Property tax foreclosure in Minnesota

The property tax process in Minnesota, step by step

1. Due dates and penalties

   First half before May 16, second half before October 16

   If your tax is over $100, half is due before May 16 and half before October 16. Late payment on a homestead adds a 2 percent penalty, another 2 percent the next month, then 1 percent a month through December, up to 8 percent in total. The county must waive the penalty once if your mailed payment was postmarked within one business day of the due date.

   Minn. Stat. § 279.01

2. Delinquent list and interest

   List filed by February 15 of the next year

   Taxes still unpaid are listed with the district court by February 15, which acts like a lawsuit against the property, and the list is published in the newspaper by March 20. Interest is added from January 1 at a yearly rate set by the state, capped at 14 percent.

   Minn. Stat. §§ 279.03, 279.05, 279.09

3. Tax judgment sale to the state

   Second Monday in May

   On the second Monday in May, the county auditor bids in the property for the state for the taxes, penalties, costs and interest. Nothing is sold to a private buyer, and you still own and live in the home.

   Minn. Stat. §§ 280.01, 280.001

4. Redemption period and payment plans

   Usually 3 years from the May sale

   For most property, including homesteads, you have three years from the tax judgment sale to redeem by paying what is owed. Before forfeiture, a homeowner can also confess judgment with the county auditor: pay one-tenth of the delinquent amount plus current taxes, then the rest in nine yearly installments with interest.

   Minn. Stat. §§ 281.17, 279.37

5. Notice of expiration of redemption

   Redemption ends 60 days after notice

   If you have not redeemed by 120 days before the period ends, the auditor publishes a notice, mails it to you by certified mail, and has it served on whoever lives in the home. Your time to redeem ends 60 days after the notice is given or on the second Monday in May, whichever is later. The notice must tell you that if the home is sold for more than you owe, you may be entitled to the excess.

   Minn. Stat. § 281.23

6. Forfeiture, repurchase and auction

   Auction within 6 months of forfeiture or move-out

   After forfeiture, the owner or another interested party can still repurchase by paying all taxes, penalties, interest and costs before the auction. Otherwise the county must auction the property within six months of the forfeiture certificate or the date the occupant leaves, whichever is later, and for the first 30 days it cannot sell for less than the latest estimated market value.

   Minn. Stat. §§ 282.005, 282.241

7. Claim the surplus

   Notice within 60 days of the sale; claim within 6 months of the notice

   If the sale brings in more than the taxes, assessments, penalties, interest and costs, the auditor must send you a notice of the surplus and a state claim form by certified mail within 60 days, with a second notice later if you have not claimed. You must return the claim within six months of the first notice; if you do not, the money goes back to the county. Minnesota wrote this law in 2024 after Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023), a Minnesota case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held the county could not keep a former owner's surplus.

   Minn. Stat. § 282.005, subds. 6, 7, 9

Common questions in Minnesota