Independence County, AR tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Independence County, seat of Batesville: 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
- County site
- County office
- (870) 793-8823
On this page
How Independence County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Independence County holds no tax sale of its own: the County Tax Collector bills delinquent real estate taxes, advertises the delinquent list and certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner, who auctions every Arkansas parcel and issues the deed.
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Registration for the live regional auction opens one hour before the 10:00 a.m. start, at the sale site, and costs nothing. Fill out a numbered bidder registration card, hand the completed form to a Commissioner of State Lands employee and keep the opposite half as your bidder number. The minimum bid is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date, as shown in the catalog, and the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. Bidding in the online post-auction sale instead requires an account at auction.cosl.org, a U.S. address and U.S. identification, and a credit or debit card on file; the card is charged only if you win.
Sale format and venue
Independence County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Independence 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, per-county parcel lists and sale dates 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
Bidding runs on County site; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. Independence County holds no tax sale of its own: the County Tax Collector bills delinquent real estate taxes, advertises the delinquent list and certifies unredeemed parcels to the Commissioner, who auctions every Arkansas parcel and issues the deed. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Independence County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Public Auction Catalog, per-county parcel lists and sale dates. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Registration for the live regional auction opens one hour before the 10:00 a.m. start, at the sale site, and costs nothing. Fill out a numbered bidder registration card, hand the completed form to a Commissioner of State Lands employee and keep the opposite half as your bidder number. The minimum bid is the taxes, interest, penalty and costs due as of the sale date, as shown in the catalog, and the purchase price is that minimum plus any competitive bidding. Bidding in the online post-auction sale instead requires an account at auction.cosl.org, a U.S. address and U.S. identification, and a credit or debit card on file; the card is charged only if you win.
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
County notes
- Independence County does not conduct a tax sale. The County Tax Collector, Paul Albert, collects personal and real estate taxes from the Courthouse Annex Building at 110 Broad Street in Batesville and certifies unredeemed parcels to the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands; the collector's own page sends buyers to the Commissioner at cosl.org.
- Independence County parcels sell in Searcy, not in Batesville. The Commissioner's Public Auction Catalog groups Independence with Jackson, White and Woodruff counties in one 10:00 a.m. session, listed at 9/3/2026 at the Downtown Church of Christ auditorium, 900 N. Main Street, Searcy.
- Before the sale the Commissioner publishes a legal notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and posts the parcel list in the online Public Auction Catalog, which is updated daily. The catalog is the authoritative list of what will actually be offered.
- Anyone may redeem an Independence County parcel from the time it is certified until 4:00 p.m. Central on the last business day before the sale date, so the roster of parcels shrinks up to the day before bidding.
- Independence County questions about the tax bill, the delinquency or a redemption amount go to the Tax Collector at (870) 793-8823 or [email protected]. Questions about the auction itself, the catalog or the deed go to the Commissioner of State Lands real estate office at 501-324-9422.
- Tax records and receipts for Independence County parcels are searchable through actdatascout.com, linked from the collector's page, which is the practical starting point for checking what is owed on a catalog parcel.
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 Independence County, Arkansas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Independence County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Independence 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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