St. John the Baptist County, LA tax sales
How tax lien sales work in St. John the Baptist County, seat of Edgard: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Louisiana tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Louisiana holds no tax deed sale and no parish publishes a tax deed calendar.
- Format
- ZEUS
- Registration
- Every bidder registers online in advance.
- County office
- (985) 652-9513
On this page
How St. John the Baptist County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
Louisiana holds no tax deed sale. A certificate holder who has not been paid files an ordinary proceeding under R.S. 47:2266.1 asking the court to recognize the delinquent obligation and the lien, and can do so only after the later of three years from recordation of the tax lien certificate or six months after sending the post-auction notices required by R.S. 47:2156. Those notices cannot go out more than one year before the suit, which makes years three through four the natural filing window. The petition names every owner shown in the conveyance records, and a notice of pendency of action goes into the mortgage records to preserve the lien while the case runs. Judgment is in rem only. It is executed by writ of fieri facias under Code of Civil Procedure Article 2291 and following, and the property is sold at a sheriff's judicial sale.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff and Ex-Officio Tax Collector, Property Tax Division
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Once a year, in June.
- Registration
- Every bidder registers online in advance.
- Next expected
- advertised for auction by May 1, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
- Sale list
- Sheriff's annual tax sale notice
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Every bidder registers online in advance. The Sheriff states "The Tax Sale is held online at www.zeusauction.com All tax bidders must register online," and describes it as a two-step process: first register as a bidder on Zeus, then register separately for the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office auction. For the 2025 sale the window ran from "May 27, 2026 at 8 a.m." to "June 18, 2026 at 4 p.m.", closing a week before sale day, so expect a similar month-long window that shuts well before bidding opens. Zeus charges no registration fee of its own, may ask for a W-9, and applies separate approval rules per auction. Registration help is at 1-800-800-9588; questions about a specific tax bill go to (985) 236-1009.
Sale format and venue
St. John the Baptist County tax sale list and auction calendar
For St. John the Baptist 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 Sheriff's annual tax sale notice for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Louisiana holds no tax deed sale and no parish publishes a tax deed calendar. Bidding runs on ZEUS; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Sheriff, executing a district court judgment obtained by the tax lien certificate holder as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in St. John the Baptist County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Sheriff's annual tax sale notice. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Every bidder registers online in advance. The Sheriff states "The Tax Sale is held online at www.zeusauction.com All tax bidders must register online," and describes it as a two-step process: first register as a bidder on Zeus, then register separately for the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office auction. For the 2025 sale the window ran from "May 27, 2026 at 8 a.m." to "June 18, 2026 at 4 p.m.", closing a week before sale day, so expect a similar month-long window that shuts well before bidding opens. Zeus charges no registration fee of its own, may ask for a W-9, and applies separate approval rules per auction. Registration help is at 1-800-800-9588; questions about a specific tax bill go to (985) 236-1009.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Louisiana 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 certificates
A lien nobody bids on has its certificate recorded in favor of the political subdivision, which then earns the full 1 percent per month. Any person may buy that lien from the political subdivision on the terms and conditions it sets, taking the same rights as any other certificate holder, and a political subdivision may adopt an ordinance for the public sale of the liens it holds and may sell for less than the full amount owed. There is no statewide list and no statewide price. Ask the tax collector and the parish or municipal governing authority which certificates are held and what their ordinance requires.
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)
St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office Property Tax Division
1801 W. Airline Hwy, LaPlace, LA 70068. Mailing: P.O. Box 1600, LaPlace, LA 70069
Official websiteCounty notes
- The Sheriff holds the tax collector role directly. The office states that the Sheriff "has the additional duty of Ex-officio Tax Collector" and collects parish property taxes, so there is no separate parish treasurer to call about a tax sale.
- Property Tax Division direct lines: Deputy Renata Morris (985) 359-8710 and Deputy Shiaa Thomas (985) 359-8815. The division sits under Administrative Civil Services at the Percy Hebert Building, 1801 West Airline Highway, LaPlace, with Chief Civil Jeffrey Clement over property tax collection, tax sales, fines and occupational licenses at (985) 359-8705.
- Tax sale correspondence goes to [email protected]. The Property Tax Division fax is (985) 652-7413.
- Edgard is the parish seat and the courthouse town on the west bank, but property tax collection and the tax sale are run from the Sheriff's LaPlace offices on the east bank. Send tax mail to P.O. Box 1600, LaPlace, LA 70069, and expect redemption filings to sit with the Clerk of Court.
- Delinquency costs stack fast and a bidder repays them on redemption. The 2025 sale notice itemized roughly $445 added to a delinquent bill by sale day: $100 delinquent notification, $20 certified notice, $85 research, $60 legal advertisement and about $180 in sale-related charges.
- Payment happens off the platform. Zeus does not accept funds, and its own guidance is that a wire transfer to the collecting jurisdiction's bank is the preferred method under instructions issued with each auction. Confirm the deposit, the wire deadline and any W-9 requirement with the Property Tax Division before sale day.
- Unsold parcels are adjudicated to St. John the Baptist Parish. Buying one of those is a separate transaction with parish government on its own terms, not a purchase at the Sheriff's sale, so ask the Parish about its adjudicated inventory if nothing at the June sale fits.
- Assessed values and homestead exemption questions go to the parish Assessor at (985) 652-5311. Tax bills and balances are searchable through the Sheriff's online tax portal at snstaxpayments.com/stjohn.
- Sale format has changed within recent memory. The 2021 sale was held at 10 a.m. at the Parish Government Complex council chambers, 1811 West Airline Highway, LaPlace, and the 2022 sale at 9 a.m. in the same room, while the most recent sale ran online. Read the current year's notice for the format before arranging to attend in person.
- The Sheriff's notices set an owner cutoff shortly before the sale, after which payment no longer stops the parcel from going to auction. For the 2025 sale the cancellation deadline was May 20, 2026, a week before the first advertisement on May 27, so the list a bidder sees in the paper is close to final.
Louisiana rules
- Redemption
- Louisiana replaced redemption with extinguishment of the lien, and the shape is different from a redemption clock. There is no date on which the owner's right lapses by itself. Any person may pay the termination price to the tax collector at any time. The holder cannot even start the enforcement suit until the later of three years from recordation of the certificate or six months after the R.S. 47:2156 notices went out, and once suit is filed the right to pay survives until the close of business on the thirtieth day after the last party was served. After that the tax collector stops accepting payment, and the lien can be extinguished only by the holder's own act or by court order: a party holding an interest may still file a contradictory motion before the judicial sale and ask the court to set the termination price, which the court fixes within 30 days and which must then be paid within 30 days more. The pressure on the holder comes from the other end. R.S. 47:2155(C) makes the right to sue peremptive at seven years from recordation, suspended while a political subdivision holds the certificate or a recorded bankruptcy stay is pending, after which the lien is extinguished and the inscription cancelled. Redemption periods that the constitution used to provide remain peremptive under R.S. 47:2241, but the amended constitution no longer provides any.
- Surplus proceeds
- R.S. 47:2267(B)(1) ranks the proceeds. The sheriff deducts the costs of the sale and any commission, then pays the plaintiff certificate holder the judgment plus judicial interest through the date of sale and reasonable costs and attorney fees, then any other tax lien certificate holders whose rights have not perempted, then holders of recorded mortgages, liens and privileges, and finally each owner according to their interest. The certificate holder is paid immediately even if the remaining parties are still arguing, and a dispute over the surplus cannot delay the sheriff's deed. Proceeds that cannot be delivered go into the registry of the court, and surplus left unclaimed for one year falls under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1997, R.S. 9:151 and following. The constitution now requires this: La. Const. art. VII, sec. 25(A)(1)(d) makes a procedure for claiming excess proceeds a minimum feature of the scheme.
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 St. John the Baptist County, Louisiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the St. John the Baptist County tax certificate sale?
How often does St. John the Baptist County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the St. John the Baptist County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 25, 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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