When the sale is held
Not applicable. There is no certificate sale. Two statutory steps look like a sale and are not one. First, by July 1 each year the county treasurer prepares the tax delinquency list, records it with the county clerk and transfers those accounts to the Taxation and Revenue Department under 7-38-61 and 7-38-62. That is a hand-off of collection authority between governments; nothing is offered to bidders and no certificate is issued. Second, a county treasurer may seize and auction PERSONAL property, typically a manufactured home, under a demand warrant (7-38-53 to 7-38-58), and the buyer receives a "certificate of sale" under 7-38-59. That certificate transfers the personal property itself, is run by the county treasurer and is not a real property tax lien certificate. The only investor sale of real property is the Property Tax Division's delinquent property tax auction.
When taxes go delinquent
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.
What happens after the sale
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.
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 New Mexico county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in New Mexico.
Verified Sep 25, 2026 against New Mexico 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.