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Tax Sale Atlas

Jones County, SD tax sales

How tax lien and tax deed sales work in Jones County, seat of Murdo: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how South Dakota tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
No scheduled auction.
Format
In person
Registration
Set county by county.
County office
(605) 669-7106
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 31, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Jones County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person
Run by
Jones County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Registration
Jones County publishes no bidder registration form or deposit schedule.
Next expected
on the third Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
South Dakota legal notices search
When it runs
Third Monday of December each year, between nine a.m. and four p.m. at the courthouse in Murdo. The treasurer may adjourn the sale from day to day until every certificate has been offered.
Registration and deposit

Jones County publishes no bidder registration form or deposit schedule. Call the treasurer at (605) 669-7106 before the sale to confirm what identification and payment method the office requires, and be ready to pay the full delinquent taxes, interest and costs on any parcel you win. The treasurer collects ten dollars for each certificate issued.

Sale format and venue
Bidding is a reverse auction on the interest rate, not on price. Every bidder offers the same fixed sum, the full delinquent taxes, interest and costs, and competes by naming the lowest annual interest rate they will accept on that money. The lowest rate stated is the best bid. State law caps a valid bid at ten percent per year and sets no minimum rate, so a parcel that draws several bidders can be run down toward a nominal yield. Budget for one more deduction: on redemption the county may take a fee of up to fifty dollars out of the proceeds paid to the certificate holder, and that fee cannot be charged to the property owner. The treasurer publishes the sale notice once in the county's official newspaper during the week before the sale, and the paper serving Murdo and Jones County is the Murdo Coyote. Certificates left unsold for want of bidders are sold afterward at private sale at the treasurer's office to anyone who pays the taxes, penalty and costs due.
Source: SDCL 10-23-7, Time and place of annual sale· Verified Aug 31, 2026

Tax deed sale

Run by
Jones County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
No scheduled auction.
Registration
Set county by county.
When it runs
No scheduled auction. South Dakota moves title through the certificate rather than through a deed sale. The treasurer issues a tax deed to the certificate holder once the holder completes the notice of intention to take tax deed, and that proceeding cannot begin until three years after the certificate sale.
Registration and deposit

Set county by county. SDCL chapter 6-13 lets the county take sealed bids opened at a commission meeting, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, or list the property with one or more licensed real estate brokers, and it prescribes no bidder registration. Sealed bids are filed with the county's fiscal officer and opened at the time named in the published notice. The board may reject every bid, but if it accepts one it must be the highest. A county may refuse a bid from any person who is not current on all property taxes due within that county. No deposit is required on a cash sale; a buyer taking an installment contract deposits the cash portion as soon as the bid is accepted, and gets it back if the board declines to approve the sale. Confirm the bid form, the deadline and the payment terms with the county auditor.

Sale format and venue
There is nothing separate to bid on at the deed stage in Jones County. The only auction is the December certificate sale. The holder drives the deed step by serving the notice and paying the treasurer's deed fee of five dollars, and the register of deeds at the same courthouse records the deed. If the proceeding is not finished within six years of the sale date, the certificate and its lien are barred.
Source: SDCL 10-25-1, Period within which tax deed may be procured· Verified Aug 31, 2026

Jones County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Jones County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use South Dakota legal notices search for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Set county by county. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    No scheduled auction. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Jones County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Jones County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from South Dakota legal notices search. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Set county by county. SDCL chapter 6-13 lets the county take sealed bids opened at a commission meeting, sell at public auction to the highest bidder, or list the property with one or more licensed real estate brokers, and it prescribes no bidder registration. Sealed bids are filed with the county's fiscal officer and opened at the time named in the published notice. The board may reject every bid, but if it accepts one it must be the highest. A county may refuse a bid from any person who is not current on all property taxes due within that county. No deposit is required on a cash sale; a buyer taking an installment contract deposits the cash portion as soon as the bid is accepted, and gets it back if the board declines to approve the sale. Confirm the bid form, the deadline and the payment terms with the county auditor.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the South Dakota due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in South Dakota before you price the title work.

  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases

Three routes exist and each runs through a county office. A certificate that stayed unsold for want of bidders must be sold at private sale at the treasurer's office to any person who pays the taxes, penalty and costs due. A person may also buy the county's interest in a certificate the treasurer bid off, by paying the taxes, penalty, interest and costs of sale and transfer plus every unpaid and subsequent tax, after which the treasurer assigns the certificate and the buyer holds the rights of an original purchaser. Both routes are closed in a county whose commissioners have not waived SDCL 10-23-28.1. Separately, tax deed property the county offered that drew no bid may be sold at private sale within twelve months for not less than ninety percent of the appraised value, without further publication or appraisal. Ask the county treasurer about certificates and the county auditor about unsold deeded parcels.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what South Dakota calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Jones County Treasurer

(605) 669-7106

PO Box 77, 310 Main St, Murdo, SD 57559

County notes

  • Jones County maintains no county website, so the treasurer's office at the courthouse in Murdo is where you confirm the sale date, the delinquent list and payment terms.
  • The sale is held in person at the Jones County Courthouse, 310 Main St in Murdo. There is no online bidding.
  • Redemption runs until a tax deed issues, and no deed proceeding may start until three years after the certificate sale, so plan on holding a Jones County certificate at least that long.
  • A certificate here is not open ended. If the deed proceeding is not completed within six years of the sale date, the certificate, the tax lien and any subsequent taxes paid on it are cancelled and forever barred.
  • Before a deed can issue, the holder serves a notice of intention to take tax deed. The owner of record, the person in possession and the person taxed get personal service. Mortgagees, lienholders and other interested parties shown in the register of deeds, treasurer or clerk of courts records are served or notified by publication in the county's legal newspapers.
  • The county auditor at the same courthouse address holds the return of sale, which lists every certificate sold and the amount each buyer paid. The auditor's phone is (605) 669-7100.

South Dakota rules

Max interest rate
10% per year, bid down at auction
Minimum return
No statutory minimum; interest accrues at your bid rate
Redemption
There is no fixed redemption deadline that starts at the sale. SDCL 10-24-1 lets any person redeem at any time before a tax deed is issued. What sets the outer limit is the deed process: SDCL 10-25-1 bars the certificate holder from starting that process until three years after the certificate sale, and SDCL 10-25-8 keeps the right to redeem alive until sixty days after the affidavit of completed service of the notice of intention is filed with the treasurer. Missing that sixty-day window passes the owner's, mortgagee's and lienholder's interests to the certificate holder. After the deed is recorded, the former owner has one hundred eighty days to bring an action to recover possession or to avoid the deed, which is a limitation period rather than a further right to redeem.
Deed deposit
Chapter 6-13 sets no deposit for a cash sale. A buyer taking an installment contract must deposit the cash portion with the fiscal officer as soon as the bid is accepted, and the board can still decline to approve the sale, in which case the deposit is returned. A separate rule bars a bidder from the sale entirely: under SDCL 10-25-45 a county may refuse a bid from any person who is not current on all property taxes due within that county. Payment methods and any county-set deposit are county practice rather than statute, so confirm them with the county before bidding.
Surplus proceeds
The county first deducts the expenses of taking the tax deed and of the sale. What remains is prorated to the taxing districts on the levies for the most recent year included in the proceeds until all tax and interest is paid. Any surplus left after taxes, penalty, interest, county liens and other costs must be returned to the prior owner of record, and if that owner cannot be found within one hundred eighty days the surplus is transferred to the Unclaimed Property Division under SDCL chapter 43-41B. The same distribution binds a private buyer. SDCL 10-25-39.2, effective February 12, 2024, requires any person other than a county who acquires property by tax deed after being issued a tax certificate to offer that property at public auction under chapter 6-13 within one year of the deed, and entitles that seller only to compensation in the same manner as a redemption under SDCL 10-24-1. A South Dakota certificate is therefore a route to being paid what the certificate is worth, not a route to keeping the land.
Governing statute
SDCL Title 10, Chapter 10-23

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.

See the full South Dakotarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Jones County, South Dakota sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Jones County follows South Dakota's tax lien state system.

When is the Jones County tax certificate sale?

Third Monday of December each year, between nine a.m. and four p.m. at the courthouse in Murdo. The treasurer may adjourn the sale from day to day until every certificate has been offered. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

How often does Jones County hold tax deed sales?

Jones County holds its tax deed sale once a year. No scheduled auction. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. South Dakota's redemption rule: Open until a tax deed issues; a deed cannot be sought until 3 years after the certificate sale, and redemption then runs until 60 days after completed service of the notice of intention. Call the Jones County Treasurer as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Jones County tax sale list?

Jones County posts its tax sale list at sdpublicnotices.com. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 31, 2026 against official county and state sources.

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.

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