Prince George's County
BIDDING RULES
THE TAX SALE
The tax sale is open to the public. PROSPECTIVE BIDDERS SHOULD INVESTIGATE THE PROPERTIES PRIOR TO BIDDING. There is no warranty, expressed or implied, that a property has a marketable title, that it contains the area of land described therein, that the property does not contain faults that would be fatal to tax sale foreclosure, or that the true market value of the property bears any relationship to the assessment stated therein. The purchaser agrees to assume all risks regarding these and all other matters pertaining to the property, its condition, title, location, or marketability, and each and every property at the tax sale is sold “AS IS”. Purchasers will be entitled to a certificate of sale as required by law.
In the event a tax sale of a particular property is subsequently invalidated by the Collector, the tax sale purchaser will receive a refund of the amount paid at Tax Sale, but will receive NO redemption interest, or reimbursement of attorney fees, title search, or other costs.
The County shall offer tax lien certificates on individual properties via an Internet-based sealed direct bid auction using the high bid premium method as provided for in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Tax Property Article, Section 14-817. This is NOT a live-in-person auction. No property will be sold for less than the advertised price (taxes). No later than the day following the tax sale, the bidder/purchaser is required to pay the full amount advertised (taxes) plus any high bid premium, if applicable.
Each parcel of property offered at tax sale will be sold as an entirety (Section 14-814). When sold, the County’s lien on the property passes to the 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 completely 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 PRIOR TO BEING PERMITTED TO BID IN THE AUCTION:
- All bidders must register on the tax sale website: https://taxsale.princegeorgescountymd.gov
- No mail-in or email registrations will be accepted. Registration will begin on April 12, 2024, and end on April 26, 2024. All steps in the registration process, including uploading an IRS W-9 form, must be completed by 5:00 p.m. EST on April 26, 2024.
- Each registrant will receive a confirmation email with a bidder number. After you upload your W-9, another email will confirm that your registration is complete.
- Pay a $150.00 registration fee and a $1,000 deposit via ACH Debit. The registration fee is non-refundable and 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. Payment in USD (United States Dollars) is required.
- Enter a valid bank account from which only your registration fee and deposit will be debited. All bidders are required to ensure funds for all successful bids are paid at the close of the auction by wire or cashier’s check.
- Accept all terms in the “Tax Sale Information and Procedures.”
All bids shall be submitted on the website. Bids can be submitted beginning May 6, 2024. During the advertisement period, properties will be removed from the list weekly as payments are received from taxpayers. The final update on the website will occur after 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 10, 2024. There will be a notation on the website indicating the final update has been completed.
Certificates will be awarded to the highest bidder on May 13, 2024, in accordance with the batch listings posted on the tax sale website. Batches are subgroups of the advertised list of properties that organize tax certificates to facilitate bid submission. Each tax certificate in each Batch is offered independently of every other tax certificate in that batch. A unique closing time is established for each batch.
Certificates will be grouped into batches; the accounts will be awarded to the highest bidder of each sale. The first batch of the Public Auction will close at 10:00 a.m. EST. The second batch will close at 12:00 p.m. EST. The third batch (accounts without improvements/ land only) will close at 2:00 p.m. EST. Acceptance of bids for the final batch ends at 2:00 p.m. EST on May 13, 2024.
Bids may be submitted as a dollar value or in the form of a bid factor (a percentage of the assessed value). For example, a bid factor of .46 would indicate that the bidder is bidding .46 times the assessed value of the property.
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. 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.
Each successful bidder will receive an invoice via email by 4:00 p.m. EST on the day of the tax sale. Guaranteed funds in the form of a wire transfer or cashier’s check must be received for payment of the total amount of awarded bids plus any associated high bid premium. Cashier’s checks must be delivered to the Prince George’s County Office of Finance at 1301 McCormick Drive, Suite 1100, Largo, MD, by 3:00 p.m. EST the day following the tax sale. Wire transfers must be sent according to the instructions provided in the invoice and must be received in the County’s bank account by 3:00 p.m. the day following the tax sale. The County will confirm with its bank the receipt of the payment. The County will send an e-mail confirmation acknowledging receipt of the wire transfer.
Successful bidders are required to complete and return IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number, and Certification. Bidders must also complete an Authorization for Electronic Funds Disbursement form for ACH payments. Redemption payments will be sent via Electronic ACH. No check payments will be issued for redemption payments.
The County will provide tax sale purchasers with IRS form 1099-INT and 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 sale. This high bid premium is 20% of the amount by which the bid exceeds 40% of the property’s assessed value. The high bid premium is due and payable at the 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 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 for which the high bid premium was paid. The high bid premium is not refundable after the time required (under Section 14-833 of the Tax-Property Article) for the filing of an action to foreclose the right of redemption, if there has been no redemption and if an action to foreclose the right of redemption has not been filed within that time. In addition, the high bid premium will not be refunded in the event a tax sale foreclosure suit is dismissed, and there has been no redemption.
The tax sale purchaser and his/her attorney agree to the following:
1. Provide the Treasurer’s office with the number of a manned telephone (a phone that will be answered during business hours by a staff member, not voicemail).
2. Notify the Treasurer’s office when you need to add an attorney’s information to your accounts. You can add an attorney 7 months after the sale for the principal residence and 4 months after the sale for non-principal residence accounts.
3. Provide to the party attempting to redeem the property from tax sale an itemized list of the full amount due for legal fees and expenses within two business days of the request.
4. The tax sale purchaser and his/her 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 shall be emailed or faxed immediately to the Treasurer’s office at taxsale@co.pg.md.us or 301-952-4261. Failure of the purchaser or his/her attorney to comply with these requirements may result in the purchaser being barred from future sales.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Questions regarding the tax sale policies may be directed to the Tax Sale Unit of the Prince George's County Treasurer’s Office @ 301-952-3948 or by email at taxsale@co.pg.md.us.
Updated 3/6/2024.