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Sacramento County, California — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → california. This page covers how Sacramento County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-01.

C0. Identity

  • County seat: Sacramento · Population: ~1.59 million (most populous county in the Sacramento metro)
  • Recording unit: county (one of California’s 58 counties)
  • FIPS: 06067
  • Parent legal framework: california — California is a tax-deed, administrative-sale, pre-sale-redemption-only state, already Tyler-compliant via RTC §§ 4674–4676.
  • Lead office: Sacramento County Department of Finance, Tax Collection and Licensing (the county does not have a separately-titled “Treasurer-Tax Collector”; the Department of Finance performs the tax-collector function). — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html

C1. Local Tax Sale → framework: california

  • Conducts own sale? Yes — the county Department of Finance conducts its own tax-defaulted-property public auction (no lien certificates are sold; California is a tax-deed state). — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Platform: Grant Street Group online auction at https://sacramento.mytaxsale.com (bidder support (877) 274-9320, Mon–Fri 5am–5pm PT). (Note: Sacramento ran its first online sale via Bid4Assets in 2019; the current/official platform is Grant Street’s mytaxsale.com.) — https://sacramento.mytaxsale.com ; https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Calendar: typically two sales per year — a primary sale on the last Monday in February and a follow-up/re-offer sale on the second Monday in May or June. Next known sale: May 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM (bidding registration opened April 20, 2026; deposit deadline May 8, 2026). — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Rate within statutory range: N/A — no investor interest rate (tax-deed state, no certificates). Pre-sale redemption penalties are the statewide RTC § 4103 figures on california.
  • Registration & deposit: all bidders register online; $5,000 refundable deposit required (applied to the purchase price if you win; non-winning deposits refunded in ~5 business days). Failure to pay the winning bid forfeits the deposit and bans the bidder for 5 years. — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Bidder requirements / payment terms: vesting (how title will be held) is set at registration and cannot be changed afterward; full payment due within 5 business days of the sale, paid directly to Grant Street, plus documentary transfer tax at 500 (or fraction) when the bid exceeds $100. — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Minimum bid: statutory — “the total amount necessary to redeem the parcel, plus costs” (RTC § 3698.5, see california); reduced pricing available on re-offered parcels that drew no prior acceptable bid. — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Delinquent / auction list location: published as a downloadable PDF on the county Tax Sales page — available November/early December (for the February sale) and April (for the May/June sale). A “Removed Properties” list is updated regularly and checked daily the week before the sale. Email notifications via e-Subscribe (GovDelivery). — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html

C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption

  • Where/how to redeem locally: pay the amount necessary to redeem to the Sacramento County Department of Finance, Tax Collection and Licensing before the right of redemption terminates (close of business the last business day before the sale — statewide rule per RTC §§ 4101/3707, see california). — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Local fees: the statewide redemption penalties/fees apply (10% delinquent penalty, 1½%/month redemption penalty, $15 redemption fee — RTC §§ 4102/4103 on california); no Sacramento-specific surcharge located. (local fee schedule beyond statewide amounts — see needs_verification)
  • Redemption contact: Tax-Defaulted Land Unit, (916) 874-6621, Finance-TDL@saccounty.gov (9:00 AM–4:00 PM Mon–Fri). — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
  • Deviations from state default: none identified — Sacramento follows the statewide pre-sale-only redemption scheme.

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds

(Business-critical module.)

  • Claim filing venue: Sacramento County Department of Finance, Tax Collection and Licensing (the county Tax Collector — claims are filed with the county, not a court; per RTC § 4675 the Board determines proof and the Tax Collector/Auditor-Controller administers payment).
    • Office address: 700 H Street, Room 1710, Sacramento, CA 95814
    • Mailing address: P.O. Box 508, Sacramento, CA 95812-1703
    • Phone (916) 874-6621 · fax (916) 874-8909 — https://finance.saccounty.gov (claim form letterhead, retrieved 2026-06-01)
  • Claim form: “Claim For Excess Proceeds” — a sale-specific form is issued for each auction (e.g., “Claim For Excess Proceeds – May 2025 Public Auction Tax Sale”). Form download: https://finance.saccounty.gov/Tax/Documents/Excess%20Proceeds%20Claim%20Form%20May%202025%20Tax%20Sale.pdf (mirror: https://wmr.saccounty.gov/content/dam/finance/docs/tax/sales/excess-proceeds-claim-form-may-2025-tax-sale.pdf). The form claims proceeds expressly “under Revenue and Taxation Code §4675.”
  • Local deadline notes: the statewide one-year RTC § 4675 deadline applies, expressed on each form as a hard date — the May 2025 sale form states the claim and supporting documents “are due by June 23, 2026.” Claims are not processed until one year after the deed-to-purchaser is recorded; after the Tax Collector recommends a distribution, parties have 90 days to dispute before the Auditor-Controller issues a county warrant. — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html ; claim form pp.1, 3
  • Third-party / assignment rules (local form mechanics): the claim form has a dedicated “THIRD-PARTY CLAIMANT” section; consistent with RTC § 4675(c), an assignment must be by a dated written instrument that explicitly states the right to claim excess proceeds is being assigned, executed only after each party has disclosed all facts relating to the value of the right and that the party of interest can file directly with the County at no cost. The form repeats in bold red: “There is no cost to file a claim for excess proceeds directly with Sacramento County.” — claim form pp.1–3 (RTC § 4675)
  • Documentation required: for lienholders — original deed of trust/note and any assignments plus a statement of original/remaining amount due as of the sale date; judgment creditors must also prove the judgment debtor held record ownership; for record owners — original recorded deed/death certificate/probate order plus a notarized verification of identity and photo ID; heirs claim via Probate Code §§ 13100 et seq. affidavit. — claim form p.3
  • Unclaimed-funds list published? needs_verification — the county publishes the per-sale excess-proceeds eligibility/claim materials on the Tax Sales page, but a standing “unclaimed excess proceeds” list was not located as a discrete published roster. (Per statewide RTC §§ 4674/4676, unclaimed proceeds revert to the county general fund after the claim period — see california.)
  • Contact: Tax-Defaulted Land Unit, (916) 874-6621, Finance-TDL@saccounty.gov. — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html ; claim form p.1

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Treasurer / Tax CollectorSacramento County Dept. of Finance — Tax Collection & Licensing (Tax-Defaulted Land Unit)700 H Street, Room 1710, Sacramento, CA 95814 · Mail: P.O. Box 508, Sacramento, CA 95812-1703(916) 874-6621https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html
Clerk of Court (Superior Court)Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento (handles court records; tax-sale/surplus claims are NOT filed here — they go to Dept. of Finance)——https://saccourt.ca.gov/
Recorder / County Clerk-RecorderSacramento County Clerk-Recorder3636 American River Drive, Suite 110, Sacramento, CA 95864(916) 874-6334https://ccr.saccounty.gov/content/ccr/us/en/recorded-document-copies.html
AssessorSacramento County Assessor3701 Power Inn Road, Suite 3000, Sacramento, CA 95826(916) 875-0700https://assessor.saccounty.gov/
SheriffNot applicable to tax sales — tax-defaulted sales are run administratively by the Dept. of Finance (sheriff conducts judicial-foreclosure/execution sales only, see california)———

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • Administrative, not judicial: tax-defaulted sales are conducted by the Department of Finance (Tax Collector), not the sheriff or a court — consistent with the statewide RTC power-of-sale scheme on california.
  • Two annual sale windows: February (primary) + May/June (re-offer), distinct from counties that hold a single annual sale.
  • 5-year bidder ban + deposit forfeiture for a winning bidder who fails to pay — a local enforcement quirk worth flagging to clients.
  • Vesting locked at registration — title-holding decisions must be final before bidding; cannot be changed post-sale.
  • Documentary transfer tax collected at the auction (500 on bids >$100).
  • No tax-lien certificates and no off-auction sales — the county only conveys via the formal public auction. — https://finance.saccounty.gov/us/en/tax/tax/tax-sales.html

C6. Records Access

C7. Meta

  • sources:
  • needs_verification:
    • Whether a standing/published “unclaimed excess proceeds” roster exists separate from the per-sale claim materials (only per-sale eligibility lists were located).
    • Any Sacramento-specific redemption fee beyond the statewide RTC §§ 4102/4103 amounts (none located; statewide figures assumed).
    • Exact Superior Court clerk address/phone (court records office — not the surplus filing venue, so low priority; left blank rather than fabricated).
    • Current population figure is an approximate (~1.59M); not pulled from a primary census table this pass.
    • The AuctionInformationPacket.pdf referenced in search results returned 404 on fetch; details that would have come from it (e.g., per-parcel bid increments) are not separately confirmed.
  • cross_links: california, surplus-funds, right-of-redemption, treasurer-sale, tyler-v-hennepin-county, third-party-recovery-rules, heirs-property
  • changelog:
    • 2026-06-01 — Initial population (autoresearch, county wave). All C0–C7 filled from Sacramento County’s own official Dept. of Finance pages + the official Claim For Excess Proceeds PDF (read directly). Key local facts: Grant Street sacramento.mytaxsale.com platform (migrated from Bid4Assets post-2019), two annual sales (last Mon Feb + 2nd Mon May/June), $5,000 deposit + 5-yr ban, surplus claims filed with Dept. of Finance (700 H St Rm 1710 / PO Box 508) under RTC §4675 with sale-specific hard deadlines. Unclaimed-list roster + local redemption fee flagged needs_verification.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Sacramento County’s local tax-sale and surplus procedure from the county’s own official sources as of the last_verified date. Procedures, dates, platforms, and contacts change; verify against the cited county pages and the parent framework at california, and consult a licensed California attorney before acting.

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