Howard County, AR tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Plan the travel. Howard County parcels are sold in Mena, in neighboring Polk County, not at the courthouse in Nashville, and the catalog groups Howard with Sevier, Polk, Montgomery and Pike into that single Mena sitting. Arrive by 9:00 a.m. if you intend to register.
• •Howard County is a short list. Roughly twenty parcels were catalogued heading into the September 2026 sitting, with minimum bids running from $203.41 to about $3,178, and several entries already struck as cancelled. Owners redeem right up to the 4:00 p.m. cutoff the day before, so pull the catalog again in the week of the sale rather than working from an older printout.
• •Howard County publishes no auction calendar or parcel list of its own. The Collector in Nashville handles tax payments and payoff figures, and a call to (870) 845-7508 is the way to confirm what is owed on a parcel; the auction date, venue, parcel list and minimum bids all sit in the Commissioner of State Lands catalog at cosl.org.
• •The county side of the timeline is the delinquent list. Arkansas collectors deliver the list of delinquent lands to a legal newspaper by December 1 each year, and the paper runs it within seven days in at least seven-point type; where a county has no qualifying paper of its own, the notice runs in the nearest paper of general circulation. Parcels then stay delinquent for a year before the Collector certifies them to the Commissioner of State Lands, so a parcel named in a December list reaches a state auction later, not that same winter.
• •The Commissioner of State Lands answers auction questions directly at 501-324-9422 or [email protected], and its mailing address is State Capitol Building, 500 Woodlane Street, Suite 109, Little Rock, AR 72201. Certified funds for online post-auction purchases go instead to the real estate office at 7003 Valley Ranch Drive, Little Rock, AR 72223.
• •Research before the sale is on you. The Commissioner links assessor property cards from the catalog by parcel number, but recorded liens and encumbrances sit with the Howard County Circuit Clerk at the courthouse in Nashville, and money spent on a title search is not recoverable if you are outbid.

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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