Lafayette County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Lori Fiegenbaum has been the elected Collector of Revenue since March 2003 and signs the sale notice personally. The office is on the first floor of the courthouse at 1001 Main Street in Lexington, mail goes to P.O. Box 365, Lexington, MO 64067, and counter hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, staying open through the lunch hour.
• •Redemption runs one year from the date of sale and no interest is paid on the surplus above the tax amount, so every dollar bid over taxes and costs earns nothing while the owner's redemption window stays open.
• •Bidding moves in minimum five dollar increments, and the delinquent tax totals on the published list do not include sale fees, which are added on sale day.
• •Several 2026 parcels carry a note that they sold at the 2015, 2020 or 2021 tax sale, which signals a parcel coming back around at a later offering after the earlier certificate lapsed.
• •Bidders from outside Missouri must file written consent to the jurisdiction of the circuit court and appoint a Lafayette County resident as agent of the purchaser before the Collector will take a bid, and the certificate runs through that agent. The office also warns that a party's failure to receive notice does not extend the time to redeem or the deadlines for obtaining a Collector's Deed.
• •The Collector states plainly that some parcels may contain hazardous waste, may have improvements razed or condemned, and may carry other liens, and offers no guarantee of clear title, so inspect and run the record before bidding.
• •This is a Chapter 140 county, not a Chapter 141 land trust county, so a winning bid produces a certificate of purchase rather than a court-supervised foreclosure or a land bank transfer.

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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