Cass County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Registration and the auction happen at two different addresses. Paperwork goes to the Collector's office at 2725 Cantrell Road, while the sale itself runs at the historic Cass County Courthouse at 102 E. Wall in Harrisonville.
• •The Collector publishes the delinquent list in a local newspaper of general circulation for three consecutive weeks, with the last insertion at least 15 days before the sale, and posts the same list on the tax sale page. Each parcel carries an advertised sale number, parcel number, owner of record, legal description and the taxes and costs due.
• •The published 2026 list runs to a few dozen tracts with totals from under 300 dollars to over 16,000 dollars, small enough to research parcel by parcel before sale day. The county also posts a list version showing site address, acreage and the offering number for each tract.
• •The certificate of purchase mailed in September on blue paper is the buyer's copy only. The Collector's office keeps the recorded certificate, and any change of ownership on it must be handled through the office with the middle section signed before a notary. Transfers do not apply to a purchase made on behalf of a non-resident.
• •To take a Collector's deed on a first or second offering, the buyer must obtain a title search from a licensed attorney or title company and serve notice of the right to redeem on the owner of record and every publicly recorded interest holder at least 90 days before the deed date, by both first class and certified mail. Third offering buyers must complete the title search and mail those notices within 45 days of the sale. Costs incurred before March 1 following the purchase are not reimbursed on redemption.
• •Buyers should budget for a quiet title action. The Collector warns that most title insurance underwriters restrict a property for thirty years from the date a Collector's deed issues.

Missouri rules

Max interest rate

10% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)Missouri Revised Statutes 140.290 - Certificate of purchase, contents, fee, nonresidentsMo. Rev. Stat. 140.290Verified Aug 18, 2026

Minimum return

No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the saleMissouri Revised Statutes 140.340 - Redemption, when, mannerMo. Rev. Stat. 140.340Verified Aug 18, 2026

Redemption

After 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. 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.Missouri Revised Statutes 140.340 - Redemption, when, mannerMo. Rev. Stat. 140.340Verified Aug 18, 2026

Deed deposit

The winning bidder must pay the full amount of the bid to the collector immediately at the sale. 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.Missouri Revised Statutes 140.250 - Third offering of delinquent lands and lots, redemption, subsequent sale, collector's deedMo. Rev. Stat. 140.250Verified Aug 18, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Any amount above the taxes and costs is surplus. 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.Missouri Revised Statutes 140.230 - Foreclosure sale surplus, deposited in treasury, escheats, proof of claimsMo. Rev. Stat. 140.230Verified Aug 18, 2026

Governing statute

Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 140Missouri Revised Statutes 140.150 - Lands, lots, mineral rights, and royalty interests subject to sale, whenMo. Rev. Stat. 140.150Verified Aug 18, 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.

See the full Missourirules and every county →