Scott County, MN tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Minnesota sells no tax lien certificates and pays no investor interest rate. A delinquent Scott County parcel goes to tax judgment, then through a redemption period of generally three years, and title then forfeits to the State of Minnesota under Minn. Stat. 281.18.
• •What an investor buys in Scott County is state-forfeited land the county is disposing of under Minn. Stat. Chapter 282, not a lien and not a tax deed in the Florida sense. Scott County describes itself as managing the properties while in trust for the state.
• •Sales are occasional rather than annual. The county sets an auction when it has classified inventory and notifies its email list when a date is set, so subscribe or call the office rather than waiting for a published calendar.
• •Previously unsold parcels are offered over the counter on the same Tax Forfeited Properties page, under the heading for properties available for immediate sale. That section shows no parcels available for immediate purchase.
• •Delinquency mechanics worth knowing: unpaid taxes go delinquent on January 2, interest runs at 8 percent per year and increases monthly, and the county publishes the judgment list in the newspaper for two weeks each March with parcel number, owner, address, description and amount due.
• •A former owner, heir, representative, or anyone given the right to pay the taxes by statute, mortgage or agreement can repurchase under Minn. Stat. 282.241, generally within six months of forfeiture, with no six-month cap for property that was homesteaded at forfeiture. The county board must adopt a resolution finding undue hardship or injustice, or a public interest benefit. A repurchase can pull a parcel back before it ever reaches an auction, so a listed parcel is not a certainty.
• •The county board classifies each parcel as conservation or nonconservation under Minn. Stat. 282.01 and can attach restrictive covenants, continued-use conditions and reversion terms to what it sells. Parcels inside a city or town also require that municipality's approval of the classification and sale, which is presumed if it does not object within 60 days.
• •Scott County also posts a tax forfeiture surplus notice process: former owners and interested parties must file claims within six months of the notice mailing date, and claims are not paid until the filing period closes. Prior owners and lienholders may separately have a claim in a Minnesota tax-forfeiture class action settlement.

Minnesota rules

Redemption

Redemption in Minnesota runs BEFORE forfeiture and there is no redemption after a tax-forfeited land sale. The clock starts on the second Monday in May, when the county auditor bids the parcel in for the state, and it runs three years for most property. Once the parcel is unredeemed 120 days before that period ends, the county auditor gives notice of expiration of redemption, which is posted in the auditor's office, published for two successive weeks in the official county newspaper, mailed by certified mail to taxpayers, fee owners, and anyone who filed an address under Minn. Stat. 276.041, and personally served on anyone in possession of an occupied parcel. Redemption ends on the later of the end of the statutory period and 60 days after that notice is given and proof of it is filed with the auditor, and the Department of Revenue's manual states the exact forfeiture date the same way. On that date absolute title vests in the state of Minnesota. A district court can cut the period to five weeks on a city or county petition for abandoned or certain vacant property, so a parcel can reach forfeiture far sooner than three years. Forfeiture extinguishes redemption rights along with almost everything else, with one carve-out that Minn. Stat. 282.005, subd. 10 preserves in terms: rights of redemption provided under federal law, which is where an unreleased federal tax lien can still reach a parcel after the sale. The right to REPURCHASE after forfeiture, under Minn. Stat. 282.241, is a separate remedy and not a redemption right.Minnesota Statutes 281.17 - the three-year redemption period and the one-year exceptions for targeted-community and qualified solid waste facility landMinn. Stat. 281.17Verified Aug 24, 2026

Deed deposit

Minnesota fixes no statutory bidder deposit and no statutory registration deadline. Terms are set locally, and the Department of Revenue's manual treats a cash-only initial sale as best practice because everything above the minimum bid has to stay available for surplus claims. On a Chapter 282.01 sale, parcels are sold for cash only unless the county board has adopted a resolution allowing terms. Where terms are allowed, at least 10 percent of the purchase price is due at the time of purchase and the balance runs in no more than ten equal annual installments, or under a county board policy of no more than 12 installments a year over a term of no more than ten years. Confirm the county's published terms before registering.Minnesota Statutes 282.005 - the required initial public auction of tax-forfeited land, the estimated-market-value initial price, the minimum bid, the six-month deadline, surplus claims, and what forfeiture extinguishesMinn. Stat. 282.005Verified Aug 24, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Minnesota built a surplus claim process in response to Tyler v. Hennepin County, and the Revisor's note under Minn. Stat. 282.08 records that decision. It applies to forfeitures occurring after December 31, 2023. The minimum bid goes into the county's forfeited tax sale fund and everything above it is available to interested parties, meaning any party with an interest in the real estate, including the owner, a lienholder, and anyone who filed their name under Minn. Stat. 276.041. Within 60 days of the sale the county auditor must send notice and a claim form by certified mail to every interested party of record, mail a second notice by first class mail between 90 and 120 days if no claim has been filed, mail notice to the occupants unless the land is vacant, and publish a list of sales with unexpired claim periods on the county website. A claim must be filed within six months of the date the first notice is mailed. Multiple claims are divided in proportion to each claimant's interest, and a disputed claim can be deposited with the district court. Unclaimed surplus returns to the county's forfeited tax sale fund. A separate claim process covers iron-bearing stockpiles, minerals, and mineral interests, which are sold to the state for $50 at forfeiture and valued by the commissioner of natural resources if a claim is filed.Minnesota Statutes 282.005 - the required initial public auction of tax-forfeited land, the estimated-market-value initial price, the minimum bid, the six-month deadline, surplus claims, and what forfeiture extinguishesMinn. Stat. 282.005Verified Aug 24, 2026

Governing statute

Minn. Stat. Chapter 279Minnesota Statutes 279.05 - the county auditor files the delinquent list with the district court by February 15 and the filing acts as a complaint against each parcelMinn. Stat. 279.05Verified Aug 24, 2026

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.

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