Legal Definitions - tax sale

Definition: Tax sale is a way for the government to collect unpaid taxes by auctioning off a person's property or liens on their property. This usually happens after the taxpayer has fallen behind on their tax payments.

The most common type of tax sale is when the government sells the actual property in a public auction. The money from the sale is used to pay off the unpaid taxes, and any remaining money goes back to the taxpayer or their creditors. The taxpayer usually has a short period of time to pay the buyer the amount they paid at the auction and regain ownership of the property.

Another type of tax sale is called a tax lien sale. In this type of sale, the government sells a lien on the property to a creditor. The property owner then has to pay periodic installments and interest to the lien holder to cover the unpaid taxes.

For example, if John owns a house and falls behind on his property taxes, the government may hold a tax sale to collect the unpaid taxes. They could sell John's house at a public auction, and the money from the sale would go towards paying off the unpaid taxes. If there is any money left over, it would go back to John or his creditors.

Another example would be if Sarah owns a piece of land and falls behind on her property taxes. The government could hold a tax lien sale and sell a lien on Sarah's property to a creditor. Sarah would then have to make periodic payments to the creditor to cover the unpaid taxes.

These examples illustrate how tax sales work and how they are used by the government to collect unpaid taxes.