Chittenden County, Vermont

Tax Lien170,851 residents

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

Sale typestate default

Tax Lien

Redemption periodstate default

1 year from sale (town may set differently by charter)

Investor returnstate default

Up to 12% per annum

Governing statutestate default

Vermont Statutes Title 32, Ch. 133

Notes

Vermont municipal (not county) tax-sale market. Towns and cities within Chittenden County (Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester, Essex, Williston, Winooski, Shelburne, etc.) each run their own collector’s tax sales under 32 V.S.A. Ch. 133 when warrants issue for substantial multi-year delinquencies. There is no county-wide tax auction calendar. Sale notices appear as local legal ads; each municipality sets date, place, and bidder rules. Research the specific town’s clerk/treasurer before assuming any Chittenden process applies countywide.

Auction logistics

Format

In-person municipal collector’s sale (varies by town)

Frequency

Set by each municipality when warrant thresholds are met; statutory notice typically includes multi-week publication plus owner notice — no single county calendar

Platform

Municipal tax collector / town clerk-treasurer (town-specific — e.g. Burlington Clerk/Treasurer) ↗

Deposit rules

Town-specific. Expect certified funds / cash per posted notice for deposit and balance; confirm with the selling municipality’s clerk or tax collector before attending. No statewide online bidder portal for Chittenden County.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Vermont tax sale conveys subject to statutory redemption and any interests preserved by statute or notice defects. Federal tax liens can survive. Municipal assessments and superior interests require independent title search per town.

Quiet title

Often needed for marketable title after a Vermont municipal tax sale, especially before resale or conventional financing; local counsel recommended.

Deal maths for Vermont

Assessment ratio: 1× of market value
Typical quiet title: $1,800–$5,000 · 5 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Vermont requires property to be listed at 100% of fair market value. The Department of Taxes publishes a Common Level of Appraisal for every town each year, measuring listed value against equalized fair market value, and a town's CLA is set to 100% in the year it reappraises. From FY26 a Statewide Adjustment — effectively the average level of appraisal for the whole state — is also applied to education tax rates.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Town/city tax collector or clerk-treasurer (municipal) — Chittenden has no county tax sale office ↗

802-865-7000

Clerk of court

Town clerk (records) / Chittenden Superior Court (if judicial confirmation arises) ↗

Property appraiser

Municipal listers / assessors (town-level assessment) ↗

GIS / parcel map

Municipal / regional GIS (e.g. Burlington / CCRPC parcel tools — confirm town) ↗

Areas trending up

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

Burlington waterfront / South End

Job and university adjacency with constrained lake-city inventory supporting resilient demand

South Burlington / Dorset Street corridor

Retail employment and suburban SF absorption adjacent to Burlington core

Williston / Taft Corners edge

Primary Chittenden growth node with logistics/retail jobs and new housing supply