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Tax Sale Atlas

Covington County, MS tax sales

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

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

Next sale
Annual land sale held on the last Monday in August.
Format
GovEase
Registration
Registration is handled online through GovEase.
County office
601-765-6402
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 7, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Covington County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Mississippi holds no separate tax deed auction. The land is sold once, at the tax collector's annual land sale. When the two-year redemption period expires without redemption, the chancery clerk executes a deed of conveyance to the tax-sale purchaser on demand.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

GovEase
Run by
Covington County Tax Collector
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual land sale held on the last Monday in August.
Registration
Registration is handled online through GovEase.
Next expected
on the last Monday in August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Covington County auction listings on GovEase (sign-in required)
When it runs
Annual land sale held on the last Monday in August. GovEase names Covington County in its "2026 Mississippi Fall Auctions (All auctions begin August 31st at 8:30 a.m. CDT)" roster, which matches the last Monday in August 2026. GovEase's Mississippi overview adds that Mississippi sales run "from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. until completed" and that, depending on the county, they fall on either the first Monday in April or the last Monday in August.
Registration and deposit

Registration is handled online through GovEase. Create or sign in to a GovEase account, open Register/Add Auctions, register for the Covington County auction, then electronically sign the pre-populated W-9 plus any documents listed on the county's registration page. GovEase states that registration for Mississippi fall counties does not open until August 3. Covington is one of the Mississippi counties for which GovEase takes online deposits and payments, so a bidder deposits 10% of the total dollar amount they want to be approved to spend and GovEase handles the approval. Bidding is blocked until the account status shows as approved. GovEase bidder support is [email protected] and 769-208-5050, Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm.

Sale format and venue
The county's own Tax Collector page confirms the office "must advertise and hold a tax sale once a year for any unpaid taxes on real estate or any special assessments" but publishes no sale date, no platform link, and no delinquent list. The sale specifics here come from GovEase, the auction vendor, whose live auction portal carries a Covington County entry and whose Mississippi fall roster names the county by name. Investors buy a tax lien rather than the property; GovEase describes Mississippi bidding as a premium bid where the highest bid wins and the overbid portion earns no interest. Parcel files are released to registered bidders for pre-bidding by email rather than posted publicly, so confirm the advertised list directly with the Tax Collector. GovEase separately runs auctions for the City of Collins and the Town of Mt. Olive, which are municipal sales inside Covington County and are distinct from the county sale. GovEase's county contact table lists Jenny Coulter at (601) 765-4753 for Covington County, which differs from the Tax Collector number on the county website, so verify that line before relying on it.
Register on GovEase

Covington County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Covington 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 Covington County auction listings on GovEase (sign-in required) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Registration is handled online through GovEase. Full requirements are in the sale card above.
  3. Sale day

    Annual land sale held on the last Monday in August. Bidding runs on GovEase; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.
  4. Confirm with the office

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

Before you bid in Covington County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Covington County auction listings on GovEase (sign-in required). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration is handled online through GovEase. Create or sign in to a GovEase account, open Register/Add Auctions, register for the Covington County auction, then electronically sign the pre-populated W-9 plus any documents listed on the county's registration page. GovEase states that registration for Mississippi fall counties does not open until August 3. Covington is one of the Mississippi counties for which GovEase takes online deposits and payments, so a bidder deposits 10% of the total dollar amount they want to be approved to spend and GovEase handles the approval. Bidding is blocked until the account status shows as approved. GovEase bidder support is [email protected] and 769-208-5050, Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Mississippi 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

Mississippi counties do not keep an over-the-counter list. A tract that draws no bid is struck off to the state, and if it is still unredeemed after two years the chancery clerk certifies it to the Secretary of State. Any person may then apply in writing to the Secretary of State's Public Lands Division to buy the parcel, and the office may also sell state-forfeited land by sealed bid after three weeks of newspaper advertisement, or by online auction.

Mississippi Secretary of State tax-forfeited land inventory and application

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)

Covington County Tax Collector

601-765-6402

PO Box 1537, Collins, MS 39428 (physical office: 101 South Elm Ave., Collins, MS 39428)

Official website

County notes

  • The Tax Collector is Starr Hux, PO Box 1537, Collins, MS 39428, phone 601-765-6402, fax 601-765-1052, [email protected]. The same officeholder and email appear on the Tax Assessor page under a separate line, 601-765-6232, so one person appears to serve both roles.
  • The Chancery Clerk is Guy Easterling, PO Box 1679, Collins, MS 39428, phone 601-765-4242. That office records deeds, mortgages and liens and maintains the county's land records. The county website does not describe how redemption is processed, so confirm redemption payoff amounts and certificate records with the Chancery Clerk directly.
  • Both offices sit at the courthouse, 101 South Elm Ave., Collins, MS 39428, with a shared main line of (601) 765-8605.
  • The county website has no tax sale page, no advertised delinquent list and no link to the auction platform. Property tax and appraisal lookups run through Delta Computer Systems under the Covington County code ms16 and sit behind a paid subscription of $30 monthly or $330 annually.
  • The GovEase county auction page for Covington resolves and renders as a county auction page, but parcel detail requires a signed-in and approved bidder account, so the list URL is useful only after registration.
  • The county's GovEase identifier is mscovington with auction id 1016, which is what the platform's county selector uses.

Mississippi rules

Max interest rate
18% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)
Minimum return
1.5% floor at redemption
Redemption
Miss. Code Ann. 27-43-1 requires the chancery clerk to issue notice to the record owner within 180 days and not less than 60 days before the redemption period expires. Miss. Code Ann. 27-43-3 then requires the sheriff or a constable to serve a resident owner, the clerk to mail the notice by registered or certified mail, and the owner's name and the legal description to be published in a county newspaper at least 45 days before the period ends. Recorded lienors get their own notice. If the clerk inadvertently fails to send the notice, the sale is void. The clerk's fees for that work are taxed against the owner on redemption and against the purchaser if the land is not redeemed.
Surplus proceeds
Any amount bid above the taxes and costs is reported to the chancery clerk and paid into the county treasury. If the land is redeemed, or the purchaser's title is defeated or set aside, the county keeps the excess. If the land is not redeemed, the former owner may request the excess after the redemption period ends, and the county keeps it if no request comes within two years.
Governing statute
Miss. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 41

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 Mississippirules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Covington County, Mississippi sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Mississippi investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Tax Collector runs the sale.

When is the Covington County tax certificate sale?

Annual land sale held on the last Monday in August. GovEase names Covington County in its "2026 Mississippi Fall Auctions (All auctions begin August 31st at 8:30 a.m. CDT)" roster, which matches the last Monday in August 2026. GovEase's Mississippi overview adds that Mississippi sales run "from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. until completed" and that, depending on the county, they fall on either the first Monday in April or the last Monday in August. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County Tax Collector 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. Mississippi's redemption rule: 2 years from the day of the tax sale. Call the Covington County Tax Collector 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 Covington County tax sale list?

Covington County posts its tax sale list at liveauctions.govease.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 7, 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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Call Covington County Tax CollectorOpen auction