When the sale is held
Not applicable. There is a statutory September sale, but the only buyer is the county. Between July 1 and July 10 the county treasurer prepares a list of every parcel whose taxes were unpaid on May 10, together with a notice that the treasurer will sell the listed real estate TO THE COUNTY for the delinquent taxes and legal charges due. The list and notice go to the newspaper on or before August 1 and are published once a week for three consecutive weeks immediately before the week of the sale, which is held on or after the first Tuesday of September. Investors do not bid at that sale. The auction investors can bid at is the sheriff's sale that follows the judicial foreclosure, years later.
When taxes go delinquent
Kansas real property taxes may be paid in full on or before December 20, or in halves, with the first half due December 20 and the second half due May 10 of the following year. A tax bill of $10 or less is due in full by December 20. A first half left unpaid after December 20 draws interest at the rate prescribed by K.S.A. 79-2968 plus five percentage points per year, and everything still unpaid on May 11 draws that same rate from May 10 until it is paid or until the property is sold by foreclosure. The K.S.A. 79-2968 rate is the federal Internal Revenue Code section 6621(a)(2) underpayment rate in effect on July 1 of the preceding year plus one percentage point, and for a property tax delinquency of $10,000 or more it is that figure or 10 percent per year, whichever is greater. All of that interest is credited to the county general fund. No investor ever earns it, because Kansas issues no certificate against it. Any real estate whose taxes are unpaid on May 10 becomes subject to sale, which in Kansas means the treasurer will bid it off to the county that September.
What happens after the sale
A parcel becomes eligible for judicial foreclosure when it was bid off to the county at the September delinquent tax sale and remains unredeemed at the end of the K.S.A. 79-2401a holding period for that parcel: three years for a homestead and for every parcel 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. On expiration the board of county commissioners orders the county attorney or county counselor to file a petition in the district court against the owners, supposed owners, and everyone claiming an interest. Filing is discretionary rather than mandatory in three situations: a mineral interest severed from the fee, an aggregate assessed valuation of the real estate subject to sale below $300,000, and an aggregate amount of delinquent taxes including special assessments below $10,000. Once the petition is filed the county treasurer may no longer accept ordinary tax payments on those parcels.
Leftover parcels between sales
Kansas has no over-the-counter certificate list, because it issues no certificates. What it does have is an inventory of parcels the COUNTY bought in at its own sheriff's sale. The commissioners keep a public record of every parcel acquired under K.S.A. 79-2804, showing the case, the judgment lien, and the costs paid, and that record is open to inspection on request. Those parcels are sold by the board at private or public sale for cash in hand, and the price must be at least the original judgment lien plus interest, plus the costs set out in the order of sale, plus every subsequent tax and special assessment not included in the judgment. That price floor is what usually keeps county inventory from being cheap. If a parcel is still unsold six months after the sale to the county was confirmed, the board may cut the price and sell it by sealed bid after advertising once a week for three consecutive weeks, accepting the highest cash bid, and it may reject bids below current market value. From that same six-month point the board may instead sell at public auction for cash to the highest bidder after advertising at least three times in the official county paper. Conveyance is by a deed from the county clerk on a written order of the board. Two eligibility rules follow the parcel: K.S.A. 79-2812 bars any buyer who is the record owner of tax-delinquent real estate on the county treasurer's records, and K.S.A. 79-2804g bars a sale to anyone who had a right to redeem for less than the original judgment lien plus interest and costs, including sales by a county land bank.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the Kansas county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Kansas.
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against Kansas statutes.
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.