Lincoln County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Lincoln County runs the Chapter 140 Jones-Munger certificate sale, selling tax liens on real estate with three years of delinquent taxes, not a Chapter 141 court-supervised land tax sale.
• •Parcels are advertised in the Lincoln County Journal and the Elsberry Democrat beginning the second week of July, running three consecutive weeks, with the last advertisement 15 days before the sale.
• •Plan for heavy attrition between the published list and the auction: the Collector's own guidance notes that owners may pay in full before the sale and "a very high percentage is paid after advertising and before the sale," so re-check the list the morning of the auction.
• •The Collector publishes a separate Fourth Sale list for parcels that went through three unsuccessful offerings. Those have no set minimum bid, no redemption period, and the Collector holds sole authority to accept or decline a bid.
• •Post-third-offering parcels move through a sealed-bid process: cities and affected taxing entities get the first ten days after the sale, then sealed bids are accepted from March 1 and opened the first business day of April, with certified funds due within ten business days of award.
• •The redemption deadline on a first or second offering is the Tuesday following the next annual tax sale, and the Collector requires the notice letter to quote that date. A third-offering purchase requires the title search and both first-class and certified notice letters within 45 days of the sale, with redemption running 90 days from the postmark.
• •Notice letters must carry the Lincoln County parcel identification number and the Assessor's legal description exactly as printed on the certificate, or the Collector will reject the deed application.
• •Subsequent taxes billed to the certificate holder must be paid before they go delinquent on December 31, or the holder forfeits the lien.
• •The Collector's office sits at 1 Front Street in Troy while the sale itself runs at the courthouse at 201 Main Street; confirm the sale room with the office before sale day.
• •Bidder application and resident-agent affidavit forms, plus the county's written tax sale guidelines, are posted on the county Collector's tax sale page.

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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