Nebraska tax lien & tax deed sales

The right to redeem stays open until the certificate holder files the application for a tax deed with the county treasurer, and the treasurer may not accept a redemption after the close of business on the day that application arrives. Because the holder cannot apply until three years after the sale, and must first serve a notice at least three months before applying that says in sixteen point type UNLESS YOU ACT YOU WILL LOSE THIS PROPERTY, the ordinary parcel carries a redemption window of about three years and three months and the owner gets a written warning inside it. Several conditions of the parcel or of its owner change that window, and they are recorded as tracks below. On the foreclosure road the window is different again: redemption stays open until the district court confirms the sheriff's sale.Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1824 - Real property taxes; redemption from sale; when and how madeNeb. Rev. Stat. 77-1824Verified Aug 23, 2026

The bill is paid in halves: the first half becomes delinquent on May 1 and the second half on September 1 of the following year, except in counties of more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, where the two halves become delinquent April 1 and August 1. Delinquent taxes owed to a Nebraska political subdivision carry interest at 14 percent per year. Real estate on which the taxes are still not paid in full on or before the first Monday of March after they become delinquent is subject to the annual tax sale, which is why a Nebraska certificate sold in March 2027 covers taxes levied in 2025.Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-204 - Real estate taxes; when delinquentNeb. Rev. Stat. 77-204Verified Aug 23, 2026

First, once the March public sale closes and the treasurer has made the return to the county clerk, any parcel that remained unsold for want of bidders must be sold at private sale at the treasurer's office to any person who will pay the taxes, penalty, and costs. The certificate issued that way carries the extra statement that the parcel was offered at public sale but not sold for want of bidders, and the words sold for taxes at private sale. The same section also requires the treasurer to sell all real property in the county on which taxes remain unpaid and delinquent for any previous year. Second, where the county board bought a parcel for the county because it stayed unsold, the treasurer holds that certificate and may assign it at any time to any person willing to buy, for the amount on the face of the certificate plus 14 percent interest from the date of the certificate, with the county clerk endorsing the assignment. A twenty five dollar issuance fee is waived when the certificate is issued in the county's name but becomes due from the buyer on assignment. One right of first refusal applies: if the parcel sits inside a municipality that has created a land bank, the treasurer must notify the land bank of the county's purchase as soon as practical and give it the first opportunity to acquire the certificate. Cities, villages, school districts, drainage districts, and irrigation districts may also buy certificates on parcels inside their boundaries, or buy the county's certificate.Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1814 - Real property taxes; private tax sale; issuance of certificatesNeb. Rev. Stat. 77-1814Verified Aug 23, 2026