Sacramento County, California

Tax Deed1,611,231 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

IMPORTANT platform update vs older Bid4Assets-only notes: Sacramento County now directs bidders to sacramento.mytaxsale.com (Grant Street / RealAuction family). Does NOT sell tax lien certificates. Main sale last Monday in February; follow-up May/June. Next public auction scheduled February 2027 (check back January 2027 for list/terms). Buyers should research street/irrigation assessment liens that a tax deed may not clear; former owner/lienholder has one year to challenge sale validity.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Primary sale last Monday in February each year; follow-up sale typically second Monday in May (or May/June). Next: February 2027

Platform

MyTaxSale (Grant Street) — Sacramento County Deed Auction ↗

Deposit rules

Register at sacramento.mytaxsale.com with a $5,000 deposit. Deposit applies to winning bid; non-payment after winning forfeits deposit and bans bidder for 5 years. Non-winners refunded in ~5 business days. Payment in full within 5 business days via Grant Street; documentary transfer tax added at $0.55 per $500 of bid.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

A California tax deed conveys free of most prior encumbrances except those under R&T Code §3712, lis pendens, and undischarged federal IRS liens. County FAQs warn that foreclosed/unforeclosed street debt, irrigation assessments, and similar obligations may or may not be discharged — independent title research required.

Quiet title

Not a statutory prerequisite, but practically required — most title insurers in California won't insure a tax-deed property without a completed quiet title action (commonly 3-6 months, $3,000-$8,000+ in legal fees), and many won't insure until a year after the deed is recorded. County also recommends waiting one year before major improvements because of the one-year challenge window.

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

Sacramento County Finance Department — Tax Sale ↗

916-874-6621

Clerk of court

Sacramento County Clerk-Recorder (document recording / lien search) ↗

Property appraiser

Sacramento County Assessor — Parcel Viewer ↗

916-875-0700

GIS / parcel map

Sacramento County Assessor Parcel Viewer ↗

Areas trending up

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

Rancho Cordova

DOF: ~3.2% pop growth 2024–2025, 5th-fastest CA city over 30k; ~21% housing-unit growth 2019–2024 and strong labor-force gains — top Sacramento growth story into 2026

Elk Grove

Consistently cited as a Northern California growth leader with large new-development and retail expansion pipeline for 2025–2026

Natomas / North Sacramento job corridors

Employment-access submarkets capturing in-migration from coastal metros; active multifamily and single-family inventory relative to core downtown