Hooker County, NE tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Hooker County Treasurer runs the annual tax sale in person at the courthouse, 303 NW 1st Street in Mullen. There is no online bidding platform, so plan to attend or send a representative.
• •Register early. The $25 fee and the county's Tax Lien Sale registration form are due by the Thursday before the first Monday in March, and the drawn-number rotation is set from that registered list.
• •Order of choice is decided by a drawn number rather than by bidding, so every certificate carries the statutory 14 percent and competition is for parcel selection rather than for yield.
• •Delinquent parcels are advertised in the local newspaper for three consecutive weeks in February and posted online through Nebraska Taxes Online, which is where the county publishes its public delinquent tax sale list.
• •Two paths lead to title, and they are separate. The redemption period runs three years, after which a holder either serves the statutory notice and applies to the treasurer for a tax deed, or files a foreclosure action in district court. The county points investors to Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1801 through 77-1941 and states that the treasurer's office will not provide guidance or legal advice on tax sale certificates, so line up counsel before the certificate matures.
• •Budget for carrying costs. The holder must pay each subsequent year's taxes as they become delinquent, and the treasurer charges $20 per certificate issued plus $20 for any re-assignment.
• •Payment at the sale is by cashier's check or money order. A personal check clears only when a letter of credit from your bank is on file with the treasurer.

Nebraska rules

Max interest rate

14% per year, fixed by statute (nothing is bid)Neb. Rev. Stat. 45-104.01 - Interest; political subdivisions; delinquent taxes; special assessmentsNeb. Rev. Stat. 45-104.01Verified Aug 23, 2026

Minimum return

No statutory floor; every certificate earns the same statutory rateNeb. Rev. Stat. 45-104.01 - Interest; political subdivisions; delinquent taxes; special assessmentsNeb. Rev. Stat. 45-104.01Verified Aug 23, 2026

Redemption

Nebraska does not run a redemption clock that simply expires. 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

Surplus proceeds

Nebraska returns the owner's equity on both roads. On the administrative road, within thirty days after the deed is recorded the grantee must pay the surplus to the previous owner. The surplus is the resale price if the grantee has already sold the parcel, or the assessed value shown in the county assessor's records at the time of the deed application if the grantee has not, less the amount that would have been needed to redeem the parcel, less the amount needed to pay all encumbrances on it, and less an administrative fee of five hundred dollars, or reasonable attorney fees in the case of a judicial foreclosure, which the grantee may keep to offset the cost of getting the deed. On the foreclosure road, any surplus remaining after all costs and taxes on a parcel are satisfied is applied the way surplus is applied in a mortgage foreclosure, and proceeds from one parcel may not be applied to the taxes on another except as the decree directs.Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1838 - Real property taxes; issuance of treasurer's tax deed; execution, acknowledgment, and recording; effect; lien for special assessments; pay surplus to previous ownerNeb. Rev. Stat. 77-1838Verified Aug 23, 2026

Governing statute

Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 77, Article 18 (77-1801 et seq.)Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1801 - Real property taxes; collection by sale; whenNeb. Rev. Stat. 77-1801Verified Aug 23, 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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