Delinquent tax lists · Washington
Pierce County delinquent tax list
Short answer: Pierce County has two delinquent tax lists. The official one is published by the County Treasurer before each scheduled sale, free to download, and it lists parcel numbers and amounts owed with no owner contact. The year-round one is the delinquency record underneath it, where 1,917 (estimated) owners near Tacoma currently carry a distress signal. Washington is a deed state, so a winning bid at the sale takes the property itself.
Distressed owners near Tacoma
1,917
Within 25 miles of the county centre, refreshed daily. Pierce County is a major metro county.
Top-deal discount target
~42% under market
Average start bid across the 20 strongest Pierce leads right now.
Avg. spread per top deal
$244,000
On a typical $581,000 estimated value.
Coverage centers on Tacoma, the Pierce County seat and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.
Pierce County tax sale rules at a glance
The mechanics that decide what you are actually buying, and how long the owner keeps a way out. The full Washington rules, timelines and deficiency detail sit on the state page, since they apply to every county here.
| County | Pierce County, Washington. County seat: Tacoma. |
|---|---|
| Who publishes the list | The County Treasurer for Pierce County. |
| What the sale transfers | Washington is a deed state. A winning bidder gets the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. |
| Rate and cadence | County treasurers auction tax deeds, typically each December, after 3 years of delinquency. |
| After the tax sale | The deed transfers at the sale. Whether the former owner can still redeem afterward depends on Washington law and the kind of sale, so read the county's sale notice before bidding. |
The Washington delinquency clock
Where a Pierce owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.
The Pierce list, ranked hardest-first
Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Tacoma area. The live list, with exact locations, photos and owner details, is one free scan away.
- #1Foreclosure auction on record. The clock is likely ticking, and owners this close to an auction often take a fast cash offer over losing the home.$270K start bid · ~45% under market
- #2Notice of default for 21 days. Owners in this spot often want out fast, before a foreclosure hits their credit.$266K start bid · ~45% under market
- #3Foreclosure auction on record. The clock is likely ticking, and owners this close to an auction often take a fast cash offer over losing the home.$262K start bid · ~45% under market
7 more ranked Tacoma deals behind the scan
Unlock the full Tacoma list freeFree scan · no card needed
What the Pierce list is made of
Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.
How Pierce compares across Washington
Pierce County is among the largest counties in Washington, and it runs lighter in distressed owners than the Washington average, at 20.7 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a state figure of 36.3. It accounts for about 6.8% of every flagged property across the Washington counties on this site.
| County | Seat | Flagged owners | Per 10k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| King County | Seattle | 10,816 | 47.6 |
| Spokane County | Spokane | 2,123 | 38.6 |
| Pierce County (this page) | Tacoma | 1,917 | 20.7 |
| Snohomish County | Everett | 1,796 | 21.4 |
| Thurston County | Olympia | 1,433 | 47.8 |
| Clark County | Vancouver | 1,405 | 27.2 |
Density matters more than the raw count when you are choosing where to work. A smaller county with a high per-capita figure often has less competition per lead than the metro next door.
How far under market these close
The official Pierce list vs. this one
Both are worth having. They answer different questions.
| Pierce official sale list | The LowBaller list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who publishes it | The County Treasurer | LowBaller, from county and public records |
| When it exists | Only in the run-up to each scheduled sale | Year round, refreshed daily |
| Format | A PDF or spreadsheet of parcel numbers and amounts owed | A ranked table with a map pin, photo and estimated value on every row |
| Owner contact | Not included | Phone and email on unlock, and no credit is spent when nothing verifies |
| Ranking | Alphabetical or by parcel number | Hardest situation first, by foreclosure stage, years behind and equity |
| Timing advantage | Everyone bidding sees the same list on the same day | Owners appear months before any auction, while a private sale still solves their problem |
Working the Pierce list
What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under Washington timelines.
Number 2 in Washington, and quieter for it
Pierce County ranks 2 of 39 covered Washington counties with roughly 6.8% of the state's flagged properties. Big enough for real volume, one step removed from where the crowd concentrates.
A thin list, so filter hard
At 20.7 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, Pierce sits in the bottom quarter of Washington counties, against a state figure of 36.3. Do not try to work every row. Sort on equity and go deep on a handful.
Tacoma and everything around it
Pierce works off Tacoma as its seat, and the scan reaches 25 miles out from there, widening to 50 when the list runs thin. In a county this shape that usually means several towns, each with its own price level.
The Washington clock
Foreclosure here typically runs 5 to 7 months from filing to sale. The tax clock and the mortgage clock run independently, so check both before you decide how hard a deadline an owner is actually facing.
Why Pierce investors work it before auction day
No bidding war
At the sale you are one of a room full of bidders on the same parcel. Months earlier you are the only person who called.
You can see the house
A private sale means an inspection and a clean title search. Deed auctions in Washington rarely give you either.
The owner keeps something
An owner with equity who sells early clears the tax debt and walks away with money. At the sale, they usually walk away with nothing.
Pierce County delinquent tax list FAQ
How do I get the Pierce County delinquent tax list?
Two lists exist and they are not the same. The official one comes from the County Treasurer, is published as a PDF or spreadsheet before each scheduled sale, and disappears between sales. The year-round one is the delinquency record itself, which is what LowBaller compiles: roughly 1,917 properties around Tacoma currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.
Is there a free Pierce delinquent property tax list PDF?
Yes. The County Treasurer publishes the pre-sale list free of charge, usually as a PDF or a downloadable spreadsheet tied to a specific sale date. It gives you parcel numbers and amounts owed. It does not give you owner contact details, an estimated value, or any indication of which owners would actually take a low cash offer.
When is the Pierce County tax sale?
Pierce County publishes its own schedule, and it moves. The Washington pattern is the thing that holds steady: County treasurers auction tax deeds, typically each December, after 3 years of delinquency. Check the county's pre-sale notice close to the date, because the list shrinks daily as owners redeem.
Can I buy Pierce tax-delinquent property before the auction?
Yes, and it is usually the better trade. There is no bidding war, the owner clears the debt with a clean sale instead of a forced one, and you are not buying blind. The window is the months between the delinquency appearing in the record and the sale being scheduled, which is exactly the period this list covers.
What does a winning bid actually get you in Washington?
Washington is a deed state, so a winning bidder takes the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. The deed transfers at the sale. Whether the former owner can still redeem afterward depends on Washington law and the kind of sale, so read the county's sale notice before bidding. That difference matters more than the discount: in a lien state you are buying a debt with a yield, and in a deed state you are buying a house.
How far below market do Pierce deals close?
The strongest current leads near Tacoma support start bids around 42% under estimated value. Across the whole list, hard distress such as a scheduled auction or a stacked tax lien closes 25 to 45% under market, while softer signals like long-distance ownership land closer to 15 to 30% under. Pierce runs lighter in distress than the Washington average, so the deepest discounts are rarer here and equity screening matters more than volume. Equity sets the ceiling, because an offer cannot go below what clears the owner's mortgage.
How many tax-delinquent properties are there in Pierce?
About 1,917 properties within 25 miles of Tacoma currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 20.7 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 36.3 across Washington as a whole, and makes Pierce the number 2 of the 39 Washington counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.
Do I need a Pierce address to search, or can I search the whole county?
Either. Run the scan on any Pierce ZIP and you get the full ranked list for the surrounding area, or check one specific address to see whether that owner carries a distress signal. The scan is free; the full list opens with a 7-day trial, and credits are only spent when an owner's phone number comes back.
More on Pierce County
Delinquent tax lists nearby
Keep going
The Pierce owners who will sell cheap are on this list today.
Not in 2026 sale season. Now, months before the auction, while a quiet private sale still solves their problem. Scan free and browse every one.
Scan Pierce freeInformational summary, not legal or investment advice. Rates, redemption periods and sale formats are summarized at the Washington state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by Pierce County. The County Treasurer and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.