Property tax foreclosure in Maryland

The property tax process in Maryland, step by step

1. Taxes become overdue

   Due July 1, overdue October 1

   Maryland property taxes are due July 1 and become overdue on October 1, when interest starts to run. If the home is your principal residence, you can usually pay in two halves, due by September 30 and December 31. Unpaid taxes are a lien on the property until they are paid.

   Md. Code, Tax-Prop. § 14-804

2. Final bill and legal notice

   At least 30 days before the sale is advertised

   The county collector must mail you a final bill warning that the property will be sold if the taxes are not paid within 30 days. The mailing must explain the tax sale process, the State Tax Sale Ombudsman, free housing counseling and the homeowners' property tax credit. Call the collector or the Ombudsman as soon as you get it.

   Md. Code, Tax-Prop. § 14-812

3. Homes that must or may be held back from the sale

   Before the tax sale

   The collector must hold back an owner-occupied home, or a home lived in by an heir of a deceased owner, if the total owed is less than $1,000. The collector must also hold back the home of anyone enrolled in the state Homeowner Protection Program, and counties may hold back homes of owners who are low-income, 65 or older, or disabled, or homes in a county payment program.

   Md. Code, Tax-Prop. § 14-811

4. The tax sale

   Date set by your county

   The county sells the tax lien, not the house, to the highest bidder at a public auction, and the buyer gets a certificate of sale. The certificate states the interest rate you must pay to redeem, which each county sets (often 6 percent and up to 14 percent a year). For owner-occupied homes, the rate cannot be more than 10 percent a year on certificates issued on or after January 1, 2026.

   Md. Code, Tax-Prop. §§ 14-817, 14-820

5. Redeem the home

   Any time until the court's judgment

   To redeem, you pay the collector the amount paid at the tax sale plus interest, any taxes the certificate holder paid, and limited costs. Before a foreclosure case is filed, costs are capped (for example, a title search of up to $250 and attorney fees of up to $500), and for an owner-occupied home, taxes that come due after the sale are not added to the redemption amount. You keep living in and owning the home while you can still redeem.

   Md. Code, Tax-Prop. §§ 14-827, 14-828, 14-833

6. Notices and the foreclosure case

   Owner-occupied: complaint no sooner than 9 months after the sale

   Before filing, the certificate holder must send you two notices by certified mail, and for an owner-occupied home the first one cannot go out until 7 months after the sale. The holder can then file a complaint in circuit court to foreclose your right of redemption, but must do so within 2 years of the certificate or the certificate becomes void. Once a case is filed, redeeming costs more because the holder's legal fees are added.

   Md. Code, Tax-Prop. §§ 14-820, 14-833

7. Judgment, deed, eviction and any surplus

   Surplus notice within 90 days after the deed

   If you do not redeem, the court's judgment gives the certificate holder full title, the collector issues a deed, and the new owner can get a writ of possession. If the winning bid was more than the taxes, interest, penalties and costs of sale, the collector pays that balance to the person entitled to it, and must tell the prior owner of record the amount and how to claim it within 90 days after delivering the deed. Each county must have a claim process that does not require a court order unless the payment is disputed.

   Md. Code, Tax-Prop. §§ 14-844, 14-818, 14-850

Common questions in Maryland