National reference
Redemption periods by state
The redemption period is the window after a tax sale when the former owner can pay off what they owe and reclaim the property. In a lien state it is also the wait before a certificate holder can force foreclosure. The length, and whether one exists at all, is set by state law. Each figure below is cited to its source.
| State | Sale type | Redemption period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Hybrid | 4 years minimum on the tax-lien path (foreclosure window runs 4 to 10 years after the auction, widened from 3 years by Act 2024-261 effective October 1, 2024); the older deed/land-sale path still redeems at 3 years, and is unlimited if the original owner stays in possession | Code of Alabama 1975 Section 40-10-197, "Action to Foreclose the Right to Redeem and Quiet Title; Notice Requirements; Effect of Foreclosure; Deed; Demand for Auction; Expiration of Certificate" (history: Acts 1995 No. 95-408 Section 19; Act 2018-577 Section 1; Act 2022-208 Section 1; Act 2024-261 Section 1), read at the official ALISON code site; deed-path redemption per Section 40-10-120; possession exception per Section 40-10-82 |
| Alaska | Tax deed | At least 1 year from the foreclosure judgment, running before title vests in the municipality (local ordinances may set it longer). Separately, the original "record owner" may repurchase the property back from the municipality for up to 10 years after judgment, but only until the municipality sells or contracts to sell it to someone else. | AS 29.45.400 "Redemption period"; AS 29.45.450 "Deed to borough or city"; AS 29.45.470 "Repurchase by record owner". OFFICIAL State of Alaska (DCCED) Title 29 Municipal Government statutes compilation PDF, read 2026-07-25. Replaces a FindLaw mirror; akleg.gov serves AS only via a JavaScript viewer. |
| Arizona | Tax lien | 3 years from the sale before the holder can foreclose | A.R.S. 42-18152 |
| Arkansas | Tax deed | No redemption | Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands, Rules (2023 Edition), Title 1 Subtitle I "Redemption of Tax-delinquent Parcels" (effective July 1, 2023) and Frequently Asked Questions page |
| California | Tax deed | No redemption | Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 3707 (termination of right of redemption) |
| Colorado | Tax lien | 3 years from the tax lien sale date (until the certificate holder may seek a treasurer's deed) | C.R.S. 39-11-120 "Presentation of certificates for deed" (incl. the before/after July 1, 2024 HB24-1056 split this row's note describes). OFFICIAL Colorado General Assembly OLLS publication: the 2024 C.R.S. Title 39 volume PDF (content.leg.colorado.gov). Section read verbatim in the volume 2026-07-25 (whole-title PDF; locate the section by number inside). Replaces a FindLaw mirror; leg.colorado.gov has no per-section text pages. |
| Connecticut | Redeemable deed | 6 months from the sale date (statewide default); shortened to 60 days if the property was abandoned or meets blight/vacancy conditions adopted by local ordinance | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-157(e)-(f) |
| Delaware | Redeemable deed | 60 days from Superior Court confirmation of the sale | Del. Code Ann. tit. 9, § 8729 (Redemption by owner) |
| District of Columbia | Tax lien | Open-ended (redeemable at any time until foreclosure judgment is final), but the certificate holder cannot even file to foreclose the redemption right until 6 months after the tax sale | D.C. Code §§ 47-1360 and 47-1370(a), D.C. Law Library |
| Florida | Hybrid | 2 years before a tax deed can be applied for | Fla. Stat. 197.472 |
| Georgia | Redeemable deed | 12 months minimum; the right survives past 12 months until the purchaser affirmatively forecloses it | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-40 (Persons entitled to redeem land sold under tax execution; payment; time), Official Code of Georgia Annotated via the LexisNexis-hosted free public portal (state-designated official publisher); look up § 48-4-40 by citation (no per-section deep link). |
| Hawaii | Redeemable deed | 1 year from the date of the tax sale, extended to 1 year from the date of recordation if the tax deed is not recorded within 60 days of the sale | Maui County Real Property Tax Office – Tax Sale FAQ (citing Maui County Code §3.48.270) |
| Idaho | Tax deed | Up to 14 months from the county's tax deed issuance, ending sooner if the county contracts to sell or transfers the property first -- this window runs against the county's own held deed, not against the winning bidder at the public auction | Idaho Code 63-1007 |
| Illinois | Tax lien | 2 years 6 months (30 months) for most property; 1 year (12 months) for vacant non-farm property, property with 7+ residential units, or commercial/industrial property, current law for certificates issued on/after Jan 1, 2024. Certificate holder may unilaterally extend up to 3 years (36 months) from the sale date. | 35 ILCS 200/21-350 (Redemption periods) and 21-385 (Extension of redemption), Property Tax Code. Illinois General Assembly official ILCS text (Article 21 grouped page); § 21-350 confirmed within it, stating redemption "at any time before the expiration of 2.5 years from the date of sale" generally and "1 year" for vacant non-farm, 7+-unit residential, or commercial/industrial property. |
| Indiana | Tax lien | 1 year after the county Treasurer's tax sale; 120 days for Commissioners' Certificate Sales, sales to qualified government/redevelopment purchasing agencies, and unsold county-held liens; no redemption at all for court-certified "vacant and abandoned" property sold under IC 6-1.1-24-1.5 | Ind. Code 6-1.1-25-4. Official host iga.in.gov is JavaScript-rendered (no fetchable per-section text);. A 2026-07-25 browser pass confirmed iga.in.gov renders the Code only through a client-side app (section content served via an internal API, not a fetchable per-section URL or static PDF), so the verified FindLaw mirror is retained for this non-live state; re-verify at iga.in.gov on state launch. |
| Iowa | Tax lien | 1 year, 9 months from date of sale (standard track), then a 90-day notice-to-redeem window before a deed can issue; shortened to 9 months before notice for county/public-bidder resales and 3 months for abandoned-property sales | Iowa Code §447.9 (Notice of expiration of right of redemption) |
| Kansas | Tax deed | No redemption | K.S.A. 79-2803 (pre-sale redemption) and K.S.A. 79-2804b (post-confirmation challenge window), Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes |
| Kentucky | Tax lien | At least 1 year from delinquency before the certificate holder may sue to foreclose (owner may redeem anytime before the foreclosure sale); a further 6-month post-sale redemption applies if the foreclosure sale brings less than two-thirds of appraised value | KRS 134.546 (tolling period / cause of action); KRS 426.530 (post-sale redemption) |
| Louisiana | Tax lien | 3 years from recordation of the tax lien certificate (general rule); 18 months for blighted or abandoned residential/commercial property; the certificate itself prescribes (expires) 7 years after recordation if no enforcement action is filed | La. R.S. 47:2153, Notice of delinquency; tax lien holder; tax lien auction |
| Maine | Tax deed | 18 months from recording of the tax lien certificate (then automatic non-judicial foreclosure) | 36 M.R.S. §943, Maine Legislature |
| Maryland | Tax lien | No fixed redemption deadline, the owner may redeem at any time until the circuit court enters a decree foreclosing the right of redemption. The certificate holder becomes eligible to file a foreclosure action 6 months after the sale for most property (9 months for owner-occupied residential property under the general statute); the certificate itself is void if no foreclosure action is filed within 2 years of the sale. | Md. Code Ann., Tax-Prop. § 14-833 (Right of Redemption) |
| Massachusetts | Redeemable deed | 12 months minimum from sale/taking before a foreclosure petition may be filed (extended from 6 months by the Nov. 1, 2024 reform); the actual right to redeem continues until the Land Court enters final judgment of foreclosure, often well beyond 12 months | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 60, § 65 (Petition for Foreclosure of Tax Title) |
| Michigan | Tax deed | Approximately 25 months (about 2 years 1 month) from original delinquency to the final redemption deadline: taxes become delinquent March 1 of year 1; the property is forfeited to the county treasurer March 1 of year 2 if still unpaid after 12+ months; all redemption rights expire March 31 of year 3, immediately after the circuit court's foreclosure judgment (or 21 days after judgment in a contested case). Courts may extend this by up to an additional year in hardship cases (MCL 211.78k). This entire window runs before any public auction. | MCL 211.78k (foreclosure judgment; expiration of redemption rights); MCL 211.78g (forfeiture) |
| Minnesota | Tax deed | No redemption | Minn. Stat. § 281.17 (Period for redemption) |
| Mississippi | Tax lien | 2 years from date of sale | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-45-3, Unannotated Mississippi Code hosted by LexisNexis (state-designated official publisher); retrieve § 27-45-3 by section number (no per-section deep link). |
| Missouri | Tax lien | 1 year from date of sale for standard (1st/2nd-offering) sales; 90 days from notice postmark for 3rd-offering (post-third-year) sales | RSMo § 140.340 (Missouri Revisor of Statutes) |
| Montana | Tax lien | 3 years from tax lien attachment (2 years for certain undeveloped/vacant subdivided residential or commercial lots with delinquent special-improvement-district assessments) | Mont. Code Ann. § 15-18-111 (Time for redemption -- interested party) |
| Nebraska | Tax lien | 3 years (statutory "time for redemption"); shortened to 2 years for property registered vacant and abandoned | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 77-1824, 77-1837; Neb. Const. Art. VIII-3 |
| Nevada | Tax deed | No redemption | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 361.570, Trustee's certificate: issuance, effect, 2-year/1-year redemption window (Nevada Legislature) |
| New Hampshire | Tax deed | 2 years from lien execution/sale to redeem before a tax deed issues; former owners then get a further 3-year window after the deed is recorded to repurchase from the municipality | NH RSA 80:76, Tax Deed; RSA 80:89, Notice to Former Owner and Opportunity for Repurchase |
| New Jersey | Tax lien | 2 years for private/third-party certificate holders to become eligible to foreclose; 6 months if the municipality itself holds the certificate; may be accelerated for statutorily "abandoned" properties | N.J.S.A. 54:5-86 (Action to foreclose right of redemption). Official host njleg.state.nj.us is a frames/JavaScript gateway with no stable per-section deep link;. A 2026-07-25 pass confirmed njleg.state.nj.us serves statutes only through a frames/JavaScript gateway with no stable per-section URL, so the verified FindLaw mirror is retained for this non-live state; re-verify at njleg on state launch. |
| New Mexico | Tax deed | No redemption | NM Taxation & Revenue Dept., Property Tax Division, "Delinquent Property Tax Auctions" overview; NMSA 1978 § 7-38-70 (two-year limitation to challenge conveyance; full statutory text confirmed via FindLaw) |
| New York | Tax deed | 2 years from lien date by default (RPTL §1110); a tax district may shorten this to 1 year for vacant/abandoned residential parcels, or lengthen it to 3-4 years for occupied residential/farm parcels (4-5 years for qualifying combat veterans). Nassau (~2 yrs, extendable ~1 more for hardship) and Suffolk (up to 3 yrs) lien-certificate sales run on a comparable clock. | RPTL §1110, Redemption, generally (NYS Senate, Consolidated Laws) |
| North Carolina | Tax deed | No redemption | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-374 (NC General Assembly); UNC School of Government, Coates' Canons, "5 Myths About Tax Foreclosures" ("a taxpayer's right to 'redeem' his or her property... ends when the foreclosure sale is confirmed") |
| North Dakota | Tax deed | No redemption | N.D. Cent. Code 57-28-01, 57-28-02, 57-28-19; 57-20-26 |
| Ohio | Hybrid | 1 year from certificate sale before the certificate holder may seek foreclosure; owner/lienholder may still redeem afterward, at higher cost, any time up to the court's entry confirming the foreclosure sale | Ohio Rev. Code 5721.38, "Right to redeem" (certificate parcels); see also 5721.37 and 5721.19/5721.25 for the general foreclosure track - codes.ohio.gov |
| Oklahoma | Tax deed | No redemption | 68 O.S. § 3113 "Redemption of real estate" - OFFICIAL Oklahoma Legislature complete Title 68 (Revenue and Taxation) statutes PDF (oklegislature.gov; section confirmed at "§68-3113. Redemption of real estate," ~p.1330, read 2026-07-25). Replaces a Justia mirror. OK's other entries cite OSCN (also official) but §3113 is behind an OSCN Cloudflare Turnstile, so this uses the Legislature's own PDF. |
| Oregon | Tax deed | 2 years from the date of the judgment of foreclosure, running against the county (before any third party can buy the property), not a post-sale redemption against a private buyer | ORS 312.120 (Period during which property held by county; redemption) |
| Pennsylvania | Tax deed | No redemption | 72 P.S. § 5860.607 (Real Estate Tax Sale Law); § 607 within the Pennsylvania General Assembly's official full-text PDF of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law (Act of July 7, 1947, P.L. 1368, No. 542) - the same official document cited for this state's classification. The official site offers no per-section HTML deep link (palegis.us section pages are navigation shells), so locate § 607 within the act PDF. |
| Rhode Island | Redeemable deed | 1 year minimum (earliest a foreclosure-of-redemption petition may be filed); RIHMC-held titles: 5 years | R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-9-25 (Petition for foreclosure of redemption) |
| South Carolina | Redeemable deed | 12 months from date of sale | S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-90(A) and (C); deed issuance per 12-51-130 |
| South Dakota | Tax lien | 3 years minimum (redeemable anytime until deed issues; holder must complete deed process within 6 years; final ~60-day window after formal notice is served) | SDCL 10-24-1; 10-25-1; 10-25-16; 10-25-19 (South Dakota Legislature) |
| Tennessee | Redeemable deed | 12 months by default (property delinquent 5 years or less); shortened to 180 days if delinquent more than 5 but fewer than 8 years; 90 days if delinquent 8+ years; and 30 days for property meeting the statutory vacant/abandoned standard (regardless of delinquency length), all measured from entry of the chancery court's order confirming the sale, with courts also able to order a different period case by case. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2701, "Procedure for redemption of property", Tennessee Code Annotated free public access hosted by LexisNexis (the publisher the Tennessee General Assembly / capitol.tn.gov directs the public to); the portal has no per-section deep link, so § 67-5-2701 must be looked up by citation. |
| Texas | Redeemable deed | 180 days (6 months) for most real property; extends to 2 years for a residence homestead, agricultural-use land, or a mineral interest (see homestead_nuance) | Tex. Tax Code § 34.21 (Right of Redemption) |
| Utah | Tax deed | No redemption | Utah Code § 59-2-1346 (Redemption -- Time allowed) |
| Vermont | Redeemable deed | 1 year from the date of sale | 32 V.S.A. § 5260 (Redemption) |
| Virginia | Tax deed | No redemption | Code of Virginia § 58.1-3965 (owner's right of redemption) and § 58.1-3974 (redemption of land by owner; lien for taxes paid) |
| Washington | Tax deed | No redemption | RCW 84.64.070, Wash. Rev. Code (redemption before day of sale; minors/incompetent persons) |
| West Virginia | Tax lien | No fixed period under current law, redeemable at any time before the tax deed is issued (SB 552, eff. 6/10/2022, repealed the prior fixed 18-month period) | W. Va. Code § 11A-3-56(a): owner "may redeem [the tax lien] at any time before a tax deed is issued" |
| Wisconsin | Tax deed | 2 years from tax-certificate issuance (issued each Sept. 1) before the county may pursue a tax deed, certificate foreclosure, or in rem judgment; actual redemption must occur before the deed is recorded | Wis. Stat. § 74.57(2)(a)-(b) ("two years after issuance... the county is entitled..."); § 75.19 ("2 years from the date of the certificate"); § 75.01(1)(b) (redemption before deed recording) |
| Wyoming | Tax lien | 4 years minimum (certificate holder may apply for a tax deed 4-6 years after the sale; county-held certificates get a deed at exactly 4 years) | Wyoming Statutes § 39-13-108(e)(iv)-(v) and § 39-13-109(e) (tax deed timing and redemption cutoff) |
Some states set no fixed deadline and instead end redemption when the buyer completes a foreclosure or quiet title step, so treat any single figure as the statutory baseline and confirm the current process with the county. For how the clock works in practice, see redemption periods explained.
Know the deadline before you bid
Use the redemption deadline calculator to map the exact window on a certificate you are considering.