TaxLien.io
Blog
← Back to the map

All state tax sale rates

50 states, sourced from actual state statute. Click any state for the full breakdown — sale type, redemption mechanics, and what can go wrong.

Alabama

Flat 12%, no bidding, 3-year redemption — simple and slow.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 12% flat, no bid-down
  • Redemption — 3 years

Alaska

No state property tax at all — sales exist only where a borough chooses to levy one.

  • Type — Tax deed (municipal foreclosure)
  • Rate — None — cash auction, no unified statewide system
  • Redemption — ~2–3 years total (delinquency + ~1 year post-judgment) before auction

Arizona

16% cap with a 3-year redemption window, longer than most bid-down states.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Up to 16%, bid down
  • Redemption — 3 years

Arkansas

State-run cash auction, redemption ends the day before the sale — no grace period after.

  • Type — Tax deed (state-run, non-redeemable after sale)
  • Rate — None — cash premium auction, min bid = back taxes
  • Redemption — Pre-sale only — ends the day before the auction

California

No interest at all — a straight cash deed auction after 5 years delinquent, no redemption.

  • Type — Tax deed
  • Rate — None — deed sold at auction, no interest
  • Redemption — None

Colorado

Rate floats with the Fed discount rate + 9%, reset every September — bid on premium, not rate.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Federal discount rate + 9%, bid down
  • Redemption — 3 years

Connecticut

18% flat with one of the shortest redemption windows anywhere: 6 months.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 18% flat
  • Redemption — 6 months

Delaware

Sheriff's sale with a flat premium instead of a rate: 15% in 60 days, or 20% over a year.

  • Type — Redeemable deed (sheriff sale)
  • Rate — Fixed premium, not an annual rate — 15% or 20%
  • Redemption — 60 days (monition, 15% premium) or 1 year (direct sale, Kent/Sussex only, 20%)

District of Columbia

18% cap, bid down, and a fast 6-month redemption to match.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Up to 18%, bid down
  • Redemption — 6 months

Florida

The classic lien auction: 18% capped, bid down at the sale, 2-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Up to 18%, bid down to 0.25%
  • Redemption — 2 years

Georgia

Redeemable deed, 20% penalty, 1-year redemption — you hold the deed from day one.

  • Type — Redeemable deed
  • Rate — 20% penalty
  • Redemption — 1 year

Hawaii

County-run, 12%/year to redeem, but no absentee bidding — you need someone on-island.

  • Type — Redeemable tax deed (county-administered)
  • Rate — 12% per year to redeem
  • Redemption — 1 year (extended if the deed goes unrecorded past 60 days)

Idaho

Clean cash deed sale — redemption closes the moment the auction starts, not after.

  • Type — Tax deed (non-redeemable after auction)
  • Rate — None — cash auction, no interest paid to investor
  • Redemption — Pre-auction only — up to 14 months after the deed is issued

Illinois

Up to 18% every 6 months — compounds to a steep effective annual return.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Up to 18% per 6-month period, bid down
  • Redemption — 2–3 years

Indiana

10–25% tiered penalty, redemption as short as 120 days on vacant parcels.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 10–25% penalty
  • Redemption — 1 year (120 days on some parcels)

Iowa

24% flat, no bidding — the highest flat rate on this list, with under 2 years to redeem.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 24% flat, no bid-down (rotational)
  • Redemption — 1 year 9 months

Kansas

Judicial foreclosure, cash auction, tiered eligibility from 1–3 years depending on property type.

  • Type — Tax deed (judicial foreclosure)
  • Rate — None — cash auction, county-run
  • Redemption — Pre-sale only, no fixed window (tiered eligibility: 1–3 years delinquent)

Kentucky

Flat 12%, 1-year redemption — one of the fastest-turnaround lien states.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 12% flat
  • Redemption — 1 year

Louisiana

Overhauled January 2026 — now a true bid-down lien auction, 1%/month down to 0.7%, 3-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Up to 12% (1%/month), bid down to 0.7%/month
  • Redemption — 3 years (18 months if blighted)

Maine

Town-run sales, flat 8%, 18-month redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 8% flat
  • Redemption — 18 months

Maryland

8–24% depending on county, bid down, redemption as short as 4 months in Baltimore City.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 8–24%, bid down
  • Redemption — 6 months (4 months in Baltimore City)

Massachusetts

Municipal sales, flat 16%, redemption 6 months to a year depending on the town.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 16% flat
  • Redemption — 6 months to 1 year

Michigan

The 3-year timeline ends March 31 of year three — redemption closes before the auction ever happens.

  • Type — Tax deed (county foreclosure auction)
  • Rate — None — deed sold at auction
  • Redemption — None at auction — redemption window closes before forfeiture

Minnesota

Mandatory public auction within 6 months of forfeiture — the state behind the Tyler v. Hennepin surplus ruling.

  • Type — Tax deed (state forfeiture + mandatory public auction)
  • Rate — None — cash auction, State Deed issued
  • Redemption — 3 years standard (1 year in targeted zones, 5 weeks if judicially abandoned)

Mississippi

1.5% a month — 18% annualized — with a 2-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 1.5% per month (18% per year)
  • Redemption — 2 years

Missouri

Flat 10%, 1-year redemption — straightforward to underwrite.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 10% flat
  • Redemption — 1 year

Montana

10% base plus a 2%-per-month penalty stacked on top, 3-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 10% + 2% per month penalty
  • Redemption — 3 years

Nebraska

Flat 14%, 3-year redemption — a longer hold than most flat-rate states.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 14% flat
  • Redemption — 3 years

Nevada

The county already holds the property for 2 years before auction — by the time you bid, redemption has already run out.

  • Type — Tax deed
  • Rate — None — deed sold at auction
  • Redemption — None post-sale (2-year window to protest the sale's validity)

New Hampshire

Municipal sales, flat 18%, 2-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 18% flat
  • Redemption — 2 years

New Jersey

18% cap, then premium bidding once the rate hits zero — expect competition on desirable liens.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Up to 18%, premium bidding
  • Redemption — 2 years

New Mexico

The state itself runs the auction, not the county — cash sale, no calendar you can count on.

  • Type — Tax deed (state-run)
  • Rate — None — cash auction, min bid = debt owed
  • Redemption — None after sale (2-year window to challenge the sale procedurally)

New York

Set locally, not statewide — NYC tiers 6–16% by assessed value, redemption often runs longer than the 2-year base.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — Up to 16%, tiered by property value (NYC)
  • Redemption — 2 years (often longer, set locally)

North Carolina

No fixed redemption period — the owner can pay off any time until the court confirms, and every bid opens a 10-day upset window.

  • Type — Tax deed (foreclosure sale)
  • Rate — None — deed sold at auction
  • Redemption — None after court confirmation

North Dakota

9–12% depending on county, 3-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 9–12% flat
  • Redemption — 3 years

Ohio

Flat 18% with just a 1-year redemption — high rate, fast turnaround.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 18% flat
  • Redemption — 1 year

Oklahoma

Flat 8%, 2-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 8% flat
  • Redemption — 2 years

Oregon

County discretion on whether to even hold an auction — ~5 years to reach that point, if it happens at all.

  • Type — Tax deed (in-rem judicial foreclosure)
  • Rate — None — cash auction, when and if the county holds one
  • Redemption — ~5 years total (3 yrs to judgment + 2 yrs more) before the county takes title

Pennsylvania

Two different sales in one state — Upset (no redemption) and Judicial (clears liens, ~9-month redemption).

  • Type — Tax deed
  • Rate — None — deed sold at auction
  • Redemption — None at upset sale; ~9 months for owner-occupied at judicial sale

Rhode Island

10% base plus 1% a month, 1-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 10% + 1% per month penalty
  • Redemption — 1 year

South Carolina

Bid down from a 12% ceiling, 12-month redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 3–12%, bid down
  • Redemption — 12 months

South Dakota

10–12% flat, one of the longer redemption windows here at 3–4 years.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 10–12% flat
  • Redemption — 3–4 years

Tennessee

Runs through the courts, not a county desk — flat 10%, 1-year redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 10% flat
  • Redemption — 1 year

Texas

No lien here — a redeemable deed with a flat 25% penalty and a 180-day window.

  • Type — Redeemable deed
  • Rate — 25% penalty
  • Redemption — 180 days

Utah

Clean county cash auctions, ~4–5 years delinquent to reach sale, none after.

  • Type — Tax deed
  • Rate — None — cash auction, min bid = debt owed
  • Redemption — None after sale (pre-sale only, ~4–5 years delinquent to reach auction)

Vermont

Deed sold at the sale itself, but the owner can redeem for a year at 1% a month.

  • Type — Redeemable deed
  • Rate — 12% (1% per month)
  • Redemption — 1 year

Virginia

Judicial deed sale, no redemption once confirmed — the risk sits entirely in the property, not the timeline.

  • Type — Tax deed
  • Rate — None — deed sold at auction
  • Redemption — None after the sale

Washington

Deed sold outright, no redemption except a narrow 3-year carve-out for minors or active-military owners.

  • Type — Tax deed
  • Rate — None — deed sold at auction
  • Redemption — None (narrow exception: 3 years for minors, incompetent owners, or active military)

West Virginia

Flat 12%, 18-month redemption.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 12% flat
  • Redemption — 18 months

Wyoming

15% plus a 15% penalty stacked on top, and the longest redemption window here: 4 years.

  • Type — Tax lien certificate
  • Rate — 15% + 15% penalty
  • Redemption — 4 years

New to the difference between a lien and a deed? Read Tax Lien vs. Tax Deed: What's the Difference? before comparing states.

Wondering if you're owed money from a past sale? See surplus funds by state.

Rates and redemption windows are set by state statute and can change by county or legislative session — always confirm against the county's own auction notice before bidding. This table is informational, not investment advice.