Calhoun County, AR tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Calhoun County, seat of Hampton: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Arkansas tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (870) 798-2357
On this page
How Calhoun County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Calhoun County does not run its own tax sale: the County Collector bills, advertises and certifies unredeemed parcels, and the Commissioner conducts the auction, publishes the catalog and issues the deed.
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Registration begins one hour before the 10:00 a.m. auction at the sale site and costs nothing. Fill out a numbered bidder registration card, hand it to a Commissioner of State Lands employee and keep the matching half as your bidder number. The minimum bid printed beside each parcel is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date, and the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. Winners pay in full immediately after the auction by personal or business check, cashier's check, money order, or credit or debit card, with a 4% non-refundable processing fee on card transactions. Cash is not accepted, payment must be for the exact amount owed, and no one is given time to leave and retrieve funds, so arrive with payment ready.
Sale format and venue
Calhoun County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Calhoun County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Public Auction Catalog, select Calhoun County for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Calhoun County does not run its own tax sale: the County Collector bills, advertises and certifies unredeemed parcels, and the Commissioner conducts the auction, publishes the catalog and issues the deed. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Calhoun County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Public Auction Catalog, select Calhoun County. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Registration begins one hour before the 10:00 a.m. auction at the sale site and costs nothing. Fill out a numbered bidder registration card, hand it to a Commissioner of State Lands employee and keep the matching half as your bidder number. The minimum bid printed beside each parcel is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date, and the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. Winners pay in full immediately after the auction by personal or business check, cashier's check, money order, or credit or debit card, with a 4% non-refundable processing fee on card transactions. Cash is not accepted, payment must be for the exact amount owed, and no one is given time to leave and retrieve funds, so arrive with payment ready.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Arkansas due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold properties
Thirty calendar days after the live auction, every parcel that drew no qualifying bid moves to the Commissioner's online unsold-property auction and stays there until it sells, is redeemed, or is withdrawn. Nothing is priced over a counter: the first online bid starts a 30-calendar-day auction period that closes at 8:00 p.m. Central on the thirtieth day, other registered bidders may outbid during it, and the Commissioner mails the owner and interested parties notice when the first bid arrives. Within two years of the live auction the reserve stays at the taxes, penalty, interest, fees and costs; two years or more after it, the Commissioner may negotiate a price he determines is in the best interest of the state and the local taxing units. Online bidders must pass an identity check as a United States resident and keep a card on file; the winner's card is charged $100 in earnest money immediately and the balance is due in certified funds within 10 business days.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
P.O. Box 1174, Hampton, AR 71744. Courthouse at 309 W. Main St., Hampton, AR 71744.
County notes
- Calhoun County parcels are sold in El Dorado, not in Hampton. The Commissioner of State Lands combines Calhoun with Columbia and Union counties into a single regional sale, so budget the drive and expect to sit through three counties' parcels in one room.
- This is a small book. The September 22, 2026 catalog carries 19 Calhoun entries, two of them already cancelled, so a bidder can research the whole county list in an afternoon.
- The Calhoun County Collector shares a mailing address with the Sheriff's office and answers billing, delinquency and pre-certification redemption questions. Once a parcel is certified, the file, the catalog and the redemption payoff all move to the Commissioner of State Lands.
- Calhoun County publishes no county government website and has no online tax payment portal. Research parcels through the Commissioner's catalog, which links each parcel number to the assessor's property card and to DataScoutPro mapping, then call the Assessor at (870) 798-2740 and the Circuit Clerk at (870) 798-2517 in Hampton for plats and recorded liens.
- Do your own lien search before bidding. The Commissioner identifies interested parties for notice purposes only and warrants nothing about title, and a title search on a rural Calhoun tract costs money you cannot recover if you lose the bid.
Arkansas rules
- Redemption
- The clock is long even though the deadline is hard. The county collector holds the delinquent land for one year after the October 15 delinquency date, certification to the Commissioner of State Lands follows no later than July 1 of the next year, and the sale date must be no earlier than one year after certification, so an owner normally has more than two years from the missed payment. What the owner does not get is any post-sale window. The Commissioner's office states that, effective July 1, 2023, parcels sold through its office cannot be redeemed and all sales are final, at live auctions and through the online unsold-property auction alike. Payment has to be received by the 4:00 p.m. deadline; postmarks are not accepted. A quoted redemption figure holds for 30 days unless the parcel sells, the county amends its records, or further costs accrue.
- Deed deposit
- There is no statutory bidder deposit at the live auction and no registration fee. Registration opens one hour before the sale at the sale site against a photo ID and a driver's license number, and the successful bidder tenders the full purchase price at the time of the sale. The online unsold-property auction works differently: registration requires identity verification and a card on file, and the winning bidder's card is charged $100 in earnest money immediately on notification.
- Surplus proceeds
- Money above the taxes, fees, penalties, interest and costs due at the time of sale is excess proceeds. Within one year of receipt the Commissioner pays penalties, collection fees and sale costs to his own office and the delinquent taxes, interest and costs to the county. The remainder is held for one year from the date of the limited warranty deed, then applied on application to delinquent personal property taxes, state tax certificates of indebtedness and delinquent solid waste assessments. Of whatever is left, 10 percent up to a maximum of $500 goes to the Commissioner for administering the distribution and the rest is payable to the former owner on a complete claim packet. Excess proceeds are held two years and then escheat by operation of law to the county. A former owner, part owner or interested party who buys the parcel at the tax sale is not entitled to any distribution, and a third-party recovery agent's fee may not exceed 10 percent.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Calhoun County, Arkansas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Calhoun County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Calhoun County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 22, 2026 against official county and state sources.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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