delinquent parcel in the same sale carries a full year. Most inventory that reaches a tax sale has been delinquent for years, so most parcels in a Tennessee sale now run on the short clock. The period the court set is written in the sale documents for each parcel; read it before pricing the wait.
Twelve percent runs on the whole price. Because redemption interest accrues on the entire purchase price, the redemption outcome is simple to model: price plus 12 percent a year for the time actually held. There is no premium split and no stepped percentage to defend. What needs defending is the opening judgment bid, because every dollar above it is your money at the same rate but with the parcel risk attached.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Washington County	No cash deposit is published. The functional equivalent is GovEase registration with current proof of funding provided before the sale, per the county's published releases for its recent sales. Proof of funding documents the ability to pay; it is not money handed over in advance.
Payment, Washington County	Under the county's published releases for its 2021 and 2022 GovEase sales, the winning bidder had to pay before 4:00 p.m. on the day after the sale and then received a copy of the order confirming the sale; the 2021 release adds that the highest bidder could request a deed from the tax attorney for an additional 100 dollars, to be prepared after the redemption period. The 2026 sale payment deadline itself was not read on an official page and is unverified for 2026.
What is sold	The property itself, sold under court order, but possession and title wait on redemption. Until the redemption period expires, the purchaser holds the right to be repaid with interest, or to take title if nobody redeems. There is no lien certificate stage in Tennessee.
The opening bid	Made by the clerk, not the market. Under TCA 67-5-2501(a)(2) and TCA 67-5-2506 the clerk bids the amount of the judgment, the delinquent taxes with interest, penalties, costs and fees, for the tax entities prosecuting the suit, whenever no other bidder offers the same or a larger bid. Every public bid starts from that floor.
Redemption money	The redemptioner first pays the clerk the total delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and court costs, plus interest on the entire purchase price paid by the purchaser at 12 percent per year, accruing from the purchaser's payment date to the motion to redeem (TCA 67-5-2701(b)). The rate runs on the whole price, not on a part of it.
Redemption periods, current law	Set by the court for each parcel before the sale and never more than one year. For orders confirming a sale entered on or after July 1, 2026: one year where the period of delinquency is three years or less, ninety days where it is more than three years, and thirty days for property shown to be vacant or abandoned. Orders entered before July 1, 2026 keep the prior scale of one year, one hundred eighty days and ninety days by delinquency span.
The title document	What issues after redemption expires unredeemed depends on the county: a clerk and master deed in some counties, a decree confirming sale in others, and in Shelby and Davidson the recorded order confirming sale itself serves as the title document. A tax sale title is not title insurance; surviving interests and the quiet title step are the buyer's homework.
Unsold parcels	A parcel that draws no bid at the judgment amount is bid in for the tax entities prosecuting the suit. The county later resells acquired parcels under TCA 67-5-2507 as amended in 2024, with no minimum bid by default and a published list of properties for sale under TCA 67-5-2511. That resale list is the year round leftover channel.

Unsold parcels: county acquired, no published resale channel

Washington County publishes its tax sale and its court sales information, but no land bank and no standing surplus list for tax sale parcels the county acquires appears on the pages read. Under 67-5-2507 as rewritten in 2024, county acquired parcels are the county mayor's to sell, generally with no minimum bid unless county regulations require otherwise, on the county's published list of county owned parcels. Washington's own resale terms are unverified.

Before you bid

Read the confirmation order, not just the sale list. Your redemption period, your right of possession, and your title document all come from the order confirming the sale. The sale list tells you what sold; the order tells you what you bought.
Expect cash discipline on the county's clock. Tennessee sales settle in cash or certified funds on the schedule the court sets, which in some counties is measured in days, not weeks. Davidson County requires the balance by cashier's check at noon on the Friday of its sale week. Arrive with funds arranged, not with a plan to arrange them.
Check for cancelled dates before you travel. Court calendar sales move. Davidson County cancelled four dated sales in the fall of 2026 and its next sale is January 20, 2027; several counties in this set had published no 2026 date at all when these pages were checked. The clerk and master's current schedule is the only live word.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your resale or hold value to the highest bid you can pay, with the costs shown.

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New York tax sales · Florida tax deed sales · Texas tax sales · Pennsylvania tax sales · Georgia tax sales · North Carolina tax foreclosure sales · Ohio tax foreclosure sales · Illinois tax lien sales · Michigan tax foreclosure sales · Arizona tax lien sales · California tax defaulted property sales · Colorado tax lien sales · South Carolina tax sales · Indiana tax lien sales