TaxLienSimple Corrections
Tax-sale claims that are wrong, and what the statute actually says
A lot of tax-lien education repeats state rules the statutes contradict. This page documents the errors we see most often, each paired with the governing law and a link to the sourced state guide. If you find one of ours wrong, tell us, corrections are the point.
Educational only, not legal or investment advice. Verify against the primary source before acting.
“Texas is a tax-lien-certificate state where you earn up to 25% interest.”
Texas does not sell lien certificates. It runs a redeemable-deed sale: the buyer receives a deed at the sale, and the former owner may redeem by paying a flat premium, not accruing interest. The 25% is a one-time premium within the redemption window (25% within 180 days for most property; 25% in year one and 50% in year two for homestead, agricultural and mineral property), not an annual yield.
“In Florida you buy the property at the tax sale.”
Florida’s annual sale sells a tax lien certificate, not the property. The certificate earns bid-down interest (18% ceiling, 5% minimum guarantee on most redemptions). Only after a statutory holding period can the certificate holder force a separate tax-deed application and public auction, a distinct, later step many summaries collapse into the certificate sale.
“Tax liens pay a guaranteed 18% (or 36%) return.”
A statutory ceiling is not a realized return. In premium-bid and bid-down states the rate is competed downward at auction, and in flat-penalty states the penalty is only earned if the owner redeems, the timing sets the annualized yield. There is no single reliable industry figure for average returns, and a redemption is a return of capital, not a coupon that keeps paying.
“The redemption rule is the same for every property in a state.”
Redemption terms frequently differ by property classification within the same state. Texas is the clearest case: 180 days for most property but a two-year window (with a 25%/50% premium schedule) for homestead, agricultural and mineral property. Assuming one rule across all parcels is a common and costly error.
“New York is a tax-lien state.”
Most New York counties sell tax deeds, not liens. Where liens exist the mechanics vary by venue, Nassau County sells liens to the public, while New York City’s lien sale conveys only to an institutional trust, not retail bidders. A single “lien state” label misstates how the sale actually works for an individual investor.
“A state summary tells you how a given county’s sale runs.”
County practice does not always match the generalized state rule. Auction format, platform, registration deadlines and even applicable rates can vary county-to-county (Maryland sets interest per county, 6-18%). We verify at the county level in the auction directory and label each sale confirmed, statutory or not-yet-announced.
“The advertised rate is what your capital earns per year.”
In flat-penalty states (Texas, Georgia, Delaware) the penalty is a one-time figure, not an annual rate, a 20% penalty redeemed in one month is a very different annualized number than the same penalty redeemed near the deadline. Annualizing a flat penalty as if it were simple interest overstates or understates the real return depending entirely on redemption timing.
Found an error, ours or someone else's?
We hold our own data to this standard. Every state guide carries its primary sources and a last-verified date; every auction entry links to its official county or state source. If a figure here is out of date or wrong, we want to fix it.