Property tax foreclosure in Kansas

The property tax process in Kansas, step by step

1. Taxes are due in two halves

   December 20 and May 10

   You can pay the full year by December 20, or half by December 20 and half by May 10. A late first half starts to collect interest at a rate set by law plus 5 percentage points a year, and anything still unpaid after May 10 keeps collecting that interest.

   K.S.A. 79-2004

2. Your home is listed for the tax sale

   List made July 1 to 10; published 3 weeks before the sale

   Real estate with taxes unpaid after May 10 can be sold. The county treasurer publishes a list of these properties in the newspaper once a week for three weeks and adds a $15 fee to each one.

   K.S.A. 79-2301; K.S.A. 79-2302; K.S.A. 79-2303

3. The county buys your home at the tax sale

   On or after the first Tuesday in September

   The treasurer sells the property to the county for the unpaid taxes and charges. You still own and live in the home, but the county now holds the tax claim against it.

   K.S.A. 79-2302

4. Redeem by paying the treasurer

   Usually 3 years from the tax sale for a homestead

   You can pay the county treasurer the taxes, interest and costs to clear the sale. For a homestead you can also pay one or more years at a time, oldest year first, and each year you pay pushes back the foreclosure by a year. The period is two years for some property with both unpaid taxes and special assessments, and one year for an abandoned building.

   K.S.A. 79-2401a

5. The county files a tax foreclosure case

   After the redemption period ends

   The county attorney or counselor sues every owner and lienholder in district court, and the court decides how much is owed. Until the day of the sheriff's sale you can still stop it by filing an application to redeem with the clerk of the court and paying the treasurer.

   K.S.A. 79-2801; K.S.A. 79-2803

6. Sheriff's sale, deed and possession

   Sale at least 30 days after the first notice

   The sheriff publishes notice once a week for three weeks and sells the home to the highest bidder. After the court confirms the sale, the buyer gets a sheriff's deed and the court can order the sheriff to deliver possession. A challenge to the judgment or sale generally must be filed within 12 months after the sale is confirmed.

   K.S.A. 79-2804; K.S.A. 79-2804b

7. Ask the court for any surplus

   After the court confirms the sale

   If the home sells for more than the tax judgment and its share of the costs, the court orders the extra paid, on proof, to the owner or party entitled to it. Keep your address current with the clerk of the district court and file your claim in the tax foreclosure case. Ask for help with the Homestead Refund from the Kansas Department of Revenue if you are a lower income homeowner, since it can lower future tax bills.

   K.S.A. 79-2803

Common questions in Kansas