Establishing when sale of tax liens may be suspended by sheriffs

SB 896 Text

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Introduced Version

Senate Bill 896 History

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Key:
Green
= existing Code.
Red
= new code to be enacted

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

FISCAL NOTE

2026
REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
Senate Bill 896
By Senator Weld
[Introduced February 10, 2026; referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11A-3-62 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and amend the code by adding a new section, designated §11A-3-7, relating to the sales of tax liens; establishing when a sale may be suspended by the sheriff; and providing a tax exemption to certain purchasers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.

§11A-3-7. Suspension by the sheriff.

Whenever it shall appear to the sheriff that any real estate included in the list has been previously conveyed by deed and no tax thereon is currently delinquent, or that the tax lien thereon has been sold previously and not redeemed, or that the tax lien thereon ought not to be sold for the amount stated therein, or that the property is owned by a tax-exempt organization or entity, including the federal, state, or local government or any political subdivisions thereof, the sheriff shall suspend the sale thereof and report the reasons for that suspension to the county commission and to the auditor. If the commission finds that the tax lien on the real estate ought not to be sold, it shall so order; but if the commission finds that the tax lien on the real estate ought to be sold for the amount stated, or for a greater or less amount, it shall order the sheriff to include such real estate in the next list, unless sooner redeemed:
Provided,
That in no event will a county commission order the sale of a tax lien on any government owned real estate.

§11A-3-62. Title acquired by individual purchaser.

(a) Whenever the purchaser of any tax lien on any real estate sold at a tax sale,
his

or their
heirs or assigns, shall have obtained a deed for such real estate from the deputy commissioner or from a commissioner appointed to make the deed,
he or

they
shall thereby acquire all such right, title and interest, in and to the real estate, as was, at the time of the execution and delivery of the deed, vested in or held by any person who was entitled to redeem, unless such person is one who, being required by law to have his
or her
interest separately assessed and taxed, has done so and has paid all the taxes due thereon, or unless the rights of such person are expressly saved by the provisions of
section forty-nine of this article or section two, three, four or six, article four of this chapter

§11A-3-49, §11A-4-2, §11A-4-3, §11A-4-4, or §11A-4-6 of this code.
(b)
The tax deed shall be conclusive evidence of the acquisition of such title. If the property was sold for nonpayment of taxes, the title so acquired shall relate back to July 1, of the year in which the taxes, for nonpayment of which the real estate was sold, were assessed. If the property was sold for nonentry pursuant to
section thirteen of this article

§11A-3-13 of this code,
or escheated to the state, or is waste and unappropriated property, the title shall relate back to the date of sale:
Provided
, That in no event will the federal, state, or local government, or any political subdivision thereof owe property taxes for real estate after the date of acquisition of a property, and that all pre-existing fees, taxes, and liens imposed by the State of West Virginia or any political subdivisions thereof shall be extinguished upon the date of acquisition of a property by a government purchaser.
(b)

(c)
Any individual purchaser to whom a tax deed has been issued may institute and prosecute actions to quiet title in any such real estate conveyed thereby. Such action may be maintained for all or any one or more of the lots or tracts conveyed.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish when a sale may be suspended by the sheriff and provide a tax exemption to certain purchasers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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