Johnson County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •This is a small sale with real bidding pressure. The 2026 list carries eight tracts, with totals from about 250 dollars to just over 5,000 dollars, and every parcel carries 166 dollars of costs on top of three years of back tax. The Collector's own sale summaries show what the auction does to those figures: eleven certificates sold in 2025 and generated 61,410 dollars of surplus above the opening bids, with one tract opening near 2,579 dollars and selling for 20,000. The 2024 sale produced 79,433 dollars of surplus across ten certificates, including a 2,412 dollar opening bid taken to 43,000 dollars.
• •Missouri pays interest on the opening bid, not on the premium. Redemption here returns the bid amount plus 10 percent annual interest calculated on the amount of sale less any surplus, so on a tract bid up from 300 dollars to 4,000 dollars the extra 3,700 dollars earns nothing for a year. Judge the return on total cash committed, not on the 10 percent rate.
• •The courthouse is closed for remodeling, so registration and the auction both happen at the county's temporary offices in the Reese Educational Center at 301 West Market Street in Warrensburg, at the west end of the building. The Collector's own office remains at the South Annex, 1310 S. Maguire Street, Suite A, and does not host the sale.
• •The list runs in the Warrensburg Star-Journal for three consecutive weeks before the sale, on July 24, July 31 and August 7 for the 2026 sale, and the same list is posted on the Collector's delinquent tax sale page. Parcels come off it as owners pay, and the 2025 summary marks one tract paid by the owner before the sale.
• •Taking title takes months of work after the auction. Before a Collector's deed can issue, the holder must pay all taxes accrued on the property, supply proof of a title search, and file an affidavit showing that at least 90 days earlier notice of the right to redeem went by both first class and certified mail to the owner of record and to every holder of an unreleased recorded deed of trust, mortgage, lease, lien, judgment or claim, with copies of the notices, the addressed envelopes, the certified receipts and any returned mail. The deed must be executed and recorded within 18 months of the sale date or the purchaser loses the lien.
• •Redemptions run by appointment. The office asks for at least 24 hours notice and about twenty minutes to process, and accepts only cashier's check, money order or bank draft. The Collector notifies the certificate holder when a parcel is redeemed and sends a copy of the certificate of redemption. Several 2024 and 2025 certificates were redeemed months after the sale, so budget for a year of interest rather than a deed.
• •Surplus above the opening bid is deposited with the County Treasurer. An owner or recorded lienholder must file a written claim with the county commission within ninety days after the redemption period expires, citing the recorder's book and page or document number for the lien, and no interest is paid on a surplus claim. Unclaimed surplus is distributed among the schools.

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.

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