Desha County, AR tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Desha County holds no tax sale of its own. Every tax-delinquent parcel in the county is sold by the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands, which sets the date, prints the catalog, takes the bids and issues the deed. Use the Desha County Collector at (870) 877-2525 for current tax balances, payoff before certification and parcel records, and the Commissioner of State Lands at 501-324-9422 or [email protected] for anything to do with the sale itself.
• •Plan the drive. Desha parcels are sold at Monticello, not at the courthouse in Arkansas City, in one regional sitting shared with Lincoln, Cleveland, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot and Drew counties. Registration opens an hour before the 10:00 a.m. start and parcels are called in catalog order, so arriving late can mean missing your parcel entirely.
• •Levee and drainage district assessments are the defining Desha risk. The Southeast Arkansas Levee District is named as an interested party on nearly every parcel left unsold at the most recent auction, alongside the Cypress Creek Drainage District, Canal 18 Water District and Drainage District No. 5. The Commissioner warns that improvement district taxes will most likely transfer with the property, so price the district assessment into your bid before you price the land.
• •The most recent Desha auction sold 17 parcels at prices from $239.63 to $18,000.00 and left 16 unsold, with delinquent tax amounts on those unsold parcels running from $208.61 to $2,211.59. All 16 reopen on the Commissioner's online post-auction sale 30 days after the auction date, which is where most Desha inventory clears.
• •Desha County posts no tax sale calendar or parcel list of its own. The collector's delinquent list is advertised locally before certification, and the only list you can bid from is the Commissioner's Public Auction Catalog. Parcels drop off that catalog when the taxes are redeemed, up to 4:00 p.m. Central on the last business day before the sale, so verify your target is still offered close to the sale date rather than working from an older catalog print.

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.Ark. Code Ann. 26-37-302, the redemption and purchase figure: all delinquent taxes plus 10 percent simple interest per year of delinquency, a 10 percent penalty per year of delinquency, and county and Commissioner costs, accruing from October 16Ark. Code Ann. 26-37-302Verified Aug 18, 2026

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.Ark. Code Ann. 26-37-202, in-person auction held in the county where the parcel sits, online unsold-property auction for parcels that draw no qualifying bid, negotiated-price sale after two years, and redemption cut off at 4:00 p.m. CST the last business day before the saleArk. Code Ann. 26-37-202Verified Aug 18, 2026

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.Ark. Code Ann. 26-37-205, order of distribution of sale money, the 10 percent capped at $500 administration retention, the former owner's claim to the remainder and the two-year escrow before escheatArk. Code Ann. 26-37-205Verified Aug 18, 2026

Governing statute

Ark. Code Ann. Title 26, Chapter 37Ark. Code Ann. 26-37-101, land unpaid one year after the October 15 due date is forfeited to the state and certified to the Commissioner of State Lands; tax-delinquent lands shall not be sold at the county levelArk. Code Ann. 26-37-101Verified Aug 18, 2026

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.

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