Arlington County, Virginia

Tax Deed239,807 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

Right to redeem up until the court confirms the sale, not after

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer once confirmed

Governing statutestate default

Code of Virginia Title 58.1, Ch. 39

Notes

Virginia independent-county equivalent (Arlington County). Judicial tax sales of delinquent real estate are administered online-only by Taxing Authority Consulting Services (TACS) under county contract — not a lien-certificate market. TACS emails registered bidders roughly three weeks before each auction. High collection rates mean inventory is infrequent versus large rural counties. Owner may redeem until court confirms the sale.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Periodic / as needed — TACS notifies registered bidders ~3 weeks ahead; not a fixed monthly mass sale

Platform

TACS — Arlington County tax sales (taxva.com / online auction platforms) ↗

Deposit rules

Register and gain TACS bidder approval before auction. Deposit, premium, and payment window are set in each sale advertisement. Confirm current platform URL (TACS has used multiple online auction fronts). Purchasers generally must not owe delinquent local taxes.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Proper judicial tax sale after confirmation generally cuts off most junior liens; federal tax liens can survive. Dense condo/HOA environment — search association and municipal liens carefully.

Quiet title

Court confirmation is primary; quiet title may still be used for residual defects, especially on condo units.

Deal maths for Virginia

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

Va. Const. art. X, § 2: "All assessments of real estate and tangible personal property shall be at their fair market value, to be ascertained as prescribed by law." There is no classification and no ratio below full value, except the agricultural, horticultural, forest and open-space use-value deferral the same section authorises.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Arlington County — Upcoming Tax Sales / Treasurer ↗

Clerk of court

Arlington County Circuit Court Clerk (land records) ↗

Property appraiser

Arlington County Real Estate Assessments ↗

GIS / parcel map

Arlington County GIS / property map ↗

Areas trending up

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

National Landing / Pentagon City–Crystal City

Amazon HQ2 and Metro access driving job density and multifamily/condo liquidity

Ballston–Virginia Square corridor

Orange/Silver Line office and residential core with resilient renter demand

Columbia Pike revitalization strip

Relative value versus north Arlington with continued mixed-use redevelopment