Home / Tax lien interest rates by state
Tax Lien Interest Rates by State (2026)
Short answer: statutory tax lien rates run from single digits to 25% or more a year, and some states pay a flat penalty instead of interest. The table lists every jurisdiction's maximum rate, redemption period and sale type. The maximum is a ceiling: where bidders bid the rate down, winning rates are usually far lower.
Click a column to sort. Each row links to the full state guide with the statute behind the figure. Ranking the states by more than the rate? See the best tax lien states ranked by statute.
| State ↑ | System | Max Rate | Redemption | Auction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Tax Lien | 12% bid-down | 3yr min 10yr | bid-down interest | Guide → |
| Alaska | Tax Deed | N/A | 1yr+ after municipality takes title; owner may repurchase up to 10yrs if unsold | Municipal foreclosure | Guide → |
| Arizona | Tax Lien | 16%/yr simple bid-down | 3yr min 10yr max | bid-down ARS §42-18114 | Guide → |
| Arkansas | Tax Deed | N/A | Until 4 p.m. the business day before the sale; none on or after sale date | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| California | Tax Deed | N/A (deed sale; delinquency penalties go to county, not buyer) | None (terminates close of business last business day before sale, RTC 3707) | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| Colorado | Tax Lien | Fed discount rate +9 pts, set Sept 1: 13% for 2026 liens, 14% for 2025; premium bids earn 0% | Holder may apply for deed auction 3yrs after sale; owner redeems until deed issues | Tax lien cert auction | Guide → |
| Connecticut | Redeemable Deed | 18%/yr flat on total purchase price from sale date | 6mo (60d if abandoned, by ordinance) | Public auction of the property (not a lien sale); town may take it if no bid covers the debt | Guide → |
| Delaware | Redeemable Deed | Monition sales: 15% of price. Kent/Sussex sales: 20% interest on purchase money | 60d to 1yr | Deed sale + redemption | Guide → |
| District of Columbia | Tax Lien | 18%/yr (1.5%/mo) fixed; premium bidding, no interest on surplus | Until right is barred; purchaser may sue to foreclose after 6mo | Tax lien cert | Guide → |
| Florida | Tax Lien | 18% max, bid down in 0.25% steps; 5% minimum on redemption unless bid is 0% | Holder may apply for deed 2yrs after Apr 1 of issue year; certificate expires at 7yrs | Tax deed + cert interest | Guide → |
| Georgia | Redeemable Deed | 20% of bid for year 1 or part, plus 10% for each later year or part (not flat) | 12mo from sale, then until purchaser serves barment notice | Deed + 20% redemption | Guide → |
| Hawaii | Redeemable Deed | Fixed 12%/yr on purchaser's amount plus costs | 1yr | County public auction of the property; deed issued, redeemable 1yr | Guide → |
| Idaho | Tax Deed | N/A | Until 3yrs after delinquency; after tax deed, 14mo or until county sells | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| Illinois | Tax Lien | 9% max penalty bid per 6-month period (35 ILCS 200/21-215; P.A. 102-363) | 3yrs; 1yr vacant non-farm, 7+ unit, commercial, industrial. New text: certs issued 7-10-26 on | Annual tax sale; lowest penalty percentage wins | Guide → |
| Indiana | Tax Lien | 10%/15% flat penalty on min bid + 5%/yr on overbid (premium bidding, not bid-down) | 1yr | Premium bidding at or above the minimum bid (not bid-down) | Guide → |
| Iowa | Tax Lien | 2%/month 24%/yr | 1yr 9mo | County treasurer sale | Guide → |
| Kansas | Tax Deed | N/A | Owner may redeem before the sheriff's sale; foreclosure filed after Sept 1 of 2nd year | Tax foreclosure deed | Guide → |
| Kentucky | Tax Lien | 12% simple on the amount the buyer paid, whole months, paid by owner; not bid down | No fixed term; owner may pay until foreclosure; buyer may sue 1yr after delinquency | Annual clerk sale of delinquency certificates at face amount; no rate bidding | Guide → |
| Louisiana | Tax Lien | Bid-down monthly interest 1% to 0.7% (12% to 8.4%/yr) + flat 5% penalty (system eff. 1/1/2026) | None for post-2026 liens; owner pays termination price until suit ends; holder waits 3yrs to sue | Tax lien bid-down | Guide → |
| Maine | Hybrid | N/A | 18mo | Municipal foreclosure | Guide → |
| Maryland | Tax Lien | 6% statutory default; counties and cities set their own (Balt City 18% non-owner-occupied) | Until right is foreclosed; suit after 6mo (9mo owner-occupied); cert void if no suit in 2yrs | Public auction of the property by cash bid; premium above lien earns no interest | Guide → |
| Massachusetts | Hybrid | 8% per annum on tax titles (MGL c.60 §62; cut from 16% for titles after 11/1/2024) | Holder may petition Land Court after 12mo; owner redeems any time before petition is filed | Tax taking + foreclosure | Guide → |
| Michigan | Tax Deed | N/A | Until March 31 following the foreclosure judgment (roughly 2yr from delinquency); then title vests in the county | County foreclosure auction | Guide → |
| Minnesota | Tax Deed | N/A | 3yrs from sale to the state; 1yr for targeted-community non-homestead and waste-disposal lands | County forfeiture | Guide → |
| Mississippi | Redeemable Deed | 18%/yr (1.5%/mo) on face value; premium/overbid amounts earn 0% and are forfeited | 2yr | Cash auction to highest bidder; overbid goes to county and earns nothing | Guide → |
| Missouri | Tax Lien | Up to 10% on taxes plus costs, set in the certificate; premium earns 0%; later taxes earn 8% | Absolute right for 1yr after sale, then until the buyer gets the deed | Public sale by county collector; bids above taxes and costs earn no interest | Guide → |
| Montana | Tax Lien | 10%/yr (5/6 of 1% a month) on the amount paid to the county; the 2% penalty goes to the county, not the buyer | By first working day of August, 3yrs after lien attaches; 2yrs only for some special-assessment lots | No auction; county treasurer assigns liens over the counter | Guide → |
| Nebraska | Tax Lien | 14% a year on the full certificate sum plus later taxes paid, paid by owner; not bid down | Ends when buyer applies for deed; earliest 3yrs after sale (2yrs for land-bank vacant property) | Tax lien treasurer | Guide → |
| Nevada | Tax Deed | N/A | 2yrs after 1st Monday of June of certificate year (1yr abandoned); can pay until 3 business days pre-sale | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| New Hampshire | Tax Lien | Flat 14%/yr on the whole lien amount; paid to the lienholder, normally the town | 2yr (tax deed issues 2 years after lien execution, RSA 80:76) | Tax lien/deed | Guide → |
| New Jersey | Tax Lien | Bid down from 18% to 0%, then cash premium (earns 0%); plus 2/4/6% redemption penalty to holder | Until foreclosure judgment is final; private holder may sue 2yrs after sale (municipal 6mo) | Premium bidding | Guide → |
| New Mexico | Tax Deed | N/A | None after the sale (state Taxation and Revenue FAQ) | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| New York | Hybrid | Nassau: up to 10% of price per 6mo for 24mo, part owed to county; most areas sell deeds, not liens | 2yr | Nassau online lien auction (next Feb 16, 2027); elsewhere foreclosure, then deed auction | Guide → |
| North Carolina | Tax Deed | N/A | Owner may pay any time before the foreclosure sale is confirmed; none after | Tax foreclosure deed | Guide → |
| North Dakota | Tax Deed | N/A | Until Oct 1 foreclosure date; after county deed, owner or family may repurchase while county holds title | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| Ohio | Tax Lien | Public auction starts at 18% simple, bid down in 0.25% steps to 0%; negotiated sales capped at 18% | Treasurer sets 3 to 6yr certificate period; owner may redeem until court confirms foreclosure sale | County treasurer public auction (bid down from 18%) or negotiated sale | Guide → |
| Oklahoma | Tax Deed | N/A | None post-sale (owner may redeem only before resale auction begins) | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| Oregon | Tax Deed | N/A | 2yrs from foreclosure judgment while county holds property (shorter for waste or abandonment) | Tax foreclosure deed | Guide → |
| Pennsylvania | Tax Deed | N/A | Owner may pay until the sale; none after (Philadelphia and Allegheny follow other acts) | Tax upset sale | Guide → |
| Rhode Island | Redeemable Deed | Penalty 10% of price (first 6mo) +1%/mo after, plus 1%/mo interest: about 28% at 12 months | Until a petition to foreclose is filed; petition allowed 1yr after sale | Public auction of smallest undivided share covering taxes (min 1%), else whole parcel | Guide → |
| South Carolina | Redeemable Deed | 12% of bid as a lump sum stepping up by quarter (3/6/9/12%), not a yearly rate | 12mo | Deed + redemption | Guide → |
| South Dakota | Tax Lien | 10% max, bid down (SDCL 10-23-8) | Any time before tax deed issues; holder may start deed process 3yrs after sale, must within 6yrs | Tax lien cert | Guide → |
| Tennessee | Redeemable Deed | 12% per annum on full purchase price (T.C.A. 67-5-2701) | 1yr, reducible to 180/90/30 days by delinquency length or vacancy | Judicial sale by clerk and master after chancery suit; court confirms, deed subject to redemption | Guide → |
| Texas | Redeemable Deed | Homestead, ag or mineral: 25% yr 1, 50% yr 2. Other property: 25% within 180d. Paid to buyer | 180d/2yr | Sheriff or constable auction after tax judgment (online if commissioners court approves) | Guide → |
| Utah | Tax Deed | N/A | Until the May or June tax sale, 4yrs after delinquency; none after the sale | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| Vermont | Redeemable Deed | Fixed 1% per month or part (12%/yr) on the full sale price; no rate bid-down | 1yr | Public auction of the property by the town tax collector | Guide → |
| Virginia | Tax Deed | N/A | Owner may redeem any time before the sale; none after | Judicial sale by bill in equity; small low-value parcels may sell non-judicially | Guide → |
| Washington | Tax Deed | N/A | Until the day before the sale; after sale, only minors or incompetent owners within 3yrs | Tax foreclosure deed | Guide → |
| West Virginia | Hybrid | None on the purchase price; 1%/mo only on later taxes and notice costs the buyer pays (WV Code §11A-3-58) | Until deed issues; no fixed term (buyer has 120d to request notice; deed 30d+ after notices) | Tax lien auction at county courthouse, run by the State Auditor | Guide → |
| Wisconsin | Tax Deed | N/A | Owner or lien holder may redeem or answer before the in rem judgment | Tax deed sale | Guide → |
| Wyoming | Tax Lien | 15%/yr simple interest plus a one-time 3% of the sale amount (W.S. 39-13-109(e)(iv)(A)) | 4yr (tax deed application after year 4, bar at year 6) | Tax lien cert | Guide → |
51 of 51 jurisdictions. Rates are statutory maximums, competitive auctions often bid them down.
Comparator FAQ
Which states have the highest tax lien interest rates?v
Sort the Max Rate column to rank the states. The figure is the statutory maximum, a ceiling and not a return: in bid-down states (Arizona, Florida, New Jersey and others) investors compete the rate downward, and in flat-penalty states such as Texas and Georgia the premium is fixed by statute. Open a state's guide for the statute behind its row.
What's the difference between a tax lien and a tax deed state?v
In a tax lien state you buy a certificate and earn interest when the owner redeems (you rarely take the property). In a tax deed state you buy the property itself at auction. Redeemable deed states (Texas, Georgia) sit in between: you get the deed, but the owner can reclaim it within a redemption window by paying a penalty.
How do I read the redemption period column?v
The redemption period is how long the property owner has to pay you back before you can foreclose (lien states) or how long they can reclaim the property (redeemable deed states). Tax deed states generally have no redemption period, the sale is final.
Are these rates and rules official?v
Every row traces to the state statute cited on that state's guide page. Rules change, so always verify against the official statute before investing, use the source links on each state guide.