How to buy tax-sale property in New Hampshire (2026)
You buy a tax lien, not the house. The owner has 2 years to pay you back. You earn 14% interest a year. The bidding method is not documented. Sales are held once a year, typically in December.
- Redemption period
- 24 mo
- Interest / penalty
- Flat rate · 14%
- Bid method
- Unknown
- Sale timing
- Annual · Dec
How to bid here · New Hampshire
In person- 1.Watch for the collector's notice of sale, posted in two or more public places in the town at least 25 days before the sale, stating the owner, the property, the tax, interest, costs and fees and the place, day and hour of the sale (RSA 80:21)
- 2.Confirm the town has not adopted the alternate real estate tax lien procedure; if it has, tax sales to private individuals are prohibited and only the municipality, county or state may acquire the lien (RSA 80:20-a)
- 3.Bid at the public auction held in a public place in the town where the land lies, between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., offering the percentage of the common and undivided interest in the whole property that you are willing to accept for the unpaid tax, interest and costs (RSA 80:24)
- 4.Pay the money due to the conducting collector or tax sale agent at the sale (RSA 80:25)
- 5.Note that a town, county or the state may also bid as a purchaser at the sale (RSA 80:26)
- 6.If the owner redeems, the collector gives a receipt and pays the money over to you on demand (RSA 80:34)
- 7.If the land is not redeemed, receive a deed from the collector after two years from the sale (RSA 80:38)
- Registration
- Required: UnknownUnknown
Not verified from a source yet.
- Deposit
- Required: UnknownUnknown
Not verified from a source yet.
- Forms
- Bidder ID card: UnknownW-9: Unknown
- Eligibility
- Residency required: UnknownNo delinquent taxes: Unknown
A town, county or the state may be a purchaser at any sale of lands for the payment of taxes (RSA 80:26)
In a municipality that has adopted the alternate real estate tax lien procedure (RSA 80:58-86), tax sales to private individuals are prohibited and only the municipality, county or state may acquire the lien (RSA 80:20-a)
- Payment
- Unknown
Not verified from a source yet.
New Hampshire's bidder process is the in-person tax sale under RSA 80:20-80:38: the collector posts notice 25 days ahead, then auctions at a public place in the town between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., where bidders compete by offering the smallest percentage of the common and undivided interest in the whole property they will accept for the unpaid tax, interest and costs, and the purchaser pays the money due at the sale (RSA 80:21, 80:24, 80:25). A town, county or the state may also purchase, and a non-redeemed parcel is deeded to the purchaser after two years (RSA 80:26, 80:38). Critically, RSA 80:20-a provides that in municipalities that adopt the alternate real estate tax lien procedure (RSA 80:58-86), the tax-sale provisions do not apply and tax sales to private individuals are prohibited, so many (perhaps most) towns offer no private-investor bidder process at all. The statutes set no registration, deposit, bidder-form or residency requirements, so those fields are unknown.
Citations
Sale type
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 80:61
official source“The collector shall execute to the municipality, county or state only a 100 percent common and undivided interest in the property and no portion thereof shall be executed in severalty by metes and bounds”
Redemption
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 80:76
official source“The collector, after 2 years from the execution of the real estate tax lien, shall execute to the lienholder a deed of the land subject to the real estate tax lien and not redeemed”
Interest / penalty
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 80:69
official source“with interest at 14 percent per annum upon the whole amount of the recorded lien from the date of execution to the time of payment in full”
Bid method
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 80:63
official source“only a municipality or county where the property is located or the state may acquire a tax lien against land and buildings for unpaid taxes”
Sale schedule
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 80:59
official source“in case all taxes against the owner shall not be paid in full on or before December 1 next after its assessment”
Town/city executes tax lien to itself (RSA 80:58-86), 14%/yr redemption interest (RSA 80:69); collector deed to municipality after 2 years. | Prose: municipal tax lien (municipal foreclosure) | 14% per annum on the recorded lien from date of execution to payment (RSA 80:69) | 2 years from execution of the real estate tax lien (RSA 80:76) | n/a - only the municipality, county, or state may acquire the tax lien; no competitive investor auction (RSA 80:63) | after December 1 following assessment (lien executed after Dec 1)
Frequently asked questions
- What do I actually buy at a New Hampshire tax sale?
- The investor buys a lien on the property. The owner keeps title and can redeem by paying the lien plus interest or penalty.
- How long does the owner have to redeem the property in New Hampshire?
- 24 months (2 years)
- What interest or penalty do I earn on a New Hampshire tax sale?
- 14% flat per year.
- How is the winning bidder chosen in New Hampshire?
- Not verified from an official source yet, so treat it as unknown and confirm with the county.
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