Terrebonne County, LA tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Terrebonne County, seat of Houma: 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
- County office
- 985-876-2500
On this page
How Terrebonne 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
- Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, Sheriff and Ex-Officio Tax Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Terrebonne runs one tax lien sale a year.
- Next expected
- advertised for auction by May 1, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
- Sale list
- Delinquent Tax Debtor List
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Every participating buyer must hold a Zeus Auction account and be registered for the Terrebonne sale before bidding opens. Registration for the 2026 sale began on May 15, about four weeks ahead of sale day. Zeus accepts registrations only while a given sale is posted with registration open, and you can bid only on sales you registered for, so set the account up as soon as the parish list is advertised in May.
Sale format and venue
Terrebonne County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Terrebonne 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 Tax Debtor List for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.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 Terrebonne County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent Tax Debtor List. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Every participating buyer must hold a Zeus Auction account and be registered for the Terrebonne sale before bidding opens. Registration for the 2026 sale began on May 15, about four weeks ahead of sale day. Zeus accepts registrations only while a given sale is posted with registration open, and you can bid only on sales you registered for, so set the account up as soon as the parish list is advertised in May.
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)
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office
P.O. Box 1990, Gray, LA 70359 (office at 3441 West Park Ave., Gray, LA 70359)
Official websiteCounty notes
- The Sheriff, not a treasurer or an assessor, collects Terrebonne's property taxes and conducts the tax lien sale. Property tax questions go to the Sheriff's tax line at 985-857-0230, and tax bills are paid through the parish online payment portal.
- Bidding here is a bid-down of ownership rather than a bid-up of price. The Sheriff offers the smallest undivided share of a parcel that anyone will accept for the taxes, interest and costs owed, so a buyer can end up a co-owner with the delinquent taxpayer instead of the sole owner. Check the ownership percentage attached to every parcel before you bid.
- Parcels that attract no bidder are adjudicated to Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government. The Purchasing Division sells the parish's tax interest in that inventory and posts a running list organized by tax sale year with parcel number, owner name, ownership percentage and legal description. Call (985) 873-6765 or email [email protected] for sale procedures and pricing.
- The delinquent debtor list is advertised in The Courier ahead of the sale and posted as a notice on the Sheriff's site. Each entry carries the parcel number, ward, owner, legal description and taxes owed, with interest and cost added at sale.
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 Terrebonne County, Louisiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Terrebonne County tax certificate sale?
How often does Terrebonne County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Terrebonne 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.
More Louisiana counties
Browse all 64 Louisiana counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.