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Tax Sale Atlas

Calloway County, KY tax sales

How tax lien sales work in Calloway County, seat of Murray: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Kentucky tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
between mid July and late August, 2026
Registration
Two registrations, and the state one comes first.
County office
(270) 753-3923
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
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How Calloway County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Kentucky holds no county tax deed auction. Title moves only through a lawsuit. The owner of a certificate of delinquency may sue to collect the debt, to enforce the KRS 134.420 lien, or both, at any time after one year has passed from the date the taxes became delinquent, and the action must be brought within eleven years of that date. A third-party purchaser has extra duties first: a notice to the delinquent taxpayer within 50 days of receiving the certificate, that notice repeated every six months, and a further notice to the taxpayer and every mortgagee at least 45 days before filing suit.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

Run by
Calloway County Clerk
Frequency
annual
Registration
Two registrations, and the state one comes first.
Next expected
between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Advertised Delinquent Tax Bills, Calloway County Clerk
When it runs
One certificate of delinquency sale a year, held in August, with purchaser registration closing about a week beforehand. The Department of Revenue calendar and the Clerk both set the 2026 sale for August 11 at 9:00 a.m., with the deadline to register as a purchaser on August 3. Kentucky clerk sales run from mid-July through late October, and Calloway falls in the busiest mid-August stretch.
Registration and deposit

Two registrations, and the state one comes first. Buying more than three certificates in a single county, more than five statewide, or investing more than $10,000 requires a certificate of registration from the Kentucky Department of Revenue: Form 62A370A with a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, filed by May 15 for that year's sales, with eligibility beginning 60 days after the Department receives the application. Then register with the Calloway County Clerk by the county deadline, which was August 3 for the 2026 sale. County registration fees and any deposit are set by the Clerk and advertised at least 30 days ahead of the sale date.

Sale format and venue
The Calloway County Clerk conducts the sale directly and no online auction platform is listed for this county, so confirm the sale location, the bid procedure and the county registration packet with the Clerk's office at (270) 753-3923 before the registration deadline. Prior-year certificate holders and the taxing districts take priority on the bills they are entitled to claim, and third-party purchasers bid on what remains, subject to the statutory cap on how much any one purchaser may take in a single county. The advertised bill list is posted on the Clerk's website and published in the local newspaper at least 30 days before the sale date, so the Calloway list is available roughly a month out.

Calloway County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Calloway 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Advertised Delinquent Tax Bills, Calloway County Clerk for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Two registrations, and the state one comes first. Full requirements are in the sale card above.
  3. Sale day

    between mid July and late August, 2026 The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.
  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Calloway County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Calloway County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Advertised Delinquent Tax Bills, Calloway County Clerk. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Two registrations, and the state one comes first. Buying more than three certificates in a single county, more than five statewide, or investing more than $10,000 requires a certificate of registration from the Kentucky Department of Revenue: Form 62A370A with a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, filed by May 15 for that year's sales, with eligibility beginning 60 days after the Department receives the application. Then register with the Calloway County Clerk by the county deadline, which was August 3 for the 2026 sale. County registration fees and any deposit are set by the Clerk and advertised at least 30 days ahead of the sale date.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Kentucky due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.
  4. 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

A certificate that goes unpaid at the annual sale may be paid to the county clerk at any time afterward by any person, unless it is under a payment plan with the Department of Revenue or the county attorney or is known to be in litigation. You need a current Department of Revenue certificate of registration if you will hold more than three certificates in this county, more than five statewide, or invest more than 10,000 dollars statewide in the calendar year, and you register with the county clerk and pay the county fee if you have not already done so that year. Separately, 90 days after the sheriff files the tax claims, any person may pay a certificate the taxing jurisdictions still own. Certificates that arrive too late for one year's sale are held for the next one.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Calloway County Clerk

(270) 753-3923

101 South Fifth Street, Suite 5, Murray, KY 42071-2569

Official website

County notes

  • Calloway County sells certificates of delinquency through the County Clerk, not the Sheriff. The Sheriff collects the current-year bills and turns the uncollected ones over to the Clerk in the spring, and the Clerk then advertises and sells them.
  • Third-party purchasers clear two separate registrations here: the spring application to the Kentucky Department of Revenue, and the county registration with the Calloway County Clerk in the week before the sale. Missing the county deadline shuts you out even with a valid state certificate.
  • The Clerk's office is at 101 South Fifth Street, Suite 5, in Murray, and the delinquent tax bill search is linked from the Clerk's home page alongside the sale announcement. There is no separate tax sale section to look for.
  • No online bidding platform serves this sale, so plan on dealing with the Clerk's office directly rather than through an auction site.

Kentucky rules

Max interest rate
12% per year, fixed by statute (nothing is bid)
Minimum return
No statutory floor; every certificate earns the same statutory rate
Redemption
Kentucky's redemption window is a property of where the parcel is in the process, not a single statewide clock, and it runs in four tracks. Track one, and by far the most common, is an outstanding certificate of delinquency: the delinquent taxpayer or anyone holding a legal or equitable estate in the property may pay the third-party purchaser the total amount due at any time, and the purchaser may accept payment from anyone at any time. No statute closes that window, so it stays open until a court forecloses. Track two is a foreclosure sale that brought less than two thirds of the property's appraised value, where the defendant and the defendant's representatives may redeem within six months of the day of sale. Track three is a foreclosure sale that brought two thirds or more of the appraised value, where no right of redemption exists at all; the purchaser takes the property outright. Track four is land the state, county, and taxing districts acquired through a KRS 134.546 action, which the taxpayer may redeem at any time before the commissioner delivers a deed to a purchaser. A third-party purchaser must also offer a monthly installment plan on written request for certificates bought after June 1, 2012, if the purchaser is one who has to register with the department.
Surplus proceeds
If nobody bids at the foreclosure sale, the master commissioner deeds the property to the person or persons the record shows own the certificate or certificates of delinquency, each taking a pro rata interest matching the size of their certificate. Where the state, county, or a taxing district ends up owning the land, the commissioner's designated agent may advertise and sell it at public sale after posting notice at the courthouse door for fifteen days and publishing under KRS Chapter 424, the department keeps an administration fee of 15 percent of the sale price, and the balance is paid to the county and taxing districts within thirty days.
Governing statute
KRS Chapter 134

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.

See the full Kentuckyrules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Calloway County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Kentucky investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Clerk runs the sale.

When is the Calloway County tax certificate sale?

One certificate of delinquency sale a year, held in August, with purchaser registration closing about a week beforehand. The Department of Revenue calendar and the Clerk both set the 2026 sale for August 11 at 9:00 a.m., with the deadline to register as a purchaser on August 3. Kentucky clerk sales run from mid-July through late October, and Calloway falls in the busiest mid-August stretch. Always confirm the exact date with the County Clerk before the sale.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Kentucky's redemption rule: No fixed deadline while the certificate is outstanding. Six months after a judicial sale that brings less than two thirds of the appraised value, and none at all when it brings two thirds or more. Call the Calloway County Clerk 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 Calloway County tax sale list?

Calloway County posts its tax sale list at americanlandrecords.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 23, 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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