Tax Sales Prove We Don’t Really Own Our Homes

Property taxes are government rent with a nice label. You can spend your life paying off a mortgage, maintain your place, raise your family there—and still lose it if you can’t keep up with the annual bill. That isn’t ownership. It’s a perpetual lease from the state, and the yearly tax sale is the proof.

Every year, counties auction off liens on properties with unpaid taxes. The county gets its money now; the bidder gets a certificate and interest; the owner gets a clock that starts ticking. If the owner pays everything plus penalties and interest, they keep the home. If not, the government ultimately hands a deed to someone else. That’s not a community taking care of its own—that’s a system designed to remind you who’s really in charge.

I’ve participated in these auctions. I’ve purchased—more accurately, paid the delinquent taxes on—three properties. All three owners redeemed, and I received my investment plus interest. On paper, that’s the system “working.” But what did it require? Neighbors paying a premium just to keep what was already theirs. Families scrambling to meet a deadline because the county needed cash. That isn’t stewardship; it’s coercion dressed up as process.

Property taxes are destructive because they separate ownership from security. You never reach the finish line. Seniors on fixed incomes don’t “age out” of the tax man. Young families don’t get breathing room while trying to build a future. And the government’s appetite grows because it can. Assessments rise, millage creeps, and your “equity” becomes collateral for somebody else’s budget.

Supporters say property taxes fund “essential services.” I support roads, deputies, and schools. But the way we fund them matters. If the only way government can provide services is by putting a lien on your home and threatening an auction if you fall behind, then the model is broken. In a free society, your home should be your castle—not the county’s piggy bank.

There’s a better path. Phase out property taxes and replace them with transparent, voter-approved consumption-based revenue. Put real caps on local spending growth. Require every significant increase to go to the ballot—no more backdoor hikes through reassessments and jargon. End the annual auction ritual. If government must collect, do it without hanging a sale notice over a family’s front door.

Some will say this is unrealistic. What’s unrealistic is pretending people truly “own” their homes while a tax bill can take it away. What’s unrealistic is calling it “local control” when a household’s fate depends on an interest rate and a deadline. We can fund what’s necessary without threatening the most important piece of wealth most families will ever own.

If you’re tired of living under a permanent rent to government, make some noise. Tell your supervisors you won’t accept millage increases. Tell your legislators to prioritize eliminating property taxes and replacing them with a fairer, more honest system. Real ownership means you’re secure in your home—without the county holding the keys.

Want more?

Here is a breakdown of the details on how Mississippi counties run one big sale each year to collect delinquent property taxes.

The basics (for owners and bidders)

1. When the sale happens
   By statute, counties hold the annual land tax sale on the last Monday in August (some may optionally do an additional sale the first Monday in April). Many counties now run it online. Justia
   Example county notice: DeSoto County explicitly sets its tax sale for the last Monday in August and uses online bidding. desotocountyms.gov

2. What’s being sold
   The winning bidder pays the past-due taxes, fees and costs. In return they get a tax lien (a certificate interest) and the right to a deed later if the owner doesn’t redeem in time. The lien bears statutory interest, and it can be enforced; the deed comes only if the owner doesn’t redeem. Justia

3. Required public notice before the sale
   The tax collector must advertise the list of properties to be sold for two weeks in a qualifying newspaper (or as otherwise allowed) before the sale. Justia

4. How bidding works (important for investors)
   Mississippi uses a premium-bid auction: bidders bid up from the face amount (taxes + fees). Only the face amount earns the statutory return; any overbid/premium does not earn interest and is not reimbursed if the owner redeems—so overbidding can lose you money. govease.helpscoutdocs.com Alcorn County -

5. Owner’s right to redeem (the “cool-down” period)
   The owner (or an interested party) can redeem within two years from the sale by paying the chancery clerk:
   • all taxes sold, plus 5% statutory damages,
   • 1.5% interest per month on the taxes and costs (fractional months count), and
   • any additional costs accrued.
   This is “regardless of the amount of the purchaser’s bid,” i.e., premiums don’t factor into what the owner must repay. Justia
   Counties commonly explain it this way, too (two years; 1.5%/month). co.jackson.ms.us

6. Current and oldest taxes
   To redeem, the owner generally must clear oldest delinquencies first, and current-year taxes that accrued since the sale must also be paid on the portion being redeemed. co.jackson.ms.us Delta State University

7. Mandatory “maturing” notices before the deadline
   Between 180 and 60 days before the 2-year period ends, the chancery clerk must send statutory notices to the record owner (and lienholders) per Chapter 43. Mistakes here can void a sale, which is why clerks are meticulous. Justia

8. If the owner does not redeem
   After the two years run, the purchaser may demand a tax deed from the chancery clerk. Many buyers then pursue a quiet-title action to insure/market the property, but the deed itself is issued by statute. Justia

9. If nobody bids at the sale
   The parcel is “struck off to the State.” If it still isn’t redeemed, it matures into tax-forfeited lands managed and resold by the Mississippi Secretary of State. Justia Mississippi Secretary of State