Miller County, AR tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Arkansas sells tax-delinquent land at the state level. The Miller County Tax Collector bills and collects, and taxes unpaid after October 15 pick up a 10 percent penalty plus fees, but a parcel that stays unpaid is certified to the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands. From that point the catalog, the auction and the deed all belong to the Commissioner, not to the county.
• •The auction meets in Texarkana, the county seat, but it is a four-county docket rather than a Miller County event. Hempstead, Little River, Lafayette and Miller parcels were all called at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, Ballroom C, 5200 Convention Plaza Dr, starting at 10:00 a.m. on July 23, 2026.
• •This is not a bargain-bin county. The 2026 Miller docket carried 69 parcels: 47 drew bids from $246.12 to $95,000, five of those above $40,000, and 22 drew nothing with taxes owed from $202.44 to $14,751.04. Price each tract on its own rather than off a countywide average.
• •The 22 parcels that failed to sell become available for online bidding at auction.cosl.org thirty days after the live auction, and that is the realistic way into Miller County between summer sales. The site takes a maximum bid or manual raises, charges the first $100 of a winning bid to your registered card, and gives you 10 business days to deliver the balance.
• •Neither the county website nor the collector's own site at millercollector.com posts a delinquent list or a sale calendar, so the Commissioner's catalog is the authoritative parcel list. For a redemption payoff on a parcel before it certifies, call the Tax Collector at 870-774-1001 or visit 400 Laurel Street, Suite 111 in Texarkana, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Questions about the auction itself go to the Commissioner's real estate office at 7003 Valley Ranch Drive, Little Rock, 501-324-9422.

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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