Marion County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Collector posts "NO SALE! ALL PROPERTIES PAID." for the Palmyra half of the auction, so build a trip around the 10:00 a.m. Hannibal sale and call the Palmyra office at (573) 769-3282 before driving out for the 1:30 p.m. session.
• •The Hannibal list for Monday, August 24, 2026 carries 92 tracts, 67 at first offering, 15 at second offering and 10 at third offering. Sixteen of them are already marked PAID, leaving 76 live, and delinquent taxes may be paid up to the hour of the sale, so confirm the working list on sale morning.
• •Tract totals bundle county and city taxes. The Collector bills for Palmyra, Monroe City and Hannibal, and the city share on some Hannibal tracts runs into five figures, so read each tract's year by year breakdown instead of assuming a small opening bid.
• •The Collector publishes a successful bidders worksheet after the sale with columns for opening bid, bid amount, recording fee, bid total, overage and the purchaser of each lien. It is the cleanest way to size the premiums Marion County bidders actually pay before you set a ceiling.
• •Locate sale tracts on the county parcel viewer at marion.integritygis.com, which the Collector names as the parcel locator, and use the Collector's own portal to check which tracts have since been paid off.
• •A certificate of purchase can be assigned, but only to a Missouri resident, and the assignment must be notarized and presented to the Collector's office to be recorded.
• •The Collector's office keeps two locations, Palmyra at 100 South Main Street, Suite 105, (573) 769-3282, and Hannibal at 906 Broadway, P.O. Box 853, (573) 221-0727, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Match the office to the district the tract sits in.
• •A first offering deed requires a certified title search delivered to the Collector after the one year redemption period runs, so budget for title work and the RSMo 140.405 notice to the owner and lienholders before you bid.

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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