Mississippi tax sale law
Mississippi counties sell tax liens at an annual sale run by the county tax collector; the owner has two years to redeem through the chancery clerk, and an unredeemed lien matures into a clerk's deed. Each row below carries the statute it rests on, the operative text verbatim, and the date it was read from the official source.
| Fact | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What is sold | The tax collector's certified sale list vests in the purchaser a perfect title subject to the owner's right of redemption, with no right of possession during the redemption period; possession and a deed come only if the land is not redeemed. Text as brought forward in HB 1198 (2025), which died in committee — the reprint restates current law, and the section shows no enacted amendment in 2025–2026. | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-79 · read 2026-08-30 |
| Redemption period | The owner or any person interested in the land may redeem at any time within two years after the day of sale, by payment to the chancery clerk; minors and persons of unsound mind have two years after majority or restoration. | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-45-3 · read 2026-08-30 |
| Redemption interest / premium | Redemption costs the taxes for which the land was sold plus costs, 5% damages on the amount of those taxes, and interest at 1.5% per month or fraction thereof on taxes and costs from the date of sale — expressly regardless of the amount of the purchaser's bid. On distribution the 5% damages go to the county and the balance to the purchaser. § 27-45-1 (brought forward unamended by HB 4044, approved 2026-03-25): the clerk pays 'to the county the five percent (5%) damages … and the balance to the purchaser.' | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-45-3; § 27-45-1 · read 2026-08-30 |
| Bidding mechanic | The collector sells to the highest and best bidder for cash so much of each delinquent taxpayer's land as will pay the taxes and costs, offering 160 acres or a smaller subdivision first; land drawing no full bid is struck off to the state. The collector may run the sale online through a provider under an agreement ratified by the board of supervisors. | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-59 · read 2026-08-30 |
| Statutory sale timing | The sale is held on the last Monday of August, continued day to day between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. until completed, with a collector's option to advertise after February 15 and sell on the first Monday of April instead; a sale made at the wrong time or place is void. | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-59(1), (3); § 27-41-55 · read 2026-08-30 |
| Bidder registration | The sale article sets no bidder-registration requirement (§§ 27-41-55 through 27-41-89 checked); for online sales, bidding terms are left to the collector's board-ratified agreement with the online provider. Any registration rule at a specific county's sale is administrative or provider practice, not this statute. | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 27-41-55 to 27-41-89 (full-article reprint) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Payment at sale | The purchaser must pay the bid immediately at the sale; otherwise the land is re-offered and the defaulting bidder remains liable for the bid, collectable by suit in the name of the state. | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-73 · read 2026-08-30 |
| Funds above the taxes due | Any amount bid above the taxes and costs is paid into the county treasury. If the land is redeemed the county retains the excess — it is not returned to the purchaser and not paid to the owner. Only if the land is never redeemed may the owner claim it, and a claim not made within two years after the redemption period expires is forfeited to the county. Brought forward unamended by enrolled HB 4044 (2026), signed into law. Bills to revise excess-proceeds disposition died in committee in 2025 and 2026. | Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-77 · read 2026-08-30 |
A statutory sale day is a fact about the law, not an announcement of a sale. No date on this page means a county has scheduled anything — the sale calendar lists only dates counties have actually published.
The operative text
Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-79 · read 2026-08-30
…all such lists shall vest in the state or in the individual purchaser thereof a perfect title to the land sold for taxes, but without the right of possession for the period of and subject to the right of redemption…
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/html/HB/1100-1199/HB1198CS.htm
Miss. Code Ann. § 27-45-3 · read 2026-08-30
The owner, or any persons for him with his consent, or any person interested in the land sold for taxes, may redeem the same … at any time within two (2) years after the day of sale, by paying to the chancery clerk…
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2026/html/SB/2100-2199/SB2124IN.htm
Miss. Code Ann. § 27-45-3; § 27-45-1 · read 2026-08-30
…by paying to the chancery clerk, regardless of the amount of the purchaser's bid at the tax sale, the amount of all taxes for which the land was sold, with all costs incident to the sale, and five percent (5%) damages on the amount of taxes for which the land was sold, and interest on all such taxes and costs at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof, from the date of such sale…
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2026/html/SB/2100-2199/SB2124IN.htm
Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-59 · read 2026-08-30
…the tax collector shall proceed to sell, for the payment of taxes then remaining due and unpaid … the land or so much and such parts of the land of each delinquent taxpayer to the highest and best bidder for cash as will pay the amount of taxes due by him and all costs and charges. … if no person will bid for it, the whole amount of taxes and all costs incident to the sale, the tax collector shall strike it off to the state.
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/html/SB/2800-2899/SB2859IN.htm
Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-59(1), (3); § 27-41-55 · read 2026-08-30
…on the first Monday of April, if the tax collector has exercised his option to hold a tax sale on that day, and on the last Monday of August, as the case may be, if the taxes remain unpaid, the tax collector shall proceed to sell… …but a sale made at the wrong time or at the wrong place shall be void.
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/html/SB/2800-2899/SB2859IN.htm
Miss. Code Ann. §§ 27-41-55 to 27-41-89 (full-article reprint) · read 2026-08-30
The tax collector is authorized to enter into an agreement with an online provider to conduct tax sales using online bidding and sale. Such agreement must be ratified by the county board of supervisors in order to be binding.
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/html/SB/2800-2899/SB2859IN.htm
Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-73 · read 2026-08-30
If the purchaser of land at tax sale shall not immediately pay the amount of his bid, the collector shall offer the land again; and if some person will not then bid the amount of taxes and costs, it shall be struck off to the state, as in other cases; but the first purchaser shall be liable for the amount of his bid…
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2025/html/HB/1100-1199/HB1198CS.htm
Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-77 · read 2026-08-30
If any land be sold for more than the amount of taxes due and all costs, the tax collector shall report the amount of excess to the chancery clerk, and on his receipt warrant therefor, shall pay the same into the county treasury. … If the land be redeemed, or the title of the purchaser be defeated or set aside in any way or for any reason, such excess shall be retained by the county. … If the owner of the property does not request payment of the excess within two (2) years from the expiration of the period of redemption, the excess shall be retained by the county.
Source: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2026/html/HB/4000-4099/HB4044SG.htm
Mississippi counties on this site
- DeSoto County — 1,945 certificates on record
- Hinds County — 24,148 certificates on record
Elsewhere on this site
Statutory facts on this page were read from the official statute host or the state's own promulgated rules on the dates shown. Statutes are amended; the citation and quote are provided so every field can be re-checked at its source. This page is not legal advice.