Reynolds County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Tax sale material lives on the Collector's own pages rather than a county government site. The taxpayer portal at reynoldscountycollector.org carries the sale date, bidder registration and the auction list, and the Collector's information site carries the written sale and redemption rules.
• •The Collector posts the offering as a plain-text Tax Sale Auction List that refreshes as parcels are paid, and the same list runs in the local newspaper for three consecutive weeks before the sale. Pull the file again the week of the sale, because parcels come off it up to the last minute.
• •This is a small roll. The 2026 auction list carried 16 tracts, several with a total due under $150, and the separate fourth-offering list was empty, so expect a short sale and confirm a parcel is still being offered before traveling to Centerville.
• •Only Missouri residents may bid. A company, a lender or an out-of-state buyer must send a Missouri resident with documentation of authority, and the Collector expects those arrangements to be made before sale day.
• •Before applying for a collector's deed you need a title search report from a licensed attorney or licensed title company, plus notice at least 90 days ahead to the owner of record and every recorded lienholder, sent by both first-class mail and certified mail with return receipt. A third-offering purchase compresses that to notice within 45 days of purchase and a 90-day redemption running from the postmark. Failing to obtain the deed within 18 months of the certificate date forfeits the lien and the money paid.
• •Real estate bills mail on the last day of October and are delinquent after December 31, with the postmark controlling timeliness, so the roll that feeds the August sale is not settled until well into the new year. The Collector's office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and answers at 573-648-2494.

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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