How to buy tax-sale property in Louisiana (2026)

1. 1.Watch 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))
2. 2.Attend 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))
3. 3.Bid 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))
4. 4.Pay 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))
5. 5.Receive 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))
6. 6.Collect 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))
7. 7.If 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

Required: UnknownUnknown

Not verified from a source yet.

Deposit

Required: UnknownUnknown

Not verified from a source yet.

Forms

Bidder ID card: UnknownW-9: Unknown

Eligibility

Residency required: UnknownNo delinquent taxes: Unknown

Payment

CashCertified fundsWireCredit cardCheck

Not verified from a source yet.

Sources

• La. R.S. 47:2154(A)(1)
• La. R.S. 47:2154(B)
• La. R.S. 47:2154(C)
• La. R.S. 47:2154(D)(1)
• La. R.S. 47:2154(D)(2)(a)
• La. R.S. 47:2154(D)(2)(b)
• La. R.S. 47:2154(E)(1)
• La. R.S. 47:2154(F)
• La. R.S. 47:2155(A)
• La. R.S. 47:2155(C)(1)

Louisiana sells delinquent real property taxes as tax lien certificates at a tax lien auction run by the parish tax collector. The collector advertises the sale by public auction on or before May 1 of the year after assessment, and bidding is a downward auction on the monthly interest rate: the maximum bid is one percent per month, bidders cut the rate in increments of one-tenth of one percent, the lowest rate wins, and no rate may go below seven-tenths of one percent per month (La. R.S. 47:2154(A), (C), (D)). The auction price is always the face value of the certificate, and the winning bidder pays it and receives a tax lien certificate recorded in the parish mortgage records (La. R.S. 47:2154(C), (E)). State law names the accepted payment methods but is silent on bidder registration, deposits, bidder identification or a W-9, residency, and a delinquent-tax bar for the bidder, so those fields are unknown. These tax lien auction provisions took effect January 1, 2026 (Acts 2024, No. 774, and Acts 2025, No. 411), replacing the earlier tax-sale/tax-deed system in which the purchaser took a tax sale title.