How to find tax-delinquent property leads in Washington

When taxes are due and delinquent

Washington property taxes are due to the county treasurer on or before April 30 and are delinquent after that date. When the year's tax is $50 or more it can be paid in two halves, and the second half is due on or before October 31 and is delinquent after that (RCW 84.56.020).

Delinquent taxes accrue interest, computed monthly from the date of delinquency until paid, and some property also owes penalties (RCW 84.56.020). The tax is a lien on the property from January 1 of the year it is levied until paid (RCW 84.60.020).

The three-year point

Three years after the date of delinquency, if no certificate of delinquency has been issued, the county treasurer must issue certificates of delinquency for all years' taxes, interest and costs (RCW 84.64.050). The treasurer files them with the court clerk and, with legal assistance from the county prosecuting attorney, forecloses the tax liens in the county's name.

So where no certificate has been issued, three years after the date of delinquency the statute requires the treasurer to issue certificates of delinquency and proceed to foreclosure. A property eligible for tax deferral under chapter 84.38 RCW can't be sold by the treasurer.

The tax-title sale

After foreclosure, the treasurer sells the property to the highest and best bidder for cash. The minimum bid is the taxes, interest and costs owed (RCW 84.64.080). Notice of the sale is posted for ten successive days in three public places in the county, and the treasurer may hold the auction online (RCW 84.64.225).

Before the sale, the owner can redeem the property by paying the amounts the statute lists (RCW 84.64.070). King County, for example, starts tax foreclosure once any tax becomes three full years delinquent and holds an online auction each year.

Where to find tax-delinquent property

County tax rolls are public records kept in the county treasurer's office (RCW 84.56.010). Delinquency is checked county by county, with the treasurer of the county where the property is.

BridgeLeads reads delinquent-tax data from each connected county's tax records and shows the balance owed and the oldest unpaid year, so you can see how close a property is to the three-year point.

Where BridgeLeads reads tax-delinquent filings today

The live list changes as counties are connected; each county page says which sources it reads.

• King County
• Snohomish County