When the sale is held
One public sale a year in every county, held on the first Monday of March. The treasurer makes out the list of real property subject to sale and the accompanying notice not less than four and not more than six weeks before that date, publishes the list once a week for three consecutive weeks in a legal newspaper starting the first week in February, posts a copy in the treasurer's office, and adds a twenty dollar advertising charge to each parcel. The sale opens on the day named in the notice and continues from day to day, Sundays and holidays excepted, until every listed parcel has been sold or offered. The treasurer also files the county's list with the Property Tax Administrator, who publishes a compiled statewide list on the Department of Revenue website.
When taxes go delinquent
Nebraska property taxes for a given levy year are due on December 31 of that year, and from that date the tax is a first lien on the real property until it is paid or extinguished. 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.
What happens after the sale
Nebraska holds no county tax deed auction. A certificate holder reaches title down one of two roads, and which road is available depends on how much equity is in the parcel. Three years after the date of the tax sale, and after serving the Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1831 notice at least three months in advance, the holder may apply to the county treasurer for a tax deed. That road is open only where 110 percent of the parcel's assessed value at the time of the application, less the amount that would be needed to redeem it, is twenty five thousand dollars or less. Where the equity is larger the holder must instead foreclose the certificate in the district court of the county where the land lies, in the same manner as a real estate mortgage foreclosure. Either step has to be taken within nine months after the expiration of three years from the date of sale, or nine months after two years where the holder is a land bank and the parcel qualifies as vacant and abandoned. Missing the window voids the certificate.
Leftover parcels between sales
Nebraska has two over the counter routes and both run through the county treasurer. 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.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the Nebraska county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Nebraska.
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against Nebraska statutes.
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.