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Tax Sale Atlas

Minnesota tax sales

Minnesota tax sale statutes

These are the Minnesota statutes that decide how tax lien certificates and tax deeds are sold. Each links to the official text so you can read the exact language before you rely on it.

The governing law

Minnesota is a tax deed state, but not the ordinary kind. It sells no tax lien certificates to investors and pays no investor interest rate. A delinquent parcel is taken to judgment in district court, and on the second Monday in May the county auditor bids it in for the state at the tax judgment sale, a paper step at which nobody may bid. A statutory redemption period then runs, three years for most property. If nobody redeems, absolute title forfeits to the state of Minnesota and is held in trust for the local taxing districts. Only then does the county auditor sell the land, as tax-forfeited land under Chapter 282, at a public auction the county board has classified and approved. What an investor buys in Minnesota is state-forfeited land a county is disposing of, not a lien and not a tax deed of the Florida type. The governing law is Minn. Stat. Chapter 279 for the judgment, Chapter 280 for the bid-in, Chapter 281 for redemption and forfeiture, and Chapter 282 for the sale.

  • Minn. Stat. Chapter 279

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    Delinquent real estate taxes: due dates, penalties, interest, the delinquent list, and the tax judgment

  • Minn. Stat. 272.31

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    Lien of real estate taxes

  • Minn. Stat. 279.01

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    Due dates; penalties

  • Minn. Stat. 279.02

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    Duties of county auditor and treasurer: when a parcel is deemed delinquent

  • Minn. Stat. 279.03

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    Interest on delinquent property taxes

  • Minn. Stat. 279.16

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    Judgment when no answer; form; entry

  • Minn. Stat. Chapter 280

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    Real estate tax judgment sales: the bid-in for the state

  • Minn. Stat. 280.01

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    State bid in at sale, on the second Monday in May

  • Minn. Stat. 280.43

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    Sale defined: no actual public sale takes place under chapter 280

  • Minn. Stat. Chapter 281

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    Real estate tax sales, redemption, and forfeiture

  • Minn. Stat. 281.17

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    Period of redemption

  • Minn. Stat. 281.18

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    Lands may be redeemed; absolute title vests in the state on expiration

  • Minn. Stat. 281.21

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    Notice of expiration of redemption for a parcel sold or assigned to an actual purchaser

  • Minn. Stat. 281.23

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    Notice of expiration of redemption and the certificate of forfeiture

  • Minn. Stat. 281.25

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    Titles to be held in trust by the state

  • Minn. Stat. Chapter 282

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    Tax-forfeited land sales

  • Minn. Stat. 282.005

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    Tax-forfeited land; initial sale, minimum bid, and surplus claims

  • Minn. Stat. 282.01

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    Tax-forfeited lands; classification, appraisal, public sale, and private sale of unsold parcels

  • Minn. Stat. 282.007

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    Land withdrawn from initial sale by the commissioner of natural resources

  • Minn. Stat. 282.012

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    Prior owner may purchase; conditions

  • Minn. Stat. 282.014

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    Completion of sale, the $25 state deed fee, conveyance recorded

  • Minn. Stat. 282.016

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    Prohibited purchasers

  • Minn. Stat. 282.018

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    Land by public waters, nonforested marginal land, wetlands

  • Minn. Stat. 282.02

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    List of lands for sale; notice; online auctions permitted

  • Minn. Stat. 282.03

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    Limitations in use of lands the county board may attach to a sale

  • Minn. Stat. 282.08

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    Apportionment of proceeds to taxing districts, with the Revisor's note on Tyler v. Hennepin County

  • Minn. Stat. 282.135

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    Delegation by county board to the county auditor

  • Minn. Stat. 282.12

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    All minerals reserved

  • Minn. Stat. 282.241

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    Repurchase after forfeiture

  • Minn. Stat. 282.251

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    Taxes and assessments reinstated upon repurchase

  • Minn. Stat. 282.261

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    Terms of repurchase

  • Minn. Stat. 284.28

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    Tax-forfeited lands; the three percent surcharge and limitations on adverse claims

  • Minn. Stat. 287.21

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    State deed tax; imposition and determination

  • Minn. Stat. 357.18

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    County recorder fees, including the fee for indexing and recording a deed

  • Minn. Stat. 40A.152

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    County conservation fee on the recording of a deed subject to the deed tax

  • Minn. Stat. 270C.40

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    Interest payable to commissioner; the annual rate that sets the delinquent-tax interest rate

  • Laws 2024, chapter 127, article 70

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    Tax-forfeited property: the initial sale and surplus claim regime, effective for forfeitures occurring after December 31, 2023

Want the mechanics in plain English instead of statute numbers? See how to buy in Minnesota, the redemption period, and the full Minnesota walkthrough.

Statute citations verified Aug 24, 2026. Statutes are amended; always confirm the current text at the official link before you rely on it.

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.

See how the law plays out by county

Statutes are statewide, but sale calendars and platforms are set county by county.

All Minnesota countiesHow to buy, step by step