Texas County, MO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Collector and Treasurer are one office here because Texas County uses the township form of government. Tammy Cantrell holds the post. The office is at 210 North Grand Avenue, Suite 107, Houston, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a fax line at (417) 967-1439.
• •Texas County follows Chapter 140 rather than the Chapter 141 land tax collection law, so the Collector runs the August certificate sale and the county publishes no land trust or land reutilization inventory. Tracts nobody bids on stay in the annual offering cycle rather than passing to a land bank.
• •The Collector/Treasurer keeps a Land Tax Sale page with each year's tract list going back to 2016, and for recent years posts the recorded Certificates of Purchase alongside it. Those certificates name the winning bidder, the taxes and costs owed, the bid amount and the surplus above taxes and costs, which is the cleanest read available on how hard this auction is bid.
• •The published list gives parcel number, owner name, property location, section-township-range and an abbreviated legal description, plus a year by year breakdown of tax, interest, fees and penalty. It is not a title report, so pull the deed history yourself before you bid.
• •For pre-bid diligence, county parcel mapping is at texasgis.breezemaps.com, the Recorder's index searches free online with images behind a subscription, and current and paid tax amounts are on the county's online payment portal. Parcel valuation questions go to the Assessor at (417) 967-4709.
• •The Collector's office is at 210 North Grand Avenue with the Assessor, Commissioners and Recorder, while the Circuit Court sits separately at 519 North Grand Avenue. Ask which building the auction is called in when you register.

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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