Russell County, KS tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Russell County, seat of Russell: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Kansas tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Russell County publishes no fixed annual tax sale date.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Russell County posts no standing bidder registration form or deposit schedule.
- County office
- 785-483-2251
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 24, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Russell County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Russell County Treasurer's Office, Real Estate Division, whose published duties include pursuing collection of tax liens by ordinary lawsuit or by proceeding to the taking of the tax sale deed, preparing for publishing a newspaper notice of tax sale, conducting the annual and adjourned tax sales, sending notice of the annual tax sale and processing tax sale redemptions. Parcels reach the auction through a tax foreclosure suit brought by the county in the Russell County District Court.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Russell County publishes no fixed annual tax sale date.
- Registration
- Russell County posts no standing bidder registration form or deposit schedule.
When it runs
Russell County publishes no fixed annual tax sale date. A parcel reaches auction only after a foreclosure suit, and the Treasurer states that "Delinquent real estate taxes not paid within three years are subject to foreclosure action, thus putting the property in jeopardy of being sold at auction." The Treasurer's FAQ puts it the same way: "Real estate property taxes that are three years delinquent are subject to a tax foreclosure action and public sale." The delinquent real estate list is published in the official county newspaper, as designated by the Board of County Commissioners, "for three consecutive weeks in August in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 79-2323a," and taxes still unpaid on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in September go onto the delinquent tax roll. Call the Treasurer's Office at 785-483-2251 to ask whether a sale is scheduled.
Registration and deposit
Russell County posts no standing bidder registration form or deposit schedule. Registration, deposit and payment terms are set in the published sale notice for each auction, so read that notice and call the Treasurer's Office at 785-483-2251 before sale day to confirm what bidders must bring. One eligibility rule is stated plainly by the county: "Anyone that has delinquent real estate taxes in the county cannot bid at these auctions."
Sale format and venue
This is a live, in person auction, and Russell County names no online bidding platform. The county keeps no standing tax sale page. It states that "Details of Tax Foreclosure Sales may be obtained by requesting a list from the Russell County Treasurer's office" and that "This information will also be available online at the time of a tax sale," so ask the Treasurer for the current list, then watch the county website and the official county newspaper as a sale approaches. Kansas redemption closes at the sale rather than after it, so the roster can shrink right up to auction day and a winning bidder is not waiting out a post-sale redemption period. The district court must confirm the sale before the sheriff's deed passes title, so plan for a gap between the auction and the deed. Delinquent real estate taxes in Russell County carry 9% interest, and a $16 advertising fee is added to any current year tax still unpaid on August 1.
Source: Tax Collection and Payments, Russell County Treasurer· Verified Aug 24, 2026
Russell County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Russell 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 Delinquent taxes and tax foreclosure sale information, Russell County Treasurer for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Russell County publishes no fixed annual tax sale date. 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 Russell County Treasurer's Office, Real Estate Division, whose published duties include pursuing collection of tax liens by ordinary lawsuit or by proceeding to the taking of the tax sale deed, preparing for publishing a newspaper notice of tax sale, conducting the annual and adjourned tax sales, sending notice of the annual tax sale and processing tax sale redemptions. Parcels reach the auction through a tax foreclosure suit brought by the county in the Russell County District Court. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Russell County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent taxes and tax foreclosure sale information, Russell County Treasurer. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Russell County posts no standing bidder registration form or deposit schedule. Registration, deposit and payment terms are set in the published sale notice for each auction, so read that notice and call the Treasurer's Office at 785-483-2251 before sale day to confirm what bidders must bring. One eligibility rule is stated plainly by the county: "Anyone that has delinquent real estate taxes in the county cannot bid at these auctions."
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Kansas 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
Kansas counties sell no tax lien certificates and keep no over-the-counter certificate list. What a county can hold is real estate it bought in at its own sheriff's sale. The commissioners keep a record of every such parcel that is open to public inspection, and the board sells them at private or public sale for cash, at a price of at least the original judgment lien plus interest, the costs in the order of sale, and every subsequent tax and special assessment. Six months after the sale to the county is confirmed the board may reduce the price and take sealed bids after advertising for three consecutive weeks, or sell at public auction to the highest cash bidder. Ask the county clerk or county counselor for the current county-owned list, and check whether the county has a land bank.
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
- The Treasurer's Office is on the first floor of the county courthouse at 401 N Main St in Russell, open Monday through Thursday 7:30 am to 5:00 pm and Friday 7:30 am to 1:00 pm. Trisha Strobel is the Treasurer and the office line for tax sale and payoff questions is 785-483-2251, fax 785-483-3158. Mail goes to PO Box 855, Russell, KS 67665.
- Russell County lists a County Attorney and no separate county counselor. Daniel Krug is the County Attorney, reachable at 785-483-3119, for the status of a county legal proceeding. Sale logistics, payoff figures and the current property list belong with the Treasurer.
- The Sheriff's Office is at 210 E 4th Street, Russell, KS 67665, mailing address PO Box 825, phone 785-483-2151.
- Tax foreclosure cases are filed in the Russell County District Court, part of the 20th Judicial District covering Russell, Barton, Rice, Stafford and Ellsworth counties. The court sits in the courthouse at 401 N Main Street, mailing address PO Box 876, Russell, KS 67665, and the clerk of the district court can be reached at 785-483-5641.
- First half real estate taxes are due December 20 and the second half on May 10. Interest starts the day after each deadline, and once the first half is missed past May 10 the full year plus interest must be paid. Kansas law requires the most delinquent year to be paid first, so a three year arrearage cannot be cleared out of order.
- The county's parcel and tax search, linked from the Appraiser and GIS pages, shows tax and ownership detail by parcel, which is the quickest way to check what a target property owes before bidding.
Kansas rules
- Redemption
- Kansas redemption has two stages, and both close before the auction. Stage one is K.S.A. 79-2401a: once the treasurer bids the parcel off to the county in September, the county holds it for three years for a homestead under section 9 of article 15 of the Kansas Constitution and for all real estate not described in K.S.A. 79-2401a(a), two years where the parcel was bid off for both delinquent taxes and special assessments, and one year for an abandoned building or structure and the land accommodating it, meaning one that has been unoccupied for at least a year with a failure to perform reasonable maintenance. During that window the owner pays the county treasurer directly. On the three-year track a PARTIAL redemption is allowed: paying the taxes for one or more years, starting with the earliest year the parcel was carried on the tax-sale book, plus interest at the K.S.A. 79-2004 rate, pushes back the date a foreclosure sale may be commenced by the number of years paid. The Johnson County paragraph applies the same partial payment to the most recent year instead of the earliest, and it does not carry the extension sentence. Stage two is K.S.A. 79-2803: after the petition is filed the treasurer may no longer take ordinary payments, but the owner or holder of record title, their heirs, devisees, executors, administrators, assigns, or any mortgagee or mortgagee's assigns may still redeem at any time BEFORE THE DAY OF SALE by filing an application to redeem with the clerk of the district court and paying the clerk a share of the costs, being whatever the court orders or, absent an order, 5 percent of the lien amount stated in the petition for that parcel plus any charges chargeable separately against it. The treasurer then computes the full taxes, charges, interest, and penalties, issues a redemption certificate in triplicate, and the sheriff strikes the parcel from the order of sale. Once the sale happens the right is gone. Kansas gives no post-sale redemption period and no right to buy the property back after the sheriff's deed. What exists after the sale is a twelve-month window under K.S.A. 79-2804b to open, vacate, modify, or set aside the judgment, the order of sale, or the sale. That is a title challenge, not redemption: it is available to parties attacking the proceedings, it requires grounds, and it does not let a former owner simply pay the taxes and take the parcel back.
- Deed deposit
- Kansas fixes no statewide deposit percentage and no statutory bidder registration. K.S.A. 79-2804 is silent on deposits, so the terms are whatever the sheriff publishes for that sale. The statute does require one payment at the auction itself: the register of deeds filing fee for the sheriff's deed is collected from the successful bidder at the time of sale and deposited with the register of deeds at recording. Confirm the county's accepted funds, any registration step, and the payment deadline before bidding, and expect certified funds.
- Surplus proceeds
- If a parcel sells for more than the judgment lien for taxes, interest, penalty, and charges plus its share of the costs, charges, and expenses of the proceedings and sale, the court orders the excess paid, upon due proof, to the owner or the party entitled to it. The court apportions costs across the parcels sold as soon as practicable after the sale, deducts the total costs from the gross proceeds, and equitably apportions the balance to each parcel that sold for more than its share. The clerk pays that balance to the county treasurer, who prorates it among the state, city, township, school district, and other taxing units in proportion to their interest in the lien, and cancels the taxes charged against the parcel. Tax liens on every parcel sold or redeemed in the action are satisfied and discharged of record.
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 Russell County, Kansas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. Kansas sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Russell County hold tax deed sales?
Russell County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Russell County publishes no fixed annual tax sale date. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Kansas's redemption rule: Runs BEFORE the sale and ends on the day of the sheriff's sale. One, two, or three years from the county's September bid-off depending on the parcel, then a further right to redeem at the courthouse until the day of sale. Kansas has no redemption period after the sale. Call the Russell County Treasurer's Office, Real Estate Division, whose published duties include pursuing collection of tax liens by ordinary lawsuit or by proceeding to the taking of the tax sale deed, preparing for publishing a newspaper notice of tax sale, conducting the annual and adjourned tax sales, sending notice of the annual tax sale and processing tax sale redemptions. Parcels reach the auction through a tax foreclosure suit brought by the county in the Russell County District Court. as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.
Where can I find the Russell County tax sale list?
Russell County posts its tax sale list at russellcountykansas.com. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.
Verified Aug 24, 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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