Webster County, NE tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Treasurer's office sits in the courthouse at 621 N Cedar St in Red Cloud and is open 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. Mail goes to PO Box 404, Red Cloud, NE 68970, and the office reaches by phone at 402-746-2877 or fax at 402-746-2279.
• •Janet K Knehans is the Treasurer, assisted by Deputy Treasurer Carmi Mai. The Treasurer bills and collects all real estate and personal property taxes for the county and runs the March certificate sale.
• •Real estate taxes are due December 31. The first half goes delinquent May 1 and the second half September 1. Parcels still unpaid after that roll toward the following March sale.
• •Delinquent interest changes daily, so the Treasurer asks anyone paying delinquent taxes to call 402-746-2877 for an exact payoff before sending money.
• •Webster County publishes no tax sale page, registration packet or bidder list on its website. The Treasurer's office is the only place to get the sale mechanics, the bidder registration requirements, and county-held certificate availability.
• •Nebraska law lets each county treasurer announce that county's bidding rules at the opening of the sale, so confirm whether Webster County runs the round robin ticket rotation before you commit to attending.
• •The Treasurer reports the results of each tax sale to the county board at its next meeting, and those minutes are posted on the county website under Board of Commissioners.
• •Abbey Harig serves as County Clerk and Register of Deeds at 402-746-2716, which is the office that records a treasurer's tax deed once a certificate holder completes the statutory notice and waiting period.

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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