Marin County, California

Tax Deed256,400 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

Up until 5pm the last business day before the sale (5-year delinquency threshold)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer

Governing statutestate default

California Revenue & Taxation Code, Div. 1, Pt. 6

Notes

California tax-deed county with infrequent sales. Marin Department of Finance sells tax-defaulted land (5+ years) online via PublicSurplus (publicsurplus.com marintax org). County pages have stated no public auction currently scheduled for stretches of 2025–2026 — confirm active status before treating as a live program. 8% buyer’s premium has been associated with PublicSurplus Marin tax sales. Redemption allowed until close of business the day before auction.

Auction logistics

Format

Online (when scheduled)

Frequency

Irregular / infrequent (not reliably annual); check county page — often no sale currently scheduled

Platform

PublicSurplus — County of Marin Tax Sale ↗

Deposit rules

Register on PublicSurplus and post the refundable bid deposit required for that sale (credit-card deposit process per PublicSurplus; amount set per auction notice). Buyer’s premium may apply. Confirm deposit on the live auction listing.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

A California tax deed conveys free of most liens existing before the sale, but federal tax liens survive (IRS 120-day post-sale redemption right), as do taxes/assessments that become payable after the sale.

Quiet title

Not a statutory prerequisite, but practically required for title insurance on California tax-deed purchases (commonly 3–6 months; many insurers wait ~1 year after recording).

Deal maths for California

Assessment ratio: 1× of market value
Typical quiet title: $3,000–$7,000 · 9 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 401: property is assessed at full cash value, so the statutory ratio is 1.0.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Marin County Department of Finance — Tax Defaulted Land Sales ↗

Clerk of court

Marin County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk ↗

Property appraiser

Marin County Assessor — property search ↗

GIS / parcel map

MarinMap GIS parcel viewer ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

Novato

Relative affordability within Marin with biotech/employment access and more inventory flexibility than southern Marin

San Rafael / Canal–downtown edge

County employment core and multifamily demand supporting liquidity

Larkspur / Corte Madera SMART–Ferry corridor

Transit-oriented demand with extreme land scarcity supporting price resilience