What the money is
At a Maryland tax sale, a buyer may bid more than the taxes and charges owed on the property. After the buyer forecloses and the deed is delivered, the balance left over is paid to "the person entitled to the balance". Usually that is the former owner, or the owner's heirs or estate if the owner has died.
Source: Maryland Code, Tax-Property § 14-818.
What the law requires
- Each county, including Baltimore City, must run a claim process for these balances.
- Within 90 days of delivering the deed, the collector must notify the prior owner that a balance exists and explain how to claim it.
- No court order is needed to be paid unless the balance is disputed. If people dispute who is entitled to it, a court decides.
Source: Maryland Code, Tax-Property § 14-818(a)(5)–(6).
How to check whether money is held
- Open the City's excess funds list at baltimorecity.gov/excess-funds. It is a spreadsheet of properties with the tax sale year, block and lot, address and unclaimed amount.
- Search it for the property address, or the block and lot from the tax bill or deed.
- If the property is listed, note the block and lot and the amount.
How to claim it
- Contact the Baltimore City Department of Finance and ask for its excess funds claim form and instructions.
- Gather proof that you are the person entitled: photo ID, and the deed or other record showing you owned the property.
- If the owner has died, gather the death certificate and proof of your right to the estate. That may mean a probate case, usually with the Register of Wills, so that someone has authority to act for the estate.
- File the claim exactly as the City instructs, and keep copies of everything.
If anyone else claims the same money, the dispute goes to court, and you may want a lawyer.
Common questions
Is there a deadline?
Section 14-818 does not set a deadline to claim the balance. Ask the City whether it applies one in practice, and claim promptly anyway.
Someone wrote offering to recover this money for me. Do I have to use them?
No. You can claim it yourself as described above. If you choose a company to help, read the agreement, never pay anything up front, and make sure the money is paid to you.
The owner has died. Who can claim?
Generally the owner's estate, through a personal representative appointed in probate, or the heirs as the probate court directs.
Last checked 2026-10-23 against the text of Tax-Property § 14-818 on mgaleg.maryland.gov.