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Tax Sale Atlas

Mississippi County, MO tax sales

How tax lien and tax deed sales work in Mississippi County, seat of Charleston: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Missouri tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
There is no separate deed auction.
Format
In person
County office
573-683-2401
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 22, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Mississippi County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person
Run by
Mississippi County Collector of Revenue
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
One annual sale.
Sale list
Notice of Tax Certificate Sale and delinquent parcel list
When it runs
One annual sale. The collector's office states that "The tax sale is held annually on the fourth Monday in August commencing at 10:00 a.m. at the west entrance of the Mississippi County Courthouse." The published notice adds that tracts are offered "until all are offered for sale," so the auction can carry past the first day. The fourth Monday falls on August 24 in 2026, but the heading on the collector's online notice still carries an earlier sale year, so confirm the exact date with the office before you travel.
Registration and deposit

Registration is in person at the collector's office and must be done before bidding starts. The published notice states that "All bidders must have a bidding number and be properly registered in the Collector's office" and that "All bidders must be a Missouri resident. If not a Missouri Resident, then an agent must be appointed." The collector's page adds that non-residents "may not bid unless special arrangements have been made with the collector prior to tax sale" and that "Buyers must be present to bid," so there is no absentee, proxy or telephone bidding. The full purchase price is due to the collector immediately at the close of the sale, and cashier's check, personal check, bank draft and cash are accepted. If a winning bid goes unpaid, a penalty of 25 percent of the bid amount plus a prosecuting attorney's fee can be assessed against the bidder.

Sale format and venue
A live courthouse auction run by the collector under Chapter 140, not an online sale. Real estate is offered once taxes are two years delinquent, bidding opens at the amount of taxes, penalties and sale costs, and each tract is called individually by a brief legal description. The winning bidder gets a sale sheet at the auction and the collector then issues a Certificate of Purchase, held for one year or until redemption. The delinquent list is published in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks before the sale, and the collector also posts it online with the offering level printed on every tract. The current run carries 92 tracts: 49 first offerings, 13 second, 9 third and 21 fourth. Each entry shows the parcel number, owner name, situs address, legal description, every delinquent year and a total due that adds a per tract sale cost, from 18.50 on newly offered tracts to 92.50 on tracts that have been offered repeatedly. Redemption pays the certificate amount plus 10 percent annual interest, subsequent taxes paid plus 8 percent, and the title search fee where one applies, by cashier's check or money order only, and the office asks for 24 hours notice before a redemption appointment. No interest is paid on the surplus above the tax amount, and any surplus above the delinquent taxes and sale costs belongs to the owner of record and is claimed through the county Treasurer. The collector makes no guarantee about title, liens or encumbrances, and the notice warns that some tracts carry recorded liens, condemned or razed improvements, or possible hazardous waste. To take a deed the holder must furnish a lien search, notify the owner and every publicly recorded claimant of the right to redeem by certified mail at least 90 days before requesting the deed, file the supporting affidavit, surrender the certificate and pay the recording and collection fees.
Source: Delinquent Land Certificate Tax Sale, Mississippi County Collector· Verified Aug 22, 2026

Tax deed sale

Run by
County Collector
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
There is no separate deed auction.
When it runs
There is no separate deed auction. Deeds come out of the same August sale once a parcel has cycled past the third offering, and unsold post third offering parcels are re-offered at least once every 30 days. A purchaser at a post third offering sale takes an immediate collector's deed with no redemption period.
Sale format and venue
A first or second offering buyer holds a certificate and must wait out the one year redemption period, obtain a title search, serve the 90 day notice of the right to redeem on the owner and every recorded claimant by both first class and certified mail, file the affidavit with the collector, pay all subsequent taxes and the recording fee, and get the deed executed and recorded within 18 months of the sale. Miss the 18 months and the amount due the purchaser stops being a lien. A third offering buyer follows a shorter version, with a 90 day redemption period and notice to recorded claimants within 45 days of the sale. Counties that have elected the Land Tax Collection Law in Chapter 141 pull those parcels out of the collector's offering lists entirely and foreclose in court, and the sheriff sells them there, so confirm which chapter this county runs.
Source: Missouri Revised Statutes 140.405 - Purchaser of property at delinquent land tax auction, deed issued to, when, notice of right of redemptionMo. Rev. Stat. 140.405· Verified Aug 18, 2026

Mississippi County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Mississippi County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Notice of Tax Certificate Sale and delinquent parcel list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.

  3. Sale day

    There is no separate deed auction. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use County Collector as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Mississippi County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Notice of Tax Certificate Sale and delinquent parcel list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration is in person at the collector's office and must be done before bidding starts. The published notice states that "All bidders must have a bidding number and be properly registered in the Collector's office" and that "All bidders must be a Missouri resident. If not a Missouri Resident, then an agent must be appointed." The collector's page adds that non-residents "may not bid unless special arrangements have been made with the collector prior to tax sale" and that "Buyers must be present to bid," so there is no absentee, proxy or telephone bidding. The full purchase price is due to the collector immediately at the close of the sale, and cashier's check, personal check, bank draft and cash are accepted. If a winning bid goes unpaid, a penalty of 25 percent of the bid amount plus a prosecuting attorney's fee can be assessed against the bidder.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Missouri due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases

Missouri publishes no standing over the counter certificate list. The equivalent route is the post third offering sale. Parcels that draw no buyer at a third offering must be advertised or offered again once every 30 days, and where the county's appointed trustee declines to take a parcel the collector may sell it at any time and for any amount. A buyer at any of these sales gets an immediate collector's deed, no redemption period, and must first pay every tax that fell due after the taxes named in the advertisement. Parcels the trustee did take are held for the taxing funds and sold on order of the county commission. Ask the collector for the current post third offering list and its bidding terms, because the format varies by county.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Mississippi County Collector of Revenue

573-683-2401

200 N Main Street, Charleston, MO 63834

Official website

County notes

  • Mississippi County runs the standard Chapter 140 Jones-Munger certificate sale. There is no Chapter 141 land trust or court supervised process here, and the collector conducts the auction from the courthouse rather than through an auction platform.
  • This county holds a sale every year. The collector lists conducting the delinquent tax sale in August among the office duties and states that the county tax sale occurs on the fourth Monday in August of every year, and the current published list carries 92 tracts, so this is not one of the small Missouri counties where every delinquent parcel gets paid before the sale.
  • Twenty one of the 92 tracts on the current list are fourth offerings, meaning they drew no buyer at a first, second and third offering. Those reach a deed fastest and also carry the weakest demand, so the notice's warnings about liens, condemned structures and possible hazardous waste land hardest there. Inspect before bidding.
  • The collector's deed instructions describe a two year window to obtain the Collector's Deed, while Mo. Rev. Stat. 140.410 gives the certificate holder 18 months from the sale to execute and record it. Work to the 18 month date and confirm the deadline with the office rather than relying on the longer one.
  • The Collector of Revenue office is on the first floor of the courthouse in Charleston and is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, including the lunch hour. Registration, bid payment and redemption all happen there in person. Mail reaches the office at P.O. Box 369, Charleston, MO 63834.

Missouri rules

Max interest rate
10% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)
Minimum return
No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the sale
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.
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.
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.
Governing statute
Mo. Rev. Stat. Chapter 140

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.

See the full Missourirules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Mississippi County, Missouri sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Mississippi County follows Missouri's tax lien state system.

When is the Mississippi County tax certificate sale?

One annual sale. The collector's office states that "The tax sale is held annually on the fourth Monday in August commencing at 10:00 a.m. at the west entrance of the Mississippi County Courthouse." The published notice adds that tracts are offered "until all are offered for sale," so the auction can carry past the first day. The fourth Monday falls on August 24 in 2026, but the heading on the collector's online notice still carries an earlier sale year, so confirm the exact date with the office before you travel. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Collector before the sale.

How often does Mississippi County hold tax deed sales?

Mississippi County holds its tax deed sale once a year. There is no separate deed auction. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Missouri's redemption rule: 1 year from a first or second offering sale, 90 days from a third offering sale, and none after a post third offering sale. Call the County Collector as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Mississippi County tax sale list?

Mississippi County posts its tax sale list at missmocountycollector.com. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 22, 2026 against official county and state sources.

Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.

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