Shelby County tax sales, Tennessee

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Shelby runs the most industrial sale in this set: an online only SRI auction on ZeusAuction, with the political subdivision making the opening bid on every parcel and taking whatever private bidders do not match. Parcels the subdivision takes are worked through a real land bank, the Shelby County Land Bank, after redemption runs, which gives this county a year round leftover channel the others in this set do not publish. The Trustee separately publishes the redemption rules, including the current tiered periods.

Selling office: Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court of Shelby County, selling for the City of Memphis, Shelby County and the municipalities within Shelby County

Next sale: TX-2024 Tax Sale 2202, April 21 to 23, 2026; the most recent sale listed on the county tax sale page, already held as of November 9, 2026. The county tax sale page lists TX-2024 Sale 2201 (October 21 to 23, 2025) and TX-2024 Sale 2202 (April 21 to 23, 2026), and no later 2026 sale date is published on the pages read. The Land Bank FAQ states that the Trustee tax sale occurs about two to four times a year, so further sales follow the county calendar rather than a single fixed annual date.

As of November 9, 2026, the latest sale on the county tax sale page is TX-2024 Sale 2202, held April 21 to 23, 2026; no further 2026 or 2027 sale date is published on the pages read, and the Land Bank continues to list county acquired parcels year round.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	TX-2024 Tax Sale 2202, April 21 to 23, 2026; the most recent sale listed on the county tax sale page, already held as of November 9, 2026
The sale	A judicial sale by the Clerk and Master under court order, for the delinquent taxes of the City of Memphis, Shelby County and the municipalities in the county, held online only since April 2024. The political subdivision makes the opening bid, in the total amount of delinquent taxes due; if no private bid matches it, or the Shelby County Commission has instructed the subdivision not to bid, the parcel is sold to the political subdivision.
The list	Properties are viewable on ZeusAuction about 30 days before the opening of the sale, the list is advertised in the Memphis Daily News between 30 and 45 days before opening day, and the Clerk and Master posts sales lists, certificates of sale and orders confirming sale on the county tax sale page.
Registration	Registration is online through ZeusAuction and carries no registration fee. A bidder must register with an available bank account, because the winning bid is collected from that account by ACH debit or wire transfer; a bidder who entered bank information in error may contact the Clerk and Master within 48 hours after the auction concludes.
Bidding and payment	Bidding opens at the subdivision bid, the total delinquent amount due. The high bidder pays the full purchase price in one installment within one business day of the close of the auction, by ACH debit or wire transfer from the registered bank account, with a 15 dollar processing fee on wire transfers. Sales are final, there are no refunds, and failure to pay can disable the bidding account and expose the bidder to contempt.
Redemption	The order confirming the sale is entered within 45 business days of the sale date, as the Trustee publishes it, and the redemption period runs from that order under 67-5-2701: one year where the delinquency is three years or less, ninety days where it is more than three years, and thirty days for vacant or abandoned property, the scale the Trustee Right of Redemption page tabulates. A redemptioner pays the delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and costs plus interest at twelve percent per annum on the entire purchase price from the date the purchaser paid. A federal tax lien carries its own 120 day federal redemption period, as the county notes.
Unsold parcels	Parcels not sold to individual purchasers are sold to Shelby County, and after the redemption period expires they may be sold by the Shelby County Land Bank, the county real estate arm, on the terms in the leftover section below.
Format	Online only: The sale is conducted online only through ZeusAuction.com, the SRI auction site the county names. Shelby has sold online only since April 2024, and properties are posted on ZeusAuction about 30 days before the sale opens.
Selling office	Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court of Shelby County, selling for the City of Memphis, Shelby County and the municipalities within Shelby County

Sources: Shelby County Tax Sale Information, Clerk and Master. Shelby County Clerk and Master, Information on the Tax Sale Process (2025). Shelby County Trustee, Right of Redemption. Shelby County Land Bank, FAQs. Shelby County Land Bank, How It Works. 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 Shelby County parcels before you bid

A sale list gives you the parcels, the date, and the opening terms. It does not give you the owner, the value, or the rest of the picture: liens, foreclosure status, and parcel history. PropertyRadar is the data platform for that layer. It carries owner records, assessed and market values, foreclosure and tax data, and property history for parcels across Shelby County, searchable by address, owner, or county, including parcels that never reach a sale list.

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How Tennessee delinquent tax sales work

The trustee collects first; the court sells. Property taxes become delinquent on March 1, and unpaid taxes are turned over for suit. The delinquent tax attorney files in chancery court, and the sale is a judicial sale conducted by the clerk and master under court order under TCA 67-5-2501, not a treasurer or auditor auction. The court may order an internet sale in lieu of public outcry under TCA 67-5-2501(a)(1), and several counties in this set sell online.
The government opens the bidding on every parcel. Under TCA 67-5-2501(a)(2) and TCA 67-5-2506, the clerk bids the amount of the judgment, the delinquent taxes with interest, penalties, costs and fees, on behalf of the tax entities prosecuting the suit, whenever no other bidder offers the same or a larger bid. The exception is a parcel the legislative body has flagged for environmental risk or as a nonconforming parcel, where the clerk does not bid at all.
Confirmation starts both clocks. The clerk reports the sale to the court within five business days, and the right of possession and the redemption clock both run from the entry of the order confirming the sale under TCA 67-5-2503(a). What the purchaser eventually receives as a title document varies by county: some counties issue a clerk and master deed, and others, Shelby and Davidson among them, treat the recorded order confirming sale itself as the title document. The county page states which document its sales produce.
Redemption is tiered by delinquency, and the scale changed in 2026. The court sets the redemption period for each parcel before the sale, and it is never more than one year. For orders confirming a sale entered on or after July 1, 2026, Public Chapter 971 sets the period at one year where the taxes were delinquent three years or less, and ninety days where they were delinquent more than three years; the thirty day period for property shown to be vacant or abandoned continues unchanged. Orders entered before July 1, 2026 keep the older scale. Redemption pays the purchaser interest at 12 percent per year on the entire purchase price under TCA 67-5-2701(b).
Unsold parcels vest in the tax entities and come back through the county. A parcel that draws no bid at the judgment amount is bid in for the tax entities. The county later resells the parcels it acquired under TCA 67-5-2507 as amended in 2024, with no minimum bid by default and published lists of properties for sale. In Shelby County the resale channel is the Shelby County Land Bank; in most other counties it is the county's own surplus sale process, and each county page names the channel its county actually runs.

How bidding works in Shelby County

Registration is online through ZeusAuction, with no registration fee, before the sale opens. Because payment is collected electronically, the bidder registers with an available bank account and keeps the account details accurate; bank information errors may be flagged to the Clerk and Master only within 48 hours after the auction concludes.

The redemption clock is a property of the parcel, not of the sale. Under the 2026 scale, a parcel whose taxes were delinquent more than three years redeems in ninety days, while a recently delinquent parcel in the same sale carries a full year. Most inventory that reaches a tax sale has been delinquent for years, so most parcels in a Tennessee sale now run on the short clock. The period the court set is written in the sale documents for each parcel; read it before pricing the wait.
Twelve percent runs on the whole price. Because redemption interest accrues on the entire purchase price, the redemption outcome is simple to model: price plus 12 percent a year for the time actually held. There is no premium split and no stepped percentage to defend. What needs defending is the opening judgment bid, because every dollar above it is your money at the same rate but with the parcel risk attached.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Shelby County	Shelby requires no registration fee and no advance cash deposit. What it requires instead is a registered bank account at sign up, because the full price is pulled from that account by ACH debit or wire transfer within one business day of the close. A bidder without available funds in the registered account is not positioned to bid.
Payment, Shelby County	The winner pays the entire purchase price in a single installment within one business day of the close of the auction, by ACH debit or wire transfer using the bank account given at registration. Wire transfers carry a 15 dollar processing fee. There are no refunds and all sales are final; failure to pay in full and on time may result in the account being disabled and can bring contempt proceedings.
What is sold	The property itself, sold under court order, but possession and title wait on redemption. Until the redemption period expires, the purchaser holds the right to be repaid with interest, or to take title if nobody redeems. There is no lien certificate stage in Tennessee.
The opening bid	Made by the clerk, not the market. Under TCA 67-5-2501(a)(2) and TCA 67-5-2506 the clerk bids the amount of the judgment, the delinquent taxes with interest, penalties, costs and fees, for the tax entities prosecuting the suit, whenever no other bidder offers the same or a larger bid. Every public bid starts from that floor.
Redemption money	The redemptioner first pays the clerk the total delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and court costs, plus interest on the entire purchase price paid by the purchaser at 12 percent per year, accruing from the purchaser's payment date to the motion to redeem (TCA 67-5-2701(b)). The rate runs on the whole price, not on a part of it.
Redemption periods, current law	Set by the court for each parcel before the sale and never more than one year. For orders confirming a sale entered on or after July 1, 2026: one year where the period of delinquency is three years or less, ninety days where it is more than three years, and thirty days for property shown to be vacant or abandoned. Orders entered before July 1, 2026 keep the prior scale of one year, one hundred eighty days and ninety days by delinquency span.
The title document	What issues after redemption expires unredeemed depends on the county: a clerk and master deed in some counties, a decree confirming sale in others, and in Shelby and Davidson the recorded order confirming sale itself serves as the title document. A tax sale title is not title insurance; surviving interests and the quiet title step are the buyer's homework.
Unsold parcels	A parcel that draws no bid at the judgment amount is bid in for the tax entities prosecuting the suit. The county later resells acquired parcels under TCA 67-5-2507 as amended in 2024, with no minimum bid by default and a published list of properties for sale under TCA 67-5-2511. That resale list is the year round leftover channel.

Unsold parcels: the Shelby County Land Bank

The Shelby County Land Bank, established by county ordinance on September 24, 2007, sells parcels the county acquired at tax sale once the redemption period has expired. Asking prices are set to match the Assessor total appraisal value when a property is listed, and new properties are added as they transfer after a tax sale. A buyer opens an account on the Land Bank site, submits an application with a nonrefundable 70 dollar fee, and the sale requires County Commission and County Mayor approval; the buyer then gets a closing letter and has 30 days to pay by cashier's check or money order payable to the Shelby County Trustee, receives a quit claim deed, and should expect the whole process to take about eight to ten months. Properties are sold as is under 67-5-2507, and a previous owner may not offer less than the back taxes and fees owed at the tax sale.

Before you bid

Read the confirmation order, not just the sale list. Your redemption period, your right of possession, and your title document all come from the order confirming the sale. The sale list tells you what sold; the order tells you what you bought.
Expect cash discipline on the county's clock. Tennessee sales settle in cash or certified funds on the schedule the court sets, which in some counties is measured in days, not weeks. Davidson County requires the balance by cashier's check at noon on the Friday of its sale week. Arrive with funds arranged, not with a plan to arrange them.
Check for cancelled dates before you travel. Court calendar sales move. Davidson County cancelled four dated sales in the fall of 2026 and its next sale is January 20, 2027; several counties in this set had published no 2026 date at all when these pages were checked. The clerk and master's current schedule is the only live word.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your resale or hold value to the highest bid you can pay, 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 · Arizona tax lien sales · California tax defaulted property sales · Colorado tax lien sales · South Carolina tax sales · Indiana tax lien sales