Tax Sale Interest & Penalty Rates by Jurisdiction
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.
Overview
This reference table aggregates, for all 56 US jurisdictions, the
interest-or-penalty return that accrues against a delinquent parcel at the tax
sale stage (Module 1 of each jurisdiction page), the statutory maximum that
return may reach, and the bidding method by which the tax sale is conducted.
Every cell is drawn from the linked jurisdiction page, where the per-cell
primary-source citation (statute §, with a retrieved source_url) lives. This
page does not re-research; it compiles. Where a jurisdiction page flagged a field
needs_verification, that flag is carried here as ⚠ rather than resolved with an
invented value.
Three structural patterns dominate. First, the bidding method sorts jurisdictions into recognizable families: bid-down interest (the investor accepts a lower yield to win — Arizona, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, South Dakota, Louisiana from 2026, and others); bid-down ownership percentage (the investor accepts a smaller undivided share — Iowa, Rhode Island, and Utah’s alternative bid); premium / highest-bid (the investor bids cash above the tax debt, creating a surplus — most deed and redeemable-deed states); redemption-premium (a fixed statutory multiplier rather than a bid — Georgia, Indiana, Texas, South Carolina); and random / rotational draw (no competitive bid — Kentucky, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oklahoma’s October sale). Several states are no-investor-sale pipelines in which the taxing unit itself takes title (Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin), so the “rate” shown is the delinquency/redemption rate the owner must cure rather than an investor yield.
Second, the statutory maximum clusters around a handful of ceilings: an 18%/yr ceiling (Florida, New Jersey, Ohio certificates, Connecticut, Mississippi, Illinois pre-period, DC, and several premium states’ delinquency rates), a 12%/yr ceiling (Hawaii, Kentucky, New York, Tennessee, USVI, West Virginia, Vermont, Louisiana’s pre-bid cap), a 16%/yr ceiling (Arizona, Oregon delinquency), a 14% or 15% band (Colorado, Nebraska, Alaska repurchase cap, Wyoming, New Hampshire post-lien), and a low 8–10% band (Alabama post-2020, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, Nevada, Washington residential). Third, the post-Tyler reform wave (tyler-v-hennepin-county) has reshaped several of these regimes (Louisiana’s 2026 conversion to bid-down interest; Maryland’s HB 59 rate cap on owner-occupied property), so the cited rates should always be re-checked against the current statutory text.
Comparative table
| Jurisdiction | Interest / penalty rate (Module 1) | Statutory maximum | Bidding method | Statute (cite) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| alabama | 8%/yr (sales on/after Jan 1 2020; 12%/yr before). Tax-lien track: bid rate 0–12% | 12%/yr ceiling (lien track) | Premium cash (sale-of-land) or bid-down interest (Art. 7 lien counties) | Ala. Code §§ 40-10-122(a), 40-10-184 |
| alaska | Penalty/interest set by municipal ordinance; repurchase add-on capped | 15%/yr (repurchase add-on cap, AS 29.45.470) | Set by ordinance — sealed bid or public-outcry (later municipal sale) | AS 29.45.250, .470 — ⚠ per-municipality rate needs_verification |
| arizona | 16%/yr simple from delinquency; certificate earns the bid rate (0–16%) | 16%/yr | Bid-down interest (struck to lowest rate) | A.R.S. § 42-18053 |
| arkansas | 10%/yr simple interest + 10%/yr penalty per year of delinquency | n/a (statutory accrual, not bid) | Premium / highest-bid deed | Ark. Code §§ 26-37-202, 26-37-302 |
| california | 1.5%/month (18%/yr) redemption penalty + 10% delinquent penalty (pre-sale, to county) | 18%/yr (redemption penalty) | Premium / highest-bid; limited sealed-bid | RTC §§ 4103(a), 3693 |
| colorado | Bank Commissioner rate = 9 pts above Sept 1 federal discount rate (14%/yr for 2025) | Set annually (no fixed cap) | Premium (“bonus bid”); premium not returned, no interest | C.R.S. §§ 39-12-103(3), 39-11-115 |
| connecticut | 18%/yr on purchaser’s total price from sale date | 18%/yr | Premium / highest-bid auction | CGS § 12-157(f) |
| delaware | No certificate interest — redemption = price + 15% (monition) or + 20% (Kent/Sussex) | 20% premium (Kent/Sussex) | Premium / highest-bid sheriff’s auction | 9 Del. C. §§ 8725, 8728 |
| florida | Bid-down from 18%; 5% mandatory minimum on redemption (unless 0% bid) | 18%/yr | Bid-down interest (0.25% increments) | Fla. Stat. §§ 197.172(1), 197.432, 197.472(2) |
| georgia | 20% redemption premium first year, then 10% per year thereafter | n/a (statutory premium) | Premium / highest-bid deed | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-42 |
| hawaii | 12%/yr on the redemption amount | 12%/yr | Premium / highest-bid cash | ROH § 8-5.2 (repealed HRS 246-60; mirrored HRS 231-67) |
| idaho | 1%/month (~12%/yr) on delinquency + 2% late charge; no investor yield | ~12%/yr (1%/month) | Highest-bid deed (county’s interest at § 31-808 auction) | Idaho Code §§ 63-1001, 63-201, 31-808 |
| illinois | Bid-down penalty per period; subs add 12%/yr penalty | 9% per penalty period (current statutory text) ⚠ | Bid-down-the-penalty | 35 ILCS 200/21-215, 21-355 — ⚠ 9% vs. legacy 18% needs_verification |
| indiana | Redemption premium 110% (≤6 mo) / 115% (>6 mo); overbid & subs earn 5%/yr | 5%/yr (on overbid/subs) | Premium / highest-bid | IC 6-1.1-25-2 |
| iowa | 2%/month (~24%/yr) from month of sale | ~24%/yr (2%/month) | Bid-down ownership percentage (floor 1%) | Iowa Code §§ 447.1(1), 446.16(1) |
| kansas | § 79-2968 base rate + 5 pts (base = IRC § 6621 underpayment + 1 pt); 10% floor over $10k | Set annually (base + 5 pts) | Highest-bid deed (judicial foreclosure sheriff’s auction) | K.S.A. §§ 79-2004, 79-2968 |
| kentucky | 12%/yr simple on the certificate of delinquency; 10% penalty pre-issuance | 12%/yr | Random / lottery rotation among registered purchasers (no bid-down) | KRS §§ 134.125, 134.015 |
| louisiana | Bid-down from 1%/month (12%/yr) to floor 0.7%/month (8.4%/yr); + 5% penalty | 1%/month (12%/yr) constitutional ceiling | Bid-down interest (2026 regime; was bid-down ownership %) | La. Const. art. VII § 25; R.S. 47:2153, 47:2154 |
| maine | Municipal rate, capped at prime + 3 pts; redemption = tax + interest + costs | Prime + 3 pts (§ 505(4)) ⚠ | None at lien stage (lien → auto-foreclosure → brokered resale) | 36 M.R.S. § 505(4) — ⚠ FY2026 max needs_verification |
| maryland | County-set redemption rate (~6%–20%/yr across counties); HB 59 caps certain props at 10% | County-set (HB 59: 10% for some owner-occupied/heir) ⚠ | Highest good-faith bid + high-bid premium (20% over 40% of value) | TP §§ 14-817, 14-820 — ⚠ per-county current rate needs_verification |
| massachusetts | 8%/yr on tax-title account (reduced from 16% by St. 2024 c.140); 14% pre-taking | 8%/yr (tax-title) | Not a competitive auction — administrative taking; bulk assignment | G.L. c. 60 § 62 |
| michigan | 0.5%/month (6%/yr) added on forfeiture + $175 forfeiture fee; no certificate interest | 6%/yr (forfeiture interest) | Highest-bid deed at public auction | MCL 211.78g, 211.78m |
| minnesota | Delinquent-tax interest/penalty (rate set in Ch. 279/280) | ⚠ rate flagged in §11 | Highest-bid public sale (post-forfeiture; online permitted) | Minn. Stat. §§ 279.03, 281.17 — ⚠ exact rate needs_verification |
| mississippi | 1.5%/month (18%/yr) on amount paid + 5% damages on the delinquent tax | 18%/yr | Premium / overbid (overbid earns no interest) | Miss. Code §§ 27-45-3, 27-45-1 |
| missouri | Up to 10%/yr on certificate; 8%/yr on subs; no interest on overbid | 10%/yr (certificate) | Premium / highest-bid | RSMo 140.340 |
| montana | 5/6 of 1%/month (10%/yr) + 2% penalty | 10%/yr (5/6 of 1%/month) | Over-the-counter assignment (lien); highest-bid deed at § 15-18-220 auction | MCA §§ 15-16-102, 15-18-112 |
| nebraska | 14%/yr on certificate and subs | 14%/yr (cross-ref § 45-104.01) | Round-robin / random allotment (no bid-down or premium) | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 77-1824, 77-1807 |
| nevada | 10%/yr assessed monthly on delinquent taxes; no certificate interest | ~10%/yr | Highest-bid deed at public auction | NRS 361.570, 361.595 — ⚠ quarterly penalty schedule needs_verification |
| new-hampshire | 14%/yr on the executed lien (was 18% pre-2019); 8%/yr pre-lien; 10% deed penalty | 14%/yr (post-lien) ⚠ | None at lien stage (lien → 2-yr redemption → tax deed → municipal resale) | RSA 80:69, 76:13, 80:90 — ⚠ current 14% rate needs_verification |
| new-jersey | Bid-down from 18%; + 2%/4%/6% redemption penalty tiers | 18%/yr | Bid-down interest, then premium | N.J.S.A. 54:5-32 |
| new-mexico | 1%/month interest + 1%/month penalty capped at 5% total | 5% penalty cap (interest 1%/month uncapped) | Highest-bid deed (public auction) | NMSA §§ 7-38-49, 7-38-50 |
| new-york | 1%/month (~12%/yr) under RPTL § 924-a default statewide rate | ~12%/yr (special districts may vary) | Highest-bid deed where auction held (lien not auctioned in Art. 11) | RPTL § 924-a |
| north-carolina | 2% (Jan 6–Feb 1), then 0.75%/month thereafter on the tax debt | Statutory accrual (no bid-down) | Highest-bid courthouse auction + 10-day upset-bid | G.S. § 105-360 |
| north-dakota | Redemption = taxes + penalties + interest + costs (rate in ch. 57-20/57-22) | ⚠ rate flagged in §11 | Highest-bid public auction (county deed; contract-deed interest ≤12%) | NDCC 57-28-03, 57-28-15 — ⚠ exact rate needs_verification |
| ohio | Certificate rate bid by winner; redemption = price + greater of bid rate or 6% | 18%/yr (certificate ceiling) | Bid-down interest (certificates) or highest-bid (foreclosure sale) | R.C. §§ 5721.30, 5721.38 |
| oklahoma | 1.5%/month (18%/yr) delinquency; individual October-certificate return 8%/yr | 18%/yr (delinquency); 8%/yr certificate ⚠ | Random drawing (Oct lien sale) / highest-bid (June resale) | 68 O.S. §§ 2913, 3108, 3113 — ⚠ 8%/county-rate split needs_verification |
| oregon | 1⅓%/month (16%/yr) on delinquent taxes + 5% redemption penalty | 16%/yr (1⅓%/month) | None at foreclosure (county is purchaser); back-end high-bid auction | ORS 311.505(2), 312.120(2) |
| pennsylvania | RETSL: delinquent-tax interest rolled into upset price. MCTLA: 10% redemption interest | 10% (MCTLA redemption) ⚠ | Highest bid (upset sale floor = upset price; judicial sale free & clear) | 72 P.S. § 5860.605; 53 P.S. § 7293 — ⚠ RETSL delinquent rate needs_verification |
| rhode-island | 1%/month on amount paid + penalty; if town buys, 10% (within 6 mo) + 1%/mo | 1%/month + statutory penalty | Bid-down ownership percentage (floor 1%) | R.I.G.L. §§ 44-9-8, 44-9-19, 44-9-21 |
| south-carolina | Stepped redemption penalty: 3% / 6% / 9% / 12% by quarter (cap = FLC bid) | 12% (final quarter; capped at FLC opening bid) | Highest-bid public auction | S.C. Code §§ 12-51-90, 12-51-50 |
| south-dakota | Bid rate (max 10%/yr) on certificate; subs at same rate | 10%/yr (“no rate higher than ten percent is a valid bid”) | Bid-down interest (or certificate issued to county) | SDCL 10-23-8, 10-24-1 |
| tennessee | 12%/yr on purchaser’s entire purchase price from payment to motion to redeem | 12%/yr | Highest-bid (premium) auction | Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2701(b) |
| texas | Redemption premium: 25% (yr 1) / 50% (yr 2); 25% for 180-day property | n/a (statutory premium) | Highest-bid (premium) public auction | Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(a)–(e) |
| utah | Penalty + interest from prior Jan 1 at federal-rate-plus margin | ⚠ § 59-2-1331 arithmetic needs_verification | Highest bid for entire parcel or smallest-portion/undivided interest | Utah Code §§ 59-2-1351.1(4), 59-2-1331 |
| vermont | 1%/month (12%/yr) on the price the property sold for, from sale to redemption | 12%/yr (1%/month) | Highest-bid public auction (town may buy in) | 32 V.S.A. § 5260 |
| virginia | No purchaser interest; locality-set delinquency (commonly ~10% penalty + 10%/yr) | Locality-set ⚠ | Highest bid at public auction (special commissioner, court-confirmed) | Va. Code §§ 58.1-3965, 58.1-3915/3916 — ⚠ locality rate needs_verification |
| washington | 9%/yr residential (≤4 units) / 12%/yr other, monthly from delinquency (since 2023) | 12%/yr (non-residential) | Highest-bid deed (oral/online auction) | RCW 84.56.020, 84.64.080 |
| west-virginia | 1%/month (12%/yr) on amount paid from sale date; subs at 1%/month | 12%/yr (1%/month) | Highest-bid (premium) auction (Auditor) | W. Va. Code §§ 11A-3-2, 11A-3-56 |
| wisconsin | Redemption = taxes + special charges + interest + penalties on the certificate | ⚠ rate flagged in §11 | None at lien stage (county certificate); resale by bid (≥ appraised value) | Wis. Stat. §§ 74.47, 75.01, 75.69 — ⚠ exact rate needs_verification |
| wyoming | 3% penalty at sale + 15%/yr simple from sale to redemption; subs at 15% | 15%/yr | Rotational / random draw assignment (no competitive bid) | Wyo. Stat. § 39-13-108 |
| district-of-columbia | 1.5%/month (18%/yr) simple on amount paid (excl. surplus); no interest on surplus | 18%/yr | Highest-bid public auction (surplus recorded on certificate) | D.C. Code §§ 47-1334, 47-1361, 47-1348(c) |
| puerto-rico | 10%/yr interest from due date + 5%/10% surcharges (delinquency) | 10%/yr interest (+ surcharges) | Highest-bid deed (CRIM auction; min ≥ tax debt or appraisal) | Código Municipal Arts. 7.059, 7.078 |
| guam | Pre-deed redemption ½ of 1%/month (~6%/yr); post-auction redemption 12%/yr; 9% delinquency penalty | 12%/yr (post-auction redemption) | Operation-of-law sale to Government; later highest-bid deed auction | 11 GCA §§ 24812, 24819, 24701 |
| us-virgin-islands | 12%/yr on full purchase money to 30 days after tender + $15 fee | 12%/yr | Highest-bid auction (certificate of purchase) | 33 V.I.C. § 2581 |
| northern-mariana-islands | N/A — no annual ad valorem property tax exists; no tax sale | N/A | N/A — no property-tax sale (transfer tax only at conveyance) | CNMI Dept. of Finance / Dotts Law (no property tax) |
| american-samoa | N/A — no verified real-property tax-sale system located | ⚠ N/A — needs_verification | N/A — no verified tax sale | ⚠ no primary statute located — needs_verification |
Notable clusters / outliers
Highest effective yields. Iowa stands out with 2%/month (~24%/yr), the steepest statutory accrual in the set, followed by the 18%/yr ceilings of Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Mississippi, California’s redemption penalty, DC, and Ohio certificates. Mississippi compounds its 18%/yr with an additional 5% damages charge; New Jersey layers 2–6% redemption-penalty tiers on top of the bid-down interest; Wyoming adds a flat 3% sale-day penalty to its 15%/yr.
Lowest yields. The reform and deed-state cluster runs low: Michigan’s 6%/yr forfeiture interest, Massachusetts’s 8%/yr (halved from 16% in 2024), Alabama’s 8%/yr (down from 12% in 2020), Missouri and South Dakota and Montana and Nevada at 8–10%/yr. These are the jurisdictions where the “return” is a delinquency/redemption rate rather than a competitively-bid investor yield.
Bidding-method outliers. Iowa, Rhode Island, and Utah’s alternative bid use bid-down ownership percentage (floor 1% in Iowa and Rhode Island) — the investor competes by accepting a smaller share of the parcel, not a smaller yield. Illinois is the sole bid-down-the-penalty state, and its current statutory ceiling (9% per period) conflicts with the 18% figure cited by older secondary sources — carried here as ⚠. Kentucky, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Oklahoma’s October sale allocate liens by random draw / rotation with a fixed statutory rate, so there is no yield competition at all.
Reform-driven changes. Louisiana converted from bid-down-ownership-percentage to bid-down interest for 2026 (post-Tyler), with a constitutional 1%/month ceiling and an 8.4%/yr floor. Maryland’s 2025 HB 59 caps the redemption rate at 10% for certain owner-occupied and heir properties, against a county-set range that historically reached 20%. Washington split its rate in 2023 into 9%/yr residential vs. 12%/yr other. These moving targets are the strongest reason every cell here should be re-confirmed against the linked page’s current statutory text.
No-tax-sale jurisdictions. The Northern Mariana Islands levy no annual ad
valorem property tax (only a transfer tax at conveyance), so no tax-sale rate
exists. American Samoa has no verified real-property tax-sale statute located in
research — carried as ⚠ needs_verification rather than asserted as “none.”
▸ For Investors / Operators — The bidding-method column determines how your capital is priced: bid-down-interest states compress yield as competition rises (your effective return can fall well below the statutory max), premium/overbid states convert competition into surplus that flows to the former owner (Module 3), and redemption-premium states (Georgia, Indiana, Texas, South Carolina) pay a fixed multiplier regardless of how long redemption takes. Pair this table with each page’s §2 (redemption period / risk) and §7b (lien survival) before underwriting a yield.
▸ For Former Owners — The rate shown is what accrues against your parcel — and in premium/overbid states (e.g., Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, DC), any amount a bidder pays above the tax debt becomes surplus that belongs to you, not the purchaser. Start with your jurisdiction’s §3 (surplus / excess proceeds) for the claim deadline and procedure; the redemption rate here tells you what it costs to recover the property before the deed issues.
Sources
Every per-cell rate, statutory maximum, and bidding method in the table above is
compiled from the corresponding jurisdiction page’s Module 1 (Tax Sale
Mechanics), where the primary-source citation (statute section and a retrieved
source_url) is recorded. This table preserves but does not duplicate those
citations; follow the wiki-link in column 1 to reach the cited statute and its
retrieved source. Cells marked ⚠ correspond to fields the source page itself
flagged needs_verification (rates set by local ordinance, rates flagged for
extraction in a page’s §11 Meta, statutory ceilings in flux, or — for American
Samoa — the absence of any located tax-sale statute). No rate or citation on this
page was invented; honest gaps are shown as ⚠ rather than filled.
Landmark reconciliation: tyler-v-hennepin-county (surplus-equity takings) informs the premium/overbid and reform columns above.
Disclaimer. This page provides legal information, not legal advice. Tax sale interest rates, penalties, and bidding procedures change by statute and by local ordinance, and several entries here are expressly flagged for verification. Confirm every figure against the cited primary source and current statutory text for the relevant jurisdiction before acting. No attorney-client relationship is created by this reference.