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Missouri tax lien & tax deed sales

Missouri is a tax lien state. Once a year, on the fourth Monday in August, the county collector auctions the tax lien on parcels whose taxes went delinquent, and the winner receives a certificate of purchase rather than a deed. Read more…

Bidding opens at the delinquent taxes, interest, penalty and costs, and bidders compete by raising the price. The certificate carries the rate the collector writes on it, which the statute caps at 10 percent per year, and subsequent taxes the holder pays earn 8 percent per year. Investors call this the Jones-Munger sale, after the 1933 act that created it. A parcel that draws no adequate bid rolls to a second offering the next year and a third the year after, and the redemption window shortens at each step until a post third offering sale conveys an immediate collector's deed. The process runs under Chapter 140 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. Counties that have elected the Land Tax Collection Law in Chapter 141 use a court supervised in rem foreclosure sale instead, so confirm which chapter your target county runs before planning a bid.

Rules verified Aug 18, 2026 against Missouri Statutes.

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Sale type: Tax lien
Maximum rate: 10%
Redemption: 1 year
Auction method: premium bid

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Tax lien certificates

You pay the overdue taxes and receive a certificate that earns a return set by statute. Bidders compete on price by bidding above the minimum, and a premium paid above that minimum changes what you actually earn. Compare bidding methods to see how that changes what you earn.

Bidding method: Premium bid
Maximum rate: 10% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)
Minimum return: No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the sale
Certificate life: Expires 1.5 years after issuance

Sale timingThe collector holds the delinquent land tax sale on the fourth Monday in August each year, starting at ten o'clock in the morning in or adjacent to the county courthouse, and continues it from day to day until every parcel has been offered. More…

The delinquent list runs in a local newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks beforehand, with the last insertion at least 15 days before the sale.

Zero-bid ruleMissouri does not bid the interest rate down. More…

The collector fixes the rate on the certificate of purchase, subject to a statutory ceiling of 10 percent per year, and bidders compete on price instead. A parcel at a first or second offering sells only when someone bids at least the delinquent taxes, interest, penalty and costs, and the parcel goes to the bidder who offers the most. Everything paid above the taxes and costs is surplus. The collector pays it into the county treasury, and no interest is owed on that excess to anyone, so a heavy premium is idle capital that dilutes the yield rather than a bid for a higher return.

Tax deed sales

A tax deed sale auctions the property itself to the highest bidder. Win, and you can take ownership, but the deed is not clean, insurable title on its own.

Auction method: premium bid (highest bidder)

Runs afterMissouri runs no separate tax deed auction alongside the lien sale. More…

The same August sale produces a deed instead of a certificate once a parcel has cycled far enough. A parcel offered without an adequate bid at a first offering goes to a second offering the next year, then to a third offering the year after. A purchaser at a third offering receives a certificate of purchase with a 90 day redemption period. A parcel that still does not sell is re-offered every 30 days, and a purchaser at any of those post third offering sales takes an immediate collector's deed with no redemption period at all. After a first or second offering, the certificate holder reaches the deed by obtaining a title search, serving the statutory 90 day notice on the owner and every recorded claimant, filing the affidavit with the collector, paying all subsequent taxes, and recording the deed within 18 months of the sale.

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County Collector

DepositThe winning bidder must pay the full amount of the bid to the collector immediately at the sale. More…

Chapter 140 sets no advance bidder deposit and no balance due window. A bidder who fails to pay forfeits a penalty of 25 percent of the bid to the county school fund and the parcel is offered again at once as though no sale had been made. Counties running an online or registered sale may impose their own deposit and registration terms on top of the statute, so confirm them with the collector.

Balance dueThere is no balance due window. The bid is payable in full immediately at the sale under section 140.280. More…

Before a collector's deed issues, the purchaser must also pay every subsequent tax that accrued after the certificate was issued, plus the deed recording fee.

Surplus proceedsAny amount above the taxes and costs is surplus. More…

The collector pays it into the county treasury, where the treasurer holds it in trust for the lesser of three years or 90 days after the redemption period expires. It is distributed first to the former lienholders of record in the priority their liens held on the date of the sale, then to the former owner. No distribution other than through the redemption process may occur until 90 days after the redemption period ends, and a claimant must file a written claim with the county commission within those 90 days, referencing the recorded lien it rests on. The county pays no interest on the fund. Anything still unclaimed at three years becomes the permanent school fund of the county.

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.

Redemption, delinquency, and over-the-counter at a glance

Redemption

How longAfter a first or second offering sale, the owner and other interested parties hold an absolute right to redeem for one year, then a defeasible right that lasts until the purchaser actually acquires the deed. More…

A purchaser must serve the 90 day notice of the right to redeem before the date on which the deed can be acquired, so the practical window usually runs past the one year mark. After a third offering sale, redemption runs 90 days, and the purchaser must give notice to recorded claimants within 45 days of the sale. After a post third offering sale, there is no redemption period and the deed issues immediately. Minors and incapacitated or disabled persons have a longer right, running five years from the last payment of taxes by that person or a predecessor. The right also ends if the certificate lapses because the purchaser failed to record the deed within 18 months.

What the owner paysThe reasonable and customary costs of sale, determined by the collector. More…

That means the full purchase money named in the certificate of purchase plus the costs of the sale, including the fee to record the certificate and the later release, the reasonable cost of the title search, and the postage for the required notices, together with interest at the rate on the certificate, capped at 10 percent per year. No interest is owed on any sum the purchaser paid above the delinquent taxes plus the collector's costs of sale. Subsequent taxes the purchaser paid are added with interest at 8 percent per year. Notice costs for the redemption rights notice are reimbursable only when incurred after the March 1 following a first or second offering purchase.

Delinquency

How it startsMissouri real estate taxes that remain unpaid on January 1 are delinquent, and the county collector must enforce the state's lien on them. More…

Delinquent parcels are entered in the back tax book, and that entry is itself the levy that supports the sale. Each tract carries a penalty of 18 percent of each year's delinquency, except that a parcel redeemed before the sale pays no more than 2 percent per month or fraction of a month. Every parcel with delinquent and unpaid taxes is subject to sale on the fourth Monday in August, so the statutory gap between delinquency and a first offering can be as short as about eight months. Collectors differ in how quickly they advertise a newly delinquent parcel, so ask the county which tax years are in this year's sale.

Over-the-counter

How to buyMissouri publishes no standing over the counter certificate list, but it does have a continuing route to unsold parcels. More…

If lands are not sold at the third offering, the collector must advertise or offer them for sale once every 30 days. Where the county commission has appointed a trustee to bid in unsold parcels and that trustee declines to take a parcel after the third offering, the collector may sell it at any time and for any amount. A purchaser at any of these post third offering sales takes an immediate collector's deed with no redemption period, and must pay all taxes that fell due after the taxes covered by the advertisement before the deed issues. That deed has priority over other liens and encumbrances except real property taxes. Ask the collector for the post third offering list and its terms, because the schedule and the format vary by county.

What is availableParcels the county's trustee has taken under section 140.260 are held for the benefit of the taxing funds and are sold on order of the county commission, with the trustee's compensation capped at 10 percent of the sale price. More…

Counties and municipalities that have created a land bank agency, or a land trust under the Land Tax Collection Law, hold and resell tax foreclosed parcels through that agency instead. The inventories are separate from the collector's sale, so check both.

Governing statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 140 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.010 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.100 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.170 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.190 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.230 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.240 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.250 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.280 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.290 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.340 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.405 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.410 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.420 Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.440 Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 141 Mo. Rev. Stat. 141.230 Mo. Rev. Stat. 141.550 Mo. Rev. Stat. 139.100

All 115 Missouri counties

Sales are organized by county. Search your city or county, or filter by whether the tax deed sale runs online or in person. Each row shows the certificate-sale platform for quick comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Does Missouri sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Both, from the same annual sale, depending on how many times the parcel has been offered. A first or second offering produces a certificate of purchase, which is a lien. A third offering produces a certificate with a 90 day redemption period. A post third offering sale produces an immediate collector's deed with no redemption at all.

What interest rate does a Missouri tax certificate pay?

The collector writes a rate on the certificate of purchase and the statute caps it at 10 percent per year. Subsequent taxes the holder pays earn 8 percent per year. No interest at all accrues on the part of the bid that exceeded the delinquent taxes plus the collector's costs of sale, and Missouri sets no minimum return, so an early redemption pays only what actually accrued.

When is the Missouri tax sale held?

On the fourth Monday in August each year, beginning at ten o'clock in the morning in or adjacent to the county courthouse, and continuing day to day until every parcel has been offered. The delinquent list is published once a week for three consecutive weeks beforehand, with the last insertion at least 15 days before the sale.

See all Missouri FAQ

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