Pima County tax sales, Arizona

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Pima County sells online through RealAuction and holds its sale in the last week of February, skipping Tuesday because the Board of Supervisors meets that day, per the Treasurer's own FAQ. The Treasurer's 2026 sale page states the statutory frame, ARS Title 42, Chapter 18, and warns that a winning bidder who fails to pay after the sale has closed can be sued for the amount bid under ARS 42-18116. Bidders bid the interest rate, not a dollar amount, and the certificate holder may pay subsequent delinquent taxes and add them to the investment at the same bid rate. The deposit amount, the exact payment window and the county's over the counter details were not published on the Treasurer's pages read, and are marked unverified here.

Selling office: Pima County Treasurer

Next sale: February 2027 annual online tax lien sale, in the last week of February on the Treasurer's stated pattern; no dated 2027 sale was published as of November 9, 2026. The Treasurer's FAQ states the sale is held the last week of February, with no auction on Tuesday, and usually ends Thursday or early Friday. The 2026 sale was completed February 26, 2026. Treasurer contact for the sale: 520-724-8341, Pima County Treasurer, Attn: Tax Lien Sales, 240 N Stone Ave, Tucson AZ 85701.

Pima is one of Arizona's larger sales, run out of Tucson in the last week of February. The Treasurer's sale page is the page to watch for the 2027 announcement.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	February 2027 annual online tax lien sale, in the last week of February on the Treasurer's stated pattern; no dated 2027 sale was published as of November 9, 2026
The sale	Held online each year in the last week of February, with no sale on Tuesday, per the Treasurer's FAQ. The 2026 sale was completed February 26, 2026. No dated 2027 sale was published as of November 9, 2026.
The list	The amounts printed for the sale are the base tax, interest, penalties and fees due through February of the sale year, per the Treasurer's 2026 sale page. The delinquent list and notice are published under ARS 42-18106 and 42-18109.
Registration	Register online through RealAuction; a W-9 is required. The 2027 registration window was not published on the Treasurer's pages read.
Bidding and the certificate	Bidders bid the interest rate down from 16 percent, not the dollar amount, under ARS 42-18114 and ARS 42-18053. The certificate holder may pay subsequent delinquent taxes on the property and add them to the investment at the same bid rate, under ARS 42-18121.
Redemption	The owner or another person with a legal or equitable claim may redeem at any time before delivery of a treasurer's deed, paying the sale amount with interest at the certificate rate, plus subsequent taxes the holder paid at the same rate, plus statutory fees, under ARS 42-18151 to 42-18153. The certificate must be held three years from the original offering before the holder can start a Superior Court foreclosure action, under ARS 42-18201.
Unsold liens	Liens that draw no bid are assigned to the state under ARS 42-18113 and can later be bought over the counter by assignment under ARS 42-18122. Pima specific over the counter dates and list location were not published on the Treasurer's pages read.
Format	Online only: RealAuction
Selling office	Pima County Treasurer

Sources: Pima County Treasurer, Tax Lien Sale. Pima County Treasurer. ARS 42-18112, Time of sale. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and parcels are pulled up to sale day.

Research Pima County parcels before you bid

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How Arizona tax lien sales work

Unpaid taxes become a lien, and the lien is what sells. Property taxes in Arizona are a lien on the property, and when they stay unpaid the county treasurer prepares the delinquent list (by December 31 under ARS 42-18106), advertises it, and sells the tax lien at the annual sale under Title 42, Chapter 18. What the buyer receives is a certificate of purchase: a lien position against the property, not the property, not a deed, and no right to enter or use it.
The sale runs every February, mostly online. The treasurer of each county holds the annual sale in February. Most Arizona counties now sell through an online vendor the treasurer names on its tax lien sale page; registration and a funded account come before bidding, and each county sets its own registration deadline and deposit rule on top of the statute.
Bidding is the interest rate, and it goes down. Buyers bid the annual interest rate the lien will earn, starting at the 16 percent per annum maximum in ARS 42-18053 and bidding down under ARS 42-18114; the lowest rate wins. The winner pays the treasurer the full amount of delinquent taxes, interest, penalties and fees for the parcel on the day of sale. Competition, not the county, sets the rate a lien actually carries.
Redemption is the normal exit, and it runs through the treasurer. The owner, or another party in interest, may redeem at any time before a court enters judgment foreclosing the lien, by paying the treasurer the certificate amount plus interest at the bid rate, plus any subsequent taxes the holder paid and the statutory fees. The treasurer then pays the holder. Most certificates are redeemed; the interest, not the property, is the usual return.
The deed is a court case that cannot start for 3 years. If the lien is still unredeemed 3 years after the sale, the certificate holder may bring a foreclosure action in superior court under ARS 42-18201. Only a final judgment in that action bars the owner's right to redeem and directs the treasurer to issue a treasurer's deed. Liens nobody buys at the sale are struck off to the state, and the state held liens can later be bought by assignment from the treasurer.

How bidding works in Pima County

Register through RealAuction before the sale; the county requires a W-9. The Treasurer's pages read publish no 2027 registration deadline, so register early and confirm the window on the sale site.

The rate is the price. A lien bid at 16 percent and redeemed in year two is a different asset from the same lien bid at 4 percent and redeemed in month three. Arizona returns are set in the bid room, before any property question is reached, so model the rate and the likely redemption window first.
The certificate is not the property. No possession, no rents, no right to enter, and no deed for at least 3 years, and then only through a court foreclosure. Buyers who need the property itself should be reading the deed state pages, not this one.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Pima County	A deposit is required through RealAuction, but the amount was not published on the Treasurer's pages read. Secondary sources say the amount is set each December and varies with expected bid volume; no figure is claimed here.
Payment, Pima County	The Treasurer's sale page states the consequence of nonpayment under ARS 42-18116: if a person to whom a tax lien has been sold fails to pay and the sale has closed, the treasurer may recover the amount bid by civil action. The exact payment deadline and method for the 2027 sale were not published on the Treasurer's pages read; secondary sources describe payment in full within 24 to 72 hours by wire or ACH through RealAuction, which is unverified.
What is sold	A certificate of purchase: a lien on the property for the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and fees. Not the property, not a deed, and no right of possession. A deed exists only at the end of a foreclosure action, years later, if the owner never redeems.
The bid	An annual interest rate, bid down from the statutory maximum of 16 percent. The lowest rate wins the lien. The buyer pays the full certificate amount at the sale and earns the bid rate on the amount while the lien is outstanding.
Redemption	At any time before a foreclosure judgment, through the county treasurer, by paying the certificate amount plus interest at the bid rate, subsequent taxes the holder paid, and statutory fees. The state frame is Title 42, Chapter 18; the county page carries the treasurer's own redemption instructions.
Foreclosure	Available to the certificate holder once the lien has been outstanding 3 years from the sale date, by action in superior court under ARS 42-18201, and not later than 10 years after the last day of the month in which the lien was acquired. Judgment bars redemption and directs the treasurer to issue a treasurer's deed. Before that judgment, the holder owns a claim, not a property.
Lien life	A certificate does not last forever. Under ARS 42-18127, if the lien is not redeemed and no foreclosure action is commenced within 10 years after the last day of the month in which the certificate was acquired, the certificate expires and the lien is void. The treasurer must notify the holder before the deadline, but the deadline runs whether the holder acts or not.
Costs on top of the certificate amount	The sale day payment covers the delinquent taxes, accrued interest, penalties and fees in the certificate amount. A holder who later pays subsequent delinquent taxes on the parcel adds them to the lien position under ARS 42-18121, at the certificate rate; a foreclosure, if it comes, carries court and notice costs the redemption math must also cover.

Unsold liens: state held certificates

Unsold liens become state held liens under ARS 42-18113, at the 16 percent rate. They are later sold by assignment under ARS 42-18122 to any person who pays the whole amount then due under the certificate plus the entire amount of subsequent taxes, with an assignment fee of not more than $10. The county's own over the counter dates, list location and fees were not published on the Treasurer's pages read.

Before you bid

Know the redemption window before the rate. Interest accrues at the bid rate from the sale, and the owner can cut it off at any time by redeeming. A lien priced for a 3 year hold that redeems in 90 days pays a quarter of the model; run the short case first.
Read the treasurer's current terms, not a recap. Vendors, registration deadlines and deposit rules change between sales, and county pages are rewritten each season. Re-read them on the treasurer's page before funding a deposit.
Subsequent taxes are part of the position. A holder can pay later delinquent taxes on the parcel and add them to the lien. Budget for carrying the position, not just buying it.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your exit value to the highest certificate amount you can carry, with the costs shown.

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New York tax sales · Florida tax deed sales · Texas tax sales · Pennsylvania tax sales · Georgia tax sales · North Carolina tax foreclosure sales · Ohio tax foreclosure sales · Illinois tax lien sales · Michigan tax foreclosure sales · California tax defaulted property sales