The TaxLienSimple Index

Tax-sale rules and live inventory, ranked by state

The TaxLienSimple Index scores all 51 US jurisdictions (50 states plus Washington, D.C.) on a 0-100 scale built from statutory terms -- maximum rate or penalty, redemption period, bid method, and investor accessibility -- combined with the live inventory TaxLienSimple tracks across 51 counties. It is a research guide for comparing jurisdictions, not a yield or return guarantee; every score links back to the primary statute it was derived from.

Rank	State	Type	Score	Tier
1	Illinois	lien	75	S
2	Kentucky	lien	71	A
3	Texas	rdeed	71	A
4	Mississippi	lien	69	A
5	Arkansas	deed	65	A
6	West Virginia	lien	63	A
7	Michigan	deed	59	B
8	Georgia	rdeed	59	B
9	Indiana	lien	59	B
10	District of Columbia	lien	58	B
11	Iowa	lien	57	B
12	New Mexico	deed	56	B
13	Florida	lien	56	B
14	Pennsylvania	deed	56	B
15	Missouri	lien	55	B
16	New York	deed	55	B
17	New Jersey	lien	55	B
18	Arizona	lien	55	B
19	Maryland	lien	55	B
20	Tennessee	rdeed	55	B
21	Louisiana	lien	54	B
22	South Carolina	rdeed	54	C
23	Delaware	rdeed	53	C
24	California	deed	53	C
25	Ohio	lien	52	C
26	Alabama	lien	52	C
27	North Carolina	deed	50	C
28	Minnesota	deed	49	C
29	Nebraska	lien	49	C
30	Connecticut	rdeed	49	C
31	North Dakota	deed	48	C
32	Washington	deed	47	C
33	Colorado	lien	45	D
34	New Hampshire	lien	44	D
35	Wisconsin	deed	44	D
36	Rhode Island	lien	43	D
37	Wyoming	lien	41	D
38	Vermont	rdeed	41	D
39	Hawaii	rdeed	40	D
40	Massachusetts	lien	40	D
46	Alaska	deed	39	D
41	Idaho	deed	39	D
42	Nevada	deed	39	D
43	Oregon	deed	39	D
44	Utah	deed	39	D
45	Virginia	deed	39	D
47	Montana	lien	39	D
48	Kansas	deed	37	D
49	Oklahoma	lien	34	D
50	South Dakota	lien	31	D
—	Maine	—	—	—

See how we verify tax-sale information for the Index scoring methodology and source hierarchy.