Guide 07
12 min read · updated October 5, 2026
A California tax sale is a deed sale. When property taxes go unpaid long enough, the county tax collector sells the parcel itself at a tax-defaulted property auction, and the buyer receives a deed. Our records hold 1,286 upcoming California tax sales in 2 counties; the next is in Los Angeles County on October 17, 2026, with 1,252 parcels. The median opening bid across the California sales we hold is $15,351. The rules are in chapter 7 of part 6 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and this guide sets them out in the order a parcel meets them, each quoted from the statute.
California taxes unpaid on June 30 go into default on July 1, and after five years in default, or three for nonresidential commercial property, the county tax collector has the power to sell the parcel.
The clock starts on one date: "At 12:01 a.m. on July 1, the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs on real property except tax-defaulted property and possessory interests, which have not been paid shall by operation of law be declared in default." [1] The parcel is then tax-defaulted property. Nothing is sold yet, and the owner can redeem by paying the defaulted taxes with penalties.
Five years later the county can sell: "Five years or more, or three years or more in the case of nonresidential commercial property, after the property has become tax defaulted, the tax collector shall have the power to sell" [2]. The tax collector executes a notice when a parcel reaches that point [3], and "The notice shall be recorded with the county recorder." [4] The county must then try to sell within four years: "The tax collector shall attempt to sell tax-defaulted property, as provided in this chapter, within four years of the time that the property becomes subject to sale for nonpayment of taxes" [5].
California's tax default lists are the start of that clock, not a sale: the parcels on them cannot be bought until they reach a tax-defaulted property auction years later, and many are paid long before.
Every sale needs the board of supervisors' approval, every parcel has a minimum bid of at least the amount needed to redeem plus costs, and the sale is mailed and published at least three weeks ahead.
Approval. "A sale under this chapter shall take place only if approved by the board of supervisors." [6] The tax collector proposes the parcels and their minimum prices, and the board "shall by resolution either approve or disapprove the proposed sale" [7].
The minimum bid. "The minimum price at which property may be offered for sale pursuant to this chapter shall be an amount not less than the total amount necessary to redeem, plus costs and the outstanding balance of any property tax postponement loan" [8]. The amount to redeem is "(A) The amount of defaulted taxes. (B) Delinquent penalties and costs. (C) Redemption penalties. (D) A redemption fee." [9], so the opening bid on a parcel tracks its unpaid taxes, not its value. That is why the minimum on a home can be small next to what the home is worth, and why bidding on a desirable parcel can go far above it. One bidder is held to it: "The current owner of tax-defaulted property subject to sale under this chapter shall not purchase that property, directly or indirectly, at a price below the minimum price" [10].
The notices. Owners, lienholders and others with an interest are mailed: "Not less than 45 days nor more than 120 days before the proposed sale, the tax collector shall send notice of the proposed sale by certified mail with return receipt requested to the last known mailing address, if available, of parties of interest" [11]. The public notice follows: "The tax collector shall publish the notice of intended sale once a week for three successive weeks" [12], and "The publication shall be started not less than 21 days prior to the date of the sale." [13] For each parcel the notice gives "The minimum acceptable bid of the property to be sold." [14] If the home is the owner's residence, the tax collector must also "make a reasonable effort to contact in person, not more than 120 days or less than 10 days prior to the date of the sale, the owner-occupant of that property" [15].
The owner can redeem until the close of business on the last business day before the tax sale begins, and the day an online auction opens counts as the sale date even when bidding runs for several days.
This is the deadline that decides whether a parcel on the list is still there when bidding opens. "The right of redemption terminates at the close of business on the last business day prior to the commencement date of the tax sale." [16] And for an auction that runs over several days, the start is what counts: "The commencement of the tax sale constitutes the actual sale date regardless of auction conclusion." [17] An owner who misses it loses everything: "any person or entity with title of record to the property shall lose all rights in the property, including all legal and equitable interest therein" [18].
There is no redemption period after the sale. The five years of default are the redemption period, and it ends before the auction. Two events bring it back. "The right of redemption revives if the property is not sold." [19] It also revives when a buyer on deferred-payment terms fails to pay in full on time, as described below.
For a bidder, the practical result is that parcels can drop off the list in the last days before an auction, as owners or their lenders pay. Check the county's list again the day bidding opens.
California counties sell at public auction to the highest bidder, often online, every parcel is sold as is, and payment is due by the close of the auction unless the county allows a deposit and later balance.
The format. "All sales pursuant to this chapter shall be at public auction to the highest bidder" [20], apart from sealed-bid offers to neighbors described below, and the law allows "A public auction conducted by electronic media, including the Internet" [21]. Many counties now sell online. Los Angeles County's auction in our records runs online over several days, and other counties hold in-person auctions or sealed-bid sales; the notice of intended sale gives the place or web address. Anyone can bid: "Any person, regardless of any prior or existing lien on, claim to, or interest in, the property, may purchase at the sale." [22]
As is. "All property sold under this chapter is offered and sold as is." [23] The county is not liable for "Known or unknown conditions of this property, including, but not limited to, errors in the assessor’s records pertaining to improvement of the property." [24] A parcel described as a lot with a house can turn out to be a sliver of hillside, so look at it on the assessor's map and, where you can, in person.
Paying. "Unless otherwise specified by the tax collector, payment is due on or before the close of auction." [25] "The tax collector may require a person to submit a deposit" [26], as a condition of bidding or toward the price, announced before the sale. A county can instead sell on deferred terms, with "a deposit in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or 10 percent of the minimum bid price, whichever is greater" [27] and the balance due "within a period specified by the tax collector not to exceed 90 days from the date of the close of auction" [28]. Miss it and the deposit is gone: "Failure on the part of the successful bidder to consummate the sale within the period specified by the tax collector shall result in the forfeiture of the deposit and all rights he or she may have with respect to that property." [29] "The sale shall be deemed complete when full payment has been received by the tax collector." [30] Each county publishes its own terms, and they govern.
The tax collector's deed conveys title free of earlier encumbrances, mortgages included, except the ones section 3712 lists: later tax installments, some special assessments and bond liens, easements, recorded restrictions, offers of dedication and some federal tax liens.
"On receiving the full purchase price at any sale under this chapter, the tax collector shall, without charge, execute a deed to the purchaser." [31] The deed is strong evidence: "Except as against actual fraud, the deed duly acknowledged or proved is conclusive evidence of the regularity of all proceedings from the assessment of the assessor to the execution of the deed, both inclusive." [32]
The rule on liens is one sentence and a list. "The deed conveys title to the purchaser free of all encumbrances of any kind existing before the sale, except:" [33] The survivors that matter most to a bidder:
A private mortgage or deed of trust is not on the list, so the deed clears it; its holder's remedy is a claim on the excess proceeds. Mello-Roos special taxes and assessment district liens are common in newer subdivisions, so ask the county what special taxes the parcel carries before you bid. Tax deed, tax lien and redeemable deed sales explains how California's deed sale differs from a lien sale.
Whatever a parcel sells for above the taxes and costs is excess proceeds, and parties of interest can claim it for one year after the tax deed is recorded.
"Any party of interest in the property may file with the county a claim for the excess proceeds, in proportion to that person’s interest held with others of equal priority in the property at the time of sale, at any time prior to the expiration of one year following the recordation of the tax collector’s deed to the purchaser." [40] The former owner and lienholders are the usual claimants, and the surplus on a valuable home can be large. The statute polices the people who buy these claims: a party "may assign their right to claim the excess proceeds only by a dated, written instrument that explicitly states that the right to claim the excess proceeds is being assigned" [41]. Money nobody claims in time can go to the county: "any excess proceeds not claimed under Section 4675 may be transferred to the county general fund of the county by the county auditor" [42].
A parcel that draws no acceptable bid can be reoffered within 90 days, at a lower minimum with the board's approval, and parcels too small or awkward to use on their own can be sold by sealed bid to the neighbors.
Reoffers. The notice of intended sale warns that "any parcel remaining unsold may be reoffered within a 90-day period" [43], and with the board's approval the tax collector can "offer that same property or those interests at the same or next scheduled sale at a minimum price that the tax collector deems appropriate in light of the most current assessed valuation of that property" [44]. A parcel nobody wants still has to be tried again: "If there are no acceptable bids at the attempted sale, the tax collector shall attempt to sell the property at intervals of no more than six years until the property is sold." [45]
Sealed bids. For a parcel unusable on its own, "the tax collector may offer the parcel, at a minimum bid, to owners of contiguous parcels" [46], and "Sealed bid sale procedures shall be used when offers are made pursuant to subdivision (b) or subdivision (c), and the property shall be sold to the highest eligible bidder." [47] If you own the lot next door, watch for these.
Postponements. A county can move an auction by announcing it at the sale, and "No other notice of the postponed public auction need be given if the date for the new time, date, and place is within seven days of the time originally fixed for the sale." [48] The auction calendar lists the county tax sales announced across the country, California's among them.
A California tax sale can be challenged only after a petition to the board of supervisors within one year of the deed, and the board can rescind a sale that should not have happened, refunding the buyer with interest.
The window is short. A court case is possible only if "The person commencing the proceeding has first petitioned the board of supervisors pursuant to Section 3731 within one year of the date of the execution of the tax collector’s deed." [49] The board's own power to undo a sale is narrow too: "When a tax deed to a purchaser of property sold by the tax collector pursuant to this part is recorded and it is determined that the property should not have been sold, the sale may be rescinded by the board of supervisors" [50], provided the property has not passed to a bona fide purchaser. A buyer whose sale is rescinded "is entitled to a refund of the amount paid as the purchase price plus interest at the county pool apportioned rate" [51]. After that year, the deed's conclusive effect leaves little to attack but fraud. Ask a title insurer what it needs before it will insure a particular parcel.
California's upcoming sales, county by county, are on California tax deed sales, with Los Angeles County's on its county page.
When property taxes stay unpaid, the parcel goes into default on July 1. After five years in default, or three for nonresidential commercial property, the county tax collector gains the power to sell. With the board of supervisors' approval, the collector mails and publishes notice and auctions the parcel, usually online, to the highest bidder at or above a minimum bid of at least the amount needed to redeem. The winner pays by the close of the auction, or on deferred terms if the county allows, and receives a tax collector's deed.
No. The redemption period comes before the sale: the owner can pay off the defaulted taxes at any time until the close of business on the last business day before the tax sale begins. On a multi-day online auction the sale date is the day bidding opens, so the right ends before then. The right revives if the property does not sell, or if a buyer on deferred terms fails to pay in full.
At least the total amount needed to redeem the parcel, meaning the defaulted taxes, penalties, redemption penalties and fee, plus the costs of the sale and any property tax postponement loan. The notice of intended sale states each parcel's minimum. If a parcel draws no acceptable bid, the tax collector can reoffer it at a lower minimum with the board of supervisors' approval.
Generally yes. Revenue and Taxation Code section 3712 conveys title free of all encumbrances existing before the sale except those it lists: later tax and assessment installments, the lien of a taxing agency that objected to the sale, some special assessments and bond liens, easements, separately held water rights and recorded restrictions, offers of dedication, and federal tax liens that federal law does not discharge. A private mortgage or deed of trust is not among the exceptions.
Parties of interest in the property at the time of the sale, such as the former owner and lienholders, in proportion to their interests. A claim must be filed with the county before one year has passed since the tax collector's deed was recorded. A right to claim can be assigned only by a dated written instrument that says so, and unclaimed proceeds can go to the county general fund.
Many are. The Revenue and Taxation Code allows public auctions by electronic media, including the internet, and Los Angeles County's auction in our records runs online over several days. Counties also use sealed-bid sales for parcels offered to neighbors, and some hold in-person auctions; the notice of intended sale gives the place or web address.
Only within narrow limits. The board of supervisors can rescind a sale that should not have happened, refunding the price with interest, as long as the property has not passed to a bona fide purchaser. Anyone challenging the sale in court must first petition the board within one year of the tax collector's deed, and the deed is otherwise conclusive evidence that the proceedings were regular, except against actual fraud.
General information about California procedure, not legal advice. Each county tax collector sets its own sale terms, and statutes change; confirm with the tax collector before bidding.