How to buy tax deeds in New Mexico

New Mexico sells no tax lien certificates to investors. To buy a New Mexico tax deed you bid on the property itself, at a county auction run by the county. Review the sale terms, deed and applicable law to confirm the property interest conveyed.

Each step below is drawn from New Mexico statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.

New here? There is no certificate step in New Mexico. You bid on the property itself, so the money is at risk on the parcel from day one and the research has to happen before the auction, not after. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.

1. 1

   Learn the timeline and lien priority

   Property taxes of ten dollars or more are payable to the county treasurer in two equal installments, due November 10 and April 10 of the following year. Taxes not paid within thirty days after the due date are delinquent, so the practical delinquency dates are December 10 and May 10. Interest then accrues at one percent a month or any fraction of a month, and a penalty of one percent a month is added up to a cap of five percent of the delinquent taxes, with a five dollar minimum that a county may suspend. Real property taxes are a first lien in favor of the state from January 1 of the tax year, paramount to any other interest in the property, perfected or unperfected. By June 10 each year the treasurer mails a notice to owners delinquent more than two years, and by July 1 prepares the tax delinquency list and transfers those accounts to the Taxation and Revenue Department.NMSA 1978, 7-38-46, taxes not paid within thirty days after the due date are delinquentNMSA 1978, 7-38-46Verified Sep 25, 2026 Understand this before you commit any money.

2. 2

   Know when the redemption right ends

   Not applicable to investors. Interest of one percent a month under 7-38-49 and the penalty under 7-38-50 accrue to the state and the taxing units on the unpaid tax, never to a private holder, because no certificate is issued.NMSA 1978, 7-38-62, exclusive authority of the Taxation and Revenue Department after the list is receivedNMSA 1978, 7-38-62Verified Sep 25, 2026 The pre-sale window is long even though there is no post-sale redemption: taxes go delinquent thirty days after each due date, the account transfers to the state after two years, the property cannot be sold until three years after the first delinquency date on the list, and the owner must receive certified-mail notice twenty to thirty days before the sale, as must each recorded lienholder whose address is reasonably ascertainable. Installment agreements run up to thirty-six months at one percent a month and cannot be entered on or after the date of the initial sale. After the sale the only exposure is the former owner's two-year window to challenge the conveyance in district court, and, where a federal tax lien is recorded, the 120-day federal redemption right the Property Tax Division's terms warn about.NMSA 1978, 7-38-65, sale after three years, offer within four years, annual sale in each countyNMSA 1978, 7-38-65Verified Sep 25, 2026 To redeem, the owner pays All delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs due, paid to the Taxation and Revenue Department (or to a county treasurer the department has authorized as its agent) by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the sale.NMSA 1978, 7-38-66, certified-mail notice to owner and lienholders 20 to 30 days before the saleNMSA 1978, 7-38-66Verified Sep 25, 2026 A redemption before that deadline pulls the parcel off the auction list, so confirm it is still scheduled before you travel or bid.

3. 3

   Learn what sends a parcel to the auction

   Real property taxes delinquent for more than two years go onto the county treasurer's tax delinquency list by July 1 and the account transfers to the Taxation and Revenue Department. The department may sell the property at any time after three years from the first delinquency date shown on that list, and must offer it within four years of that date (or within one year after a legal bar on selling ends), unless all delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs are paid, or an installment agreement is signed, by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the sale. Since January 1, 2014 the department must offer at least one listed property for sale in each county every year unless the Property Tax Division director and the county treasurer sign a written agreement to postpone. The July 1 list itself is not a sale.NMSA 1978, 7-38-65, sale after three years, offer within four years, annual sale in each countyNMSA 1978, 7-38-65Verified Sep 25, 2026 Before the sale the department sets a minimum sale price for each parcel, considering the value of the owner's interest, the delinquent taxes, penalties and interest, and the costs. The minimum price may not be less than the total of all delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs. A parcel may sell below that minimum only if no offer met it when it was offered at an earlier public auction; the department's sale notices state that unsold parcels may be re-offered at a separate auction immediately following the first sale. Minimum bids are printed beside each item in the county's sale notice.NMSA 1978, 7-38-67, public auction in the county, minimum price, payment in full, land grant-merced match rightNMSA 1978, 7-38-67Verified Sep 25, 2026

4. 4

   Bid at the tax deed auction

   The State of New Mexico, Taxation and Revenue Department, Property Tax Division, not the county. After the tax delinquency list is received the department has exclusive authority to collect the listed taxes, and it conducts the sale either itself or through an auctioneer it hires. County treasurers only bill, collect current taxes, prepare the delinquency list and may accept payments as the department's agent. sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. None. The statute sets no bidder deposit and no registration fee. Bidders register in person on the day of the sale, registration opening at 8:00 a.m. and closing when the 10:00 a.m. auction starts, and bid orally in person or through an agent carrying a notarized authorization. A personal or business check is accepted only with a letter of guarantee from the issuing bank presented at registration.NMSA 1978, 7-38-67, public auction in the county, minimum price, payment in full, land grant-merced match rightNMSA 1978, 7-38-67Verified Sep 25, 2026 Payment in full by the close of the public auction; no offer is accepted until then. Accepted forms are money order, certified check, cashier's check, or a personal or business check backed by the bank's letter of guarantee, payable to the Property Tax Division. For abandoned real property sold on the division's online platform, full payment is due within one business day after the buyer is notified that the bid was accepted.NMSA 1978, 7-38-67, public auction in the county, minimum price, payment in full, land grant-merced match rightNMSA 1978, 7-38-67Verified Sep 25, 2026

More New Mexico answers, including redemption and statute detail, are on the New Mexico tax sale FAQ.

New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full New Mexico walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.