Vermont Has No Claims Process for Tax Sale Surplus — Here's the Actual Gap
Every other guide on this site explains how to claim your money. This one is different, because in Vermont, there currently isn't a routine way to do that. We'd rather tell you that clearly than write a "how to claim" article implying a process exists when it doesn't.
How Vermont's tax sale works
Under 32 V.S.A. Chapter 133, the town tax collector sells the property itself — not a lien certificate — at public auction. The former owner keeps a 1-year redemption period, redeeming at 1% interest per month on the buyer's price. If not redeemed, the collector executes a deed to the buyer.
The core problem, confirmed by Vermont's own Supreme Court
Vermont's tax sale statutes simply don't address what happens to sale proceeds above the tax debt during the redemption period. This isn't our interpretation — it's the Vermont Supreme Court's own language in Ran-Mar, Inc. v. Town of Berlin, 2006 VT 117: "Vermont's taxing statutes make no provision for the disposition of the surplus proceeds during redemption."
The one narrow precedent that exists
Bogie v. Town of Barnet (1970) held that when the town itself is the sole bidder at a tax sale — which happens often in small Vermont towns — and later resells the property at a profit, that profit belongs to the former owner under the Vermont Constitution's takings clause. But that case doesn't clearly cover the more common scenario: a private investor buying the property at the original tax sale itself. If your situation involves a private buyer rather than the town, Bogie doesn't obviously apply, and there's no administrative form or claim process to fall back on — recovering anything would likely mean legal action citing Bogie and the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Tyler v. Hennepin County, not a routine county filing.
Vermont knows about the gap — it just hasn't closed it
The Vermont Legislature's own 2024 Act 106 working group report studied exactly this post-Tyler problem and recommended the legislature develop a formal process. As of this writing, that hasn't happened — the working group's own report describes disagreement between Vermont Legal Aid (which favored a Maine-style broker-sale model) and municipalities (which pushed back). We checked for follow-up 2025/2026 legislation and found none that closes the gap.
What this means if you're owed money in Vermont
If the town was the sole bidder and later profited on resale, Bogie gives you a real, citable legal basis to pursue that profit — but you'll likely need an attorney, not a claim form. If a private investor bought the property directly, the legal path is less clear, and this is worth raising with a Vermont attorney or Vermont Legal Aid rather than assuming any state process will proactively pay you.
This article is general information, not financial or legal advice — and Vermont's situation genuinely requires legal counsel given the lack of a statutory process. See our broader guide on surplus funds after a tax sale and the Vermont state page for sale mechanics.