The process by which a lender can limit the use of a property or secure the rights to a property if the outstanding debt is not paid back within the stipulated time is termed as a lien. A tax lien is defined as the right of the government to encumber property when the outstanding taxes are not paid in time. Usually tax liens come into play when taxes on organizations or properties are due but cases of the US Internal Revenue Service or the IRS imposing such liens on individuals for failure to pay income taxes is not rare.
In majority of the jurisdictions across the country, the municipality or the county initiates the process of imposing a tax lien when the individual fails to pay property taxes within the scheduled period. In some of the states in the country, a tax lien can be turned into a first lien on the property and then converted to a tax lien and auctioned off. People who have managed to place successful bids end up with a tax lien certificate issued by the government along with either a title to the property after a certain period of time or a return from the lien that bears the mandate of the state. In both the cases, the taxpayer ends up as a defaulter and hence the above mentioned action.
In the state of Virginia, there are no Virginia tax lien auctions. It is only the tax deeds that are sold. It is the Code of Virginia that does not sanction the sale of tax lien certificates. On the contrary, the law of the state does approve of the re-sale of delinquent properties in auctions. The collection of taxes in the state is the responsibility of the Department of Tax Administration or the DTA.