How many years of unpaid property taxes before the county forecloses in Pierce or King County?

The short answer: three years behind

Washington property taxes are billed once a year and usually paid in two halves, with the first half due April 30 and the second half due October 31. Miss a due date and that tax is delinquent from the next day, with interest added under state law. Reminder notices start arriving well before anything serious happens.

The serious step comes when the oldest unpaid tax reaches three years delinquent. That’s the point at which state law allows the county treasurer to foreclose. The count starts from the oldest year that’s still unpaid, so ask the treasurer which years are open on your account instead of going by memory.

This is a different process from a mortgage foreclosure. A trustee’s sale under the Deed of Trust Act, explained on the Washington foreclosure process page, runs outside of court. A tax foreclosure runs through the superior court under the state’s property tax laws, and the county is the one collecting.

How Pierce County starts a tax foreclosure

In Pierce County, property taxes are handled by the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer, a single office that both values property and collects the tax. Once a parcel reaches three years delinquent, that office files a Certificate of Delinquency with Pierce County Superior Court. The owner and others with a recorded interest in the property, such as a mortgage lender, are notified and given a period to pay. If the taxes and costs remain unpaid, the court enters a judgment and the county sells the property at a public tax sale.

The notices name the amounts and the dates. Keep them together, and call the Assessor-Treasurer’s office to confirm the total and ask what form of payment they accept at this stage. Counties commonly require certified funds, such as a cashier’s check, once a property is in foreclosure. Ask before you show up with a personal check.

The houses that end up here are often ones where the mortgage was paid off years ago and the tax bill quietly became the owner’s job, or ones where the owner has passed away and nobody has taken charge of the bills yet. A rambler in Spanaway or Parkland owned free and clear for decades can drift into this without anyone noticing until the court papers arrive.

How King County starts a tax foreclosure

King County follows the same state law with its own offices. The King County Treasury, part of the county’s Department of Executive Services, has a foreclosure unit that handles these cases. Assessed values and exemptions are handled separately by the King County Department of Assessments.

When a tax becomes three years delinquent, the Treasury files a Certificate of Delinquency in King County Superior Court and serves notice and summons by certified mail on everyone with a recorded interest in the parcel. King County holds its tax foreclosure auction once a year, in September. To pull a parcel out of the foreclosure, the county requires every tax, fee, interest charge, penalty, and foreclosure cost to be paid in certified funds. Personal checks are returned.

For owners whose home is their primary residence, King County points to the Washington Homeownership Resource Center, which can connect you with free counseling. Its toll-free line is 1-877-894-4663. That’s a good first call whichever county you live in.

If your taxes are paid through a mortgage escrow account

Many homeowners with a mortgage never see a tax bill directly. The servicer collects a share of the taxes with each monthly payment, holds it in an escrow account, and pays the county when the taxes come due.

Falling behind on the mortgage doesn’t usually mean the taxes stop getting paid. Unpaid property taxes generally take priority over a mortgage, and a tax sale can wipe out the lender’s lien, so servicers typically keep paying the taxes to protect the loan. The catch is that every tax payment the servicer advances gets added to what you owe. It shows up in your reinstatement and payoff figures, and it’s part of why those figures climb while you’re behind.

If you don’t have an escrow account, the risk runs the other way. Most deeds of trust require the owner to pay the property taxes, so unpaid taxes can put the mortgage in default on their own, even with every monthly payment made. The servicer may pay the taxes itself, add the cost to the loan, and set up an escrow account going forward.

You can check the county’s records yourself. Both counties let you look up a parcel online and see whether each half has been paid. It takes a few minutes and settles the question.

Ways to catch up before the county sells

Pay the full delinquency. Ask the treasurer for a written figure good through a specific date. The amount changes as interest accrues, so a number from last month can be short.

Ask how a partial payment would be applied. A partial payment may or may not take the property out of the current foreclosure, depending on which years it clears and where the case stands. Only the treasurer’s office can tell you, so ask directly before paying.

Ask about the one-time waiver. King County says owners whose property is subject to foreclosure or already in foreclosure may qualify for a one-time waiver of delinquent interest and penalties, with conditions. In either county, ask the treasurer if you qualify before you pay.

Look into exemption and deferral programs. Washington has a property tax exemption for seniors and people with disabilities, and deferral programs that let some owners postpone taxes on their primary residence, with the deferred amount repaid later, usually when the home is sold. Each program has income and ownership requirements. Apply through your county assessor’s office, and ask whether the program can help with any past years.

Get counseling. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you build a budget around the tax bill and point you to local help, including with the mortgage if that’s behind too.

If the house came to you through an estate and the taxes are part of a larger mess, the article on inheriting a house that’s behind on the mortgage covers who has authority to act and in what order.

Once a parcel appears on a foreclosure list, the list is public, and letters from buyers offering to pay the taxes in exchange for the deed often follow. Before signing anything, find out what the house would sell for on the open market, and have an attorney read any agreement that transfers your deed.

Selling the house before a tax auction

Until the tax sale happens, you still own the house and you can sell it. At closing, escrow pays the delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and foreclosure costs directly to the county, along with any mortgage and other liens, and what remains goes to you. The title company will find the delinquency on the preliminary title report, so there’s no hiding it and no need to.

The timing is the part to plan. The county’s auction date doesn’t move for a listing, and a sale needs time to prepare the house, find a buyer, and close. Get the treasurer’s payoff figure and deadline in writing, then work backward from it. If you want to estimate what would be left once the taxes and the loan are paid and the selling costs come out, the worksheet in what you walk away with when you sell in foreclosure works the same way for a tax delinquency.

If a tax auction brings in more than what’s owed, the former owner can generally claim the excess, and the county can explain how. Even so, an auction price is set by whoever bids that day. A sale you control before the auction is where the house has the best chance to bring what it’s worth.

Questions

Does paying some of the back taxes stop a tax foreclosure?

It depends on which years the payment clears and how far the case has gone. Once a Certificate of Delinquency is filed, the county generally expects the full amount to end the foreclosure. Ask the treasurer’s office before you pay.

Would my mortgage lender let the county sell the house?

Usually the lender pays the delinquent taxes to protect its loan, then adds that amount to what you owe. That keeps the house out of the tax sale for now, and it can create or deepen a default on the mortgage.

Can I sell after the county has filed in superior court?

Generally yes, as long as the sale closes before the tax auction and the delinquent amount is paid from the proceeds. Confirm the deadline and payoff figure with the treasurer, and let your title company know early.