McDonald County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Collector is Jennifer Weber, and the office sits in the courthouse at 408 Harmon St. in Pineville, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and through the noon hour, with mail going to PO Box 725, Pineville, MO 64856.
• •The 2026 list carries 22 parcel interests, mostly small rural tracts between one and about ten acres, with total taxes and fees running from roughly $128 to about $3,270 per parcel.
• •Each listing shows the parcel number, owner name, section, township and range, acreage, three years of delinquent taxes, a publication fee of about $55.73 and any certified cost, all rolled into a Total Taxes and Fees figure that is the effective opening bid.
• •Every listing carries the phrase subject to easements, reservations and restrictions of record, and the Collector disclaims any guarantee of title, liens or encumbrances, so title work belongs before the sale rather than after.
• •Call the Collector's office at least 24 hours before a redemption and allow about twenty minutes to process it; only someone holding a publicly recorded interest can redeem, and they must bring a recorder's copy of that document or a notarized power of attorney.
• •Surplus above the delinquent taxes and sale costs is deposited in a separate fund at the Treasurer's office and belongs to the owner of record, and no interest accrues on it.
• •A Certificate of Purchase can be assigned using the assignment section on the certificate itself, but the assignee must be a Missouri resident and the notarized assignment has to be presented to the Collector's office to be recorded.
• •Where no sale occurs after a third offering and the county commission has not appointed a trustee or the trustee does not accept the property, the Collector states it is within her discretion to sell that land afterward at any time and for any amount, which is how post third offering parcels move in this county.
• •The office links the State Tax Commission's Chapter 140 Tax Sale Procedure manual from its Tax Sale Info menu, which is the reference the Collector points bidders to for procedure detail.

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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