Louisiana
LA
The investor buys a lien on the property. The owner keeps title and can redeem by paying the lien plus interest or penalty.
Sale type
Tax lien
Redemption
36 mo
Interest / penalty
Bid-down · 1%
Sale timing
Annual
Rules in plain English
Sale type
Tax lien
The investor buys a lien on the property. The owner keeps title and can redeem by paying the lien plus interest or penalty.
La. R.S. 47:2155
“a tax lien certificate in favor of the winning bidder or, if no bidder, in favor of the political subdivision”official source ↗
Redemption period
36 mo
36 months (3 years) from the date the deed is recorded
La. R.S. 47:2266.1(A)(1)
“Upon the expiration of the later of three years from recordation of the tax lien certificate”official source ↗
Interest / penalty
Bid-down · 1%
Bidding starts at a maximum rate of 1% per month and goes down.
La. R.S. 47:2153(A); La. R.S. 47:2154(D)
“in order to terminate, you will be required to pay the delinquent obligation, which includes the five percent (5%) penalty, and interest not to exceed the rate of one percent (1%) per month on a noncompounding basis”official source ↗
Bid method
Bid down the interest rate
Bidders compete by offering the lowest interest rate rather than the highest price.
La. R.S. 47:2154(D)
“The auction shall be conducted by competitive bid. The subject of the competitive bidding shall be the monthly rate at which interest will accrue on the face value of the tax lien certificate following its issuance.”official source ↗
Sale schedule
Annual
Sales are held about once a year.
La. R.S. 47:2154(A)(1)
“The tax collector shall advertise for sale by public auction the tax lien on or before May first of the year following the year in which the taxes were assessed”official source ↗
Redemption detail
- Base period
- 36 months (3 years)
- Starts from
- the date the deed is recorded
- Notice days
- Not documented
- Exceptions
- Not documented
Bidder process
- 01Watch for the tax collector's advertisement of the tax lien for sale by public auction, which must be made on or before May first of the year following the year in which the taxes were assessed, or as soon thereafter as possible (La. R.S. 47:2154(A)(1))
- 02Attend or log in to the auction: it is held on any weekday with bidding opening not earlier than 8:00 a.m. and closing no later than 8:00 p.m., and if it uses an online or electronic bidding process over multiple days, bids may be placed at any time on any tax lien on which bidding has not closed, as long as all bidding closes on a weekday within those hours (La. R.S. 47:2154(B))
- 03Bid the price: the auction price is the face value of the tax lien certificate, and the competitive bidding is on the monthly rate at which interest will accrue after issuance, with bidders reducing the rate in increments of one-tenth of one percent or an integral multiple; the lowest rate wins and no bid may go below seven-tenths of one percent per month (La. R.S. 47:2154(C)-(D))
- 04Pay the winning amount to the tax collector by cash, cashier's check, certified check, money order, credit card, or wire transfer, or another payment method (La. R.S. 47:2155(A))
- 05Receive the tax lien certificate: no later than thirty days after the auction the tax collector issues and files in the parish mortgage records a tax lien certificate in favor of the winning bidder (or, if there is no bidder, in favor of the political subdivision) and delivers a certified copy to the winning bidder (La. R.S. 47:2154(E)(1))
- 06Collect interest or be paid off: interest accrues on the face value at the winning bid's monthly rate on a noncompounding basis, and the owner or any other person may extinguish the lien by paying the termination price (La. R.S. 47:2154(F); La. R.S. 47:2155(A))
- 07If the lien is not extinguished, enforce it by an action to enforce the tax lien under La. R.S. 47:2266.1, which must be brought no later than seven years from the date the tax lien certificate is recorded (La. R.S. 47:2155(C)(1))
- Registration
- Not documented
- Registration mode
- Not documented
- Registration deadline
- Not documented
- Registration fee
- Not documented
- Deposit required
- Not documented
- Deposit amount
- Not documented
- Deposit percent
- Not documented
- Deposit refundable
- Not documented
- Sale format
- hybrid
- Payment deadline
- Not documented
- Payment methods
- cash, certified_funds, wire, credit_card, check
- Residency required
- Not documented
La. R.S. 47:2154(A)(1)
“The tax collector shall advertise for sale by public auction the tax lien on or before May first of the year following the year in which the taxes were assessed, or as soon thereafter as possible.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(B)
“The tax lien auction shall be conducted on any weekday, with bidding opening not earlier than 8:00 a.m. and closing no later than 8:00 p.m. If a tax lien auction is conducted by using an online or electronic bidding process that is conducted over the course of multiple days, bids may be placed on any day at any time on any tax lien upon which bidding has not closed, provided that all bidding closes on a weekday within the hours prescribed in this Subsection.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(C)
“The auction price shall be the face value of the tax lien certificate.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(D)(1)
“The auction shall be conducted by competitive bid. The subject of the competitive bidding shall be the monthly rate at which interest will accrue on the face value of the tax lien certificate following its issuance.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(D)(2)(a)
“Subject to a maximum bid of one percent per month, bidders may submit bids reducing the monthly interest rate in increments of one-tenth of one percent or an integral multiple thereof. The bid that requires the assessment of interest at the lowest rate shall be declared the winner.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(D)(2)(b)
“no bid shall be accepted that purports to reduce the rate of monthly interest below seven-tenths of one percent.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(E)(1)
“No later than thirty days after conclusion of the tax lien auction, the tax collector shall issue and file in the mortgage records of the parish in which the property is situated a tax lien certificate in favor of the winning bidder.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(F)
“Upon the issuance of a tax lien certificate, interest shall accrue on the face value of the tax lien certificate at the monthly rate established by the winning bid at the tax lien auction.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2154(F)
“In both cases, interest shall be calculated on a noncompounding basis.”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2155(A)
“the payment made to him in cash, cashier's check, certified check, money order, credit card, or wire transfer, or other payment method”official source ↗
La. R.S. 47:2155(C)(1)
“An action to enforce the tax lien pursuant to R.S. 47:2266.1 shall be brought no later than seven years from the date that the tax lien certificate is recorded in the mortgage records of the parish in which the property is located.”official source ↗
Notes
Act 774 (2024): tax sale/redemption replaced by tax lien/termination effective Jan 1, 2026. | Prose: lien | 5% penalty plus interest at the winning bid rate (max 1%/mo, noncompounding; floor 0.7%/mo) | 3 years (enforcement only after 3 years from recordation) | competitive bid-down of the monthly interest rate (max 1%/mo down to floor 0.7%/mo) | on or before May 1