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Property tax foreclosure in Louisiana

Louisiana changed its tax sale system on January 1, 2026. Instead of selling your home, the parish tax collector now sells a tax lien certificate on the unpaid taxes, and you keep owning and living in the home. You have at least three years to pay it off, and after that the certificate holder must sue in court and have the sheriff sell the home. Money left after the sale goes to mortgage holders and then to you.

Ask for help in Louisiana Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Louisiana law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

The property tax process in Louisiana, step by step

  1. Taxes are due by December 31

    Delinquent January 1

    The tax collector mails a notice of taxes due to you and anyone who asked for notice. Unpaid taxes become delinquent the next day and earn 1 percent interest a month, not compounded.

    La. R.S. 47:2127(A), (B), (E)

  2. The tax lien is auctioned

    90 days after delinquency; usually by May 1

    If the taxes, interest and costs are still unpaid, the tax collector auctions the tax lien and adds a 5 percent penalty. Bidders compete on the interest rate, from 1 percent a month down to no lower than 0.7 percent. If no one bids, the certificate goes to the parish or city at 1 percent a month.

    La. R.S. 47:2127(B)(2), (D); La. R.S. 47:2154

  3. You keep your home while the lien is outstanding

    From the auction until a court-ordered sale

    A certificate holder cannot evict an owner who lives in the home, charge you rent, or build on the property. You can end the lien at any time by paying the termination price to the tax collector, which includes the certificate amount, penalty, interest and limited notice costs.

    La. R.S. 47:2158.1; La. R.S. 47:2243

  4. Watch for the warning notice

    6 months to 1 year before a lawsuit

    The certificate holder must send you a notice that it intends to sue, with the current amount to pay. Its notice costs you can be charged are capped at $500.

    La. R.S. 47:2156

  5. The certificate holder sues to enforce the lien

    At least 3 years after the certificate is recorded

    The holder files a court case against each owner. You have 30 days after the last party is served to pay the tax collector and end the lien. After that you can still ask the court to set a payoff amount any time before the sheriff's sale. Attorney fees are generally capped at the greater of 25 percent of the debt or $2,500.

    La. R.S. 47:2266.1

  6. Sheriff's sale ends your ownership

    After a judgment for the certificate holder

    The sheriff sells the home under a writ, and the sale ends your ownership and most other interests in the property. If the holder waits more than seven years after recording to sue, the lien ends and the recorder cancels it.

    La. R.S. 47:2267; La. R.S. 47:2268; La. R.S. 47:2155(C)

  7. Surplus is paid to you after the sheriff's sale

    Unclaimed after 1 year goes to unclaimed property

    The sheriff pays the certificate holder, other certificate holders and recorded mortgages and liens, and then pays the rest to each owner by share. Money that cannot be delivered goes into the court registry, and after one year it is turned over as unclaimed property. Keep your homestead exemption in place, since it removes the first $7,500 of assessed value from most taxes on your home.

    La. R.S. 47:2267(B); La. Const. art. VII, § 20

Common questions in Louisiana

Does Louisiana still sell homes at tax sales?

Not for taxes that became delinquent under the new system starting January 1, 2026. The parish now auctions a tax lien certificate, and only a court-ordered sheriff's sale can take your home. Tax sales held before 2026 still follow the old rules, including the three-year redemption period from the recorded tax sale.

How long can I go without paying property taxes in Louisiana?

The lien is usually auctioned the spring after taxes go delinquent, and the holder cannot sue until three years after the certificate is recorded and six months after its warning notice. Then the court case and sheriff's sale take more time. Interest and costs grow the whole time, so paying early costs much less.

Can a Louisiana tax lien holder make me pay rent or move out?

No. If you still own and live in the home, the certificate holder cannot evict you, charge rent or make improvements. A holder who breaks this rule faces a penalty and can lose the right to recover anything but the taxes it paid.

Who gets the extra money after a Louisiana tax lien sheriff's sale?

After the costs and the tax lien judgment, the sheriff pays other certificate holders and then recorded mortgages and liens. Anything left is paid to the owners. Louisiana rewrote its constitution in 2024 to require a way to claim this extra money, in line with Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023).

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Louisiana

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Also in Louisiana

Property tax foreclosure (this page)Claim surplus funds

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Sources for this page

  1. La. Const. art. VII, § 25: Tax sales (as amended by Acts 2024, No. 409)
  2. La. Const. art. VII, § 20: Homestead exemption
  3. La. R.S. 47:2127: Time for payment; interest and penalty; notification
  4. La. R.S. 47:2154: Tax lien auctions
  5. La. R.S. 47:2155: Tax lien certificate; peremption
  6. La. R.S. 47:2156: Post-tax-lien-auction notice
  7. La. R.S. 47:2158.1: Prohibition of certain actions
  8. La. R.S. 47:2201: Adjudicated property and liens held by political subdivisions
  9. La. R.S. 47:2243: Termination payments
  10. La. R.S. 47:2202: Minimum bids; sale to enforce a tax lien held by a political subdivision
  11. La. R.S. 47:2266.1: Procedure to recognize amounts due under tax lien certificate
  12. La. R.S. 47:2267: Procedure to enforce tax lien; proceeds of judicial sale
  13. La. R.S. 47:2268: Effect of judicial sale
  14. HCR 35 (2026 Regular Session), describing the 2024 and 2025 tax lien reform
  15. La. R.S. 9:154: Property presumed abandoned
  16. La. R.S. 9:177: Agreement to locate property
  17. Louisiana State Treasurer: Unclaimed Property
  18. La. C.C.P. art. 2721, Seizure of property; notice
  19. La. C.C.P. art. 2642, Assertion of defenses; appeal
  20. La. C.C.P. art. 2640, Citation unnecessary
  21. La. C.C.P. art. 2753, Security not required in certain cases
  22. La. C.C.P. art. 2723, Appraisal of property, unless waived
  23. La. C.C.P. art. 2771, When deficiency judgment obtainable
  24. La. C.C.P. art. 2331, Publication of notice of sale
  25. La. C.C.P. art. 2336, Minimum price; second offering
  26. La. C.C.P. art. 2373, Distribution of proceeds of sale
  27. La. C.C.P. art. 2293, Notice to judgment debtor
  28. La. R.S. 13:3852, Notices of seizure
  29. La. R.S. 13:4106, Deficiency judgment prohibited if sale made without appraisement
  30. La. R.S. 43:203, Judicial advertisements
  31. Louisiana Office of Community Development, Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund
  32. Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, Complaints
  33. La. C.C.P. art. 2752, Injunction procedure
  34. La. C.C.P. art. 2754, Security otherwise required
  35. La. C.C.P. art. 3721, Methods of enforcing mortgage
  36. La. C.C.P. art. 4702, Notice to occupant other than tenant to vacate
  37. La. C.C.P. art. 4704, Definitions (occupant)
  38. La. C.C.P. art. 4732, Trial of rule; judgment of eviction
  39. La. C.C.P. art. 4733, Warrant for possession
  40. La. R.S. 13:4346, Failure of occupant to deliver possession to purchaser; writ of possession