Behind on Property Taxes in Vermont?

Back Taxes in Vermont: Your Options

This page explains what happens in Vermont when property taxes on land go unpaid. In Vermont, towns and cities bill and collect property tax, so due dates and some charges are set locally. The page covers interest and the delinquent tax commission, the repayment plan a town must offer, the tax sale, and the one year redemption period. It is written for owners of vacant land, including people who inherited land with back taxes.

Back taxes do not stop you from selling. Until the redemption period after a tax sale ends, you can still pay what is owed, and you can sell the land and have the taxes paid from the sale at closing. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your own case, ask your town treasurer or tax collector or a Vermont attorney.

When Vermont property taxes become delinquent

Vermont property taxes are billed and collected by the town or city where the land is. The Vermont Department of Taxes says all property tax payments go directly to the town, and questions about what is owed go to the town too.

Each town sets its own due dates, and many split the bill into installments. A tax not paid by the town's due date is overdue. Check your bill or ask the town treasurer for your dates.

Penalties and interest on late taxes

Vermont caps what towns can charge, but each town decides by vote what it actually charges. If a town has voted to collect interest, overdue taxes can bear interest of up to 1 percent a month for the first three months and up to 1.5 percent a month after that. A part of a month counts as a full month (32 V.S.A. 5136).

Towns can also charge a commission on delinquent taxes. Voters set the rate, and it cannot exceed 8 percent of the tax collected (32 V.S.A. 1674).

If the town moves toward a tax sale, the costs of the warrant, notices, advertising and the sale are added. Ask the collector for a payoff amount.

What the county does next

In Vermont the town, not the county, collects delinquent taxes. Vermont does not sell tax lien certificates. A town collector can start the tax sale process when the taxes have been delinquent for more than one year and the owner owes at least $1,500 (32 V.S.A. 5252(a)).

Before a sale, the town must try to consult with you and offer a written, reasonable repayment plan. It considers your income if you share it, your payment history, the amount owed, how long it has been owed, and the reason. The town can go to a tax sale only if you turn the plan down, do not answer within 30 days, or miss a payment under the plan (32 V.S.A. 5252(c)).

If the town goes ahead, the collector records a levy with the town clerk, advertises the sale three weeks in a row in a local newspaper, posts notice in town, and mails you notice by certified mail at least 30 days before the sale. Mortgage and lien holders get notice too (32 V.S.A. 5252). At the auction the land is sold to pay the taxes, costs and fees. If you ask in writing at least 24 hours before, and provide the required subdivision approvals, only a portion of the land may be sold (32 V.S.A. 5254).

Redemption: getting your land back

After a Vermont tax sale, the buyer does not get a deed right away. The owner, a mortgage holder or a lien holder has one year from the day of the sale to redeem (32 V.S.A. 5260).

To redeem, you pay the collector, or the town clerk if the collector is gone, the amount the land sold for plus interest of 1 percent a month or part of a month from the sale date. The town then pays the buyer. Between 90 and 120 days before the year ends, the collector must send you a written notice by certified mail and post it in town (32 V.S.A. 5260).

If the year passes without redemption, the collector signs a deed to the buyer (32 V.S.A. 5261).

Your options if you are behind

Vermont builds in time to fix a delinquency. Use it. These are the common choices. Ask the town which ones fit your account.

• Pay in full. Ask the town treasurer or collector for a payoff amount.
• Accept the repayment plan the town must offer before any tax sale, and make every payment on time (32 V.S.A. 5252(c)).
• Redeem within one year after a tax sale (32 V.S.A. 5260).
• Sell the land. We make a cash offer within 24 hours, charge no fees or commissions, pay closing costs and can close in as few as 7 days. The back taxes are paid at closing from the sale. Get a cash offer for your Vermont land.

Selling land with back taxes in Vermont

Unpaid taxes and any recorded levy show up in the town land records, so a buyer's title search will find them. That does not stop a sale. At closing, the delinquent taxes, interest, commission and costs are paid from the sale price, and you get the rest.

We buy land with back taxes, liens and title issues, land with no road access, and land from heirs and estates. If a tax sale is scheduled or has already happened, tell us the dates. The taxes or the redemption amount must be paid before the deadline.

Where to check your tax status

Call or visit the town treasurer, town clerk or delinquent tax collector in the town where the land is. The Vermont Department of Taxes property page explains that property taxes are paid to the town and that questions about amounts owed go to the town. Interest rates, commissions, due dates and sale practice vary by town, so confirm with the office.