By participating in the auction, the purchaser assumes all risks related to the property, including its condition, title, location, and marketability. Each property at the tax sale is sold “AS IS.” Purchasers will receive a certificate of sale as required by law.

If the Collector later declares a tax sale for a specific property invalid, the purchaser of the tax sale certificate will receive a refund of the amount paid. However, they will not be entitled to any redemption interest, nor will they be reimbursed for attorney fees, title searches, or any other associated costs.

The County will offer tax lien certificates for individual properties through an Internet-based sealed direct bid auction using the high bid premium method, as outlined in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Tax Property Article, Section 14-817. Please note that this is not a live, in-person auction. Properties will not be sold for less than the advertised price (taxes). Bidder/purchasers are required to pay the full advertised amount (taxes) plus any applicable high bid premium no later than the day following the tax sale.

All properties offered at tax sale will be sold in full (Section 14-814). When sold, the County's lien on the property transfers to the winning bidder/purchaser (Section 14-817).

A Tax Sale does not automatically convey title to a purchaser; there are legal procedures that must be satisfied before becoming the owner of an auctioned property. The current owner may redeem by paying the taxes owed. Until the Tax Sale purchaser ultimately forecloses and has the deed issued to the Tax Sale purchaser, the current owner maintains ownership of the property.

ALL TAX SALE BIDDERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING STEPS BEFORE BEING PERMITTED TO BID IN THE AUCTION:

All bidders must complete the following steps before being allowed to bid in the auction:

1. **Registration**:

- All bidders must register on the tax sale website: https://taxsale.princegeorgescountymd.gov.

- Please note that mail-in or email registrations will not be accepted.

- Registration will open on April 11, 2025, and close on April 25, 2025.

- All registration steps, including uploading an IRS W-9 form, must be completed by 5:00 p.m. EST on April 25, 2025.

2. **Payment**:

- A non-refundable registration fee of $150.00 and a deposit of $1,000 must be paid via ACH debit. The registration fee will not be applied to the amount owed for certificates.

The deposit will be applied to the amount owed for certificates or refunded if no certificates are awarded.

- All payments must be made in USD (United States Dollars).

3. **Bank Account Requirements**:

- Enter a valid bank account from which only your registration fee and deposit will be debited.

- All bidders must ensure that they have sufficient funds to cover any successful bids, which must be paid at the close of the auction via wire transfer or cashier's check.

4. **Confirmation**:

After processing your registration fees, each registrant will receive a confirmation email containing a bidder number.

- Once you have uploaded your signed W-9 form, you will receive another email confirming that your registration is complete.

5. **Terms Acceptance**:

- Bidders must accept all terms outlined in the “Tax Sale Information and Procedures” document.

All bids must be submitted through the website. Bidding will open on May 5, 2025. During the advertisement period, properties will be removed from the list on a weekly basis as payments are received from taxpayers. The final update on the website will take place after 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 9, 2025. A notification will be displayed on the website indicating that the final update has been completed.

Certificates will be awarded to the highest bidders on May 12, 2025, based on the batch listings available on the tax sale website. Batches are subgroups of the advertised list of properties that help organize tax certificates for bid submission. Each tax certificate within a batch is offered independently of the others in that same batch, and a unique closing time will be established for each batch.

The certificates will be organized into batches, with accounts awarded to the highest bidders for each sale. The closing times for the first three batches of the Public Tax Sale Auction are as follows:

- The first batch will close at 10:00 a.m. EST.

- The second batch will close at 12:00 p.m. EST.

- The third batch, which includes accounts without improvements (land only), will close at 2:00 p.m. EST.

All times are on May 12, 2025.

Bids can be submitted as either a dollar amount or a bid factor, which is a percentage of the property's assessed value. For instance, a bid factor of 0.46 means that the bidder is offering 46% of the assessed value of the property.

All bids must be made in good faith. Bidders are responsible for all bids placed, whether intentional or not, and once submitted, bids cannot be withdrawn. If a successful bidder fails to make full payment for any or all of the certificates awarded in the tax sale, including any associated High Bid Premium, they will forfeit their certificates and may be prohibited from participating in future tax sales. In such cases, the certificates will be awarded to the next highest bidder.

All bidders are required to monitor their auction accounts to ensure that sufficient funds for successful bids are available for payment at the close of the auction.

Each successful bidder will receive an invoice via email by 4:00 p.m. EST on the day of the tax sale. Payment must be made in guaranteed funds, either through a wire transfer or a cashier's check, covering the total amount of awarded bids along with any associated high bid premium.

Cashier's checks should be delivered to the Prince George’s County Office of Finance at the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building, 1301 McCormick Drive, Suite 1100, Largo, MD, by 3:00 p.m. EST the day after the tax sale. Wire transfers must be completed according to the instructions provided in the invoice and must be credited to the County's bank account by 3:00 p.m. the day after the tax sale.

The County will confirm receipt of the payment with its bank and will send an email acknowledgment upon receiving the wire transfer.

Successful bidders are required to complete and submit IRS Form W-9, which is the Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. Additionally, bidders must fill out the Authorization for Electronic Funds Disbursement form to facilitate ACH payments. Please note that redemption payments will be sent via Electronic ACH, payments by check will take an additional six to eight weeks to process.

The County will provide tax sale purchasers with IRS Form 1099-INT, reflecting the interest income paid, as required by law.

HIGH BID PREMIUM

Pursuant to Tax Property Article 14-817(b), the County has established a high bid premium for all certificates sold at tax sales. This high bid premium is set at 20% of the amount by which the bid exceeds 40% of the property’s assessed value. The high bid premium must be paid at the same time the successful bidder pays the tax lien amount.

The County will refund the high bid premium, without interest, to the holder of the tax sale certificate either upon redemption of the property or to the plaintiff in an action to foreclose the right of redemption upon delivery of a tax sale deed for the property on which the premium was paid. However, the high bid premium is non-refundable after the period specified under Section 14-833 of the Tax Property Article for filing an action to foreclose the right of redemption, provided that there has been no redemption and no action has been filed within that time. Additionally, the high bid premium will not be refunded if a tax sale foreclosure suit is dismissed and there has been no redemption.

The tax sale purchaser and their attorney agree to the following terms:

1. Provide the Treasurer’s office with a staffed phone number that will be answered during business hours (not a voicemail).

2. Notify the Treasurer’s office when you need to add an attorney’s information to your accounts. You may add an attorney 7 months after the sale for principal residence accounts and 4 months after the sale for non-principal residence accounts.

3. Provide the party attempting to redeem the property from tax sale with an itemized list of the total amount due for legal fees and expenses within two business days of their request.

4. The tax sale purchaser and their attorney also agree to provide the redeeming party with a written release immediately upon receipt of the fees and expenses. A copy of this release must be emailed or faxed immediately to the Treasurer’s office at taxsale@co.pg.md.us or 301-952-4261.

5. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the purchaser being barred from future sales and accounts being redeemed without attorney fees being paid.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For inquiries about tax sale policies, please contact the Tax Sale Unit of the Prince George's County Treasurer’s Office at 301-952-3948 or via email at taxsale@co.pg.md.us.

Updated 3/31/2025.

All bids must be made in good faith. All bids placed, whether intentional or not, are the responsibility of the bidder and may not be withdrawn. Should a successful bidder not make full payment for any or all of the certificates that are awarded in the tax sale, including any associated High Bid Premium, they will not be awarded any certificates and they may be prohibited from participating in future tax sales. The certificates will be awarded to the next highest bidder. No budgets will be established for the purpose of determining the maximum amount allowable for the purchase of certificates. All bidders are required to monitor their auction account to ensure funds for successful bids are available for payment at the close of the auction. Please be aware that your information provided may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA).

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