when you say "being sold" do you mean the minimum bid amount or the actual sales amount? 

https://tptla.org/Even though the law is the same across the state regarding tax sales, when you get to the nitty gritty, every county handles it differently. 

Purchase price: $171,000 Sale price: $185,000 Contributors: Peter Vekselman Partner Driven teamed up with Nathan Ward to secure a profitable deal on Day Rd in Leoma, TN.

My local municipality is changing ordinances to be far more restrictive, and I notice a number of houses up for sale that were STRs.  

(Sale price - selling costs) -(purchase price+ purchase costs)- renovations = taxable gain. 

It is the reasonable rental value without the new improvements, because the tax sale investor did nothing to add value regarding the improvements. 

This one was a normal sale.

Additionally, you could explore options like a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Quote from @Keilon Morton: I am looking to secure my first tax sale and need another investor to go in on the deal.

And 54% of the basis would be allocated to the 200K house.You'll have a small tax bill on the difference between your sale and purchase prices.