Delinquent Property Taxes in Arizona: The County Auctions a Lien Certificate at a Bid Down Rate, Not Your House
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Arizona · Last updated October 21, 2026
Delinquent property taxes in Arizona are property taxes the county treasurer did not receive by the statutory cutoff, after which interest runs, a penalty attaches, and the treasurer can auction a lien on the parcel to collect them. What leaves the February auction is a certificate of purchase, never a deed. Each real property tax lien goes to the person who pays the whole delinquent amount and offers to accept the lowest rate of interest, a rate that may not exceed the sixteen percent per year simple fixed for delinquent taxes (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18114, 42-18053). Sixteen percent is therefore a ceiling bid downward at auction, not a return anyone is promised, and the number governing a redemption is whatever rate is printed on that certificate (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18153). Title does not move. A certificate holder buys a priced wait, because the lien may be fully redeemed at any time within three years after the date of the tax lien sale, and after three years until a treasurer's deed is delivered (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18152). Beginning three years after the sale the holder may sue in superior court to foreclose the right to redeem (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18201), and redemption stays open until judgment is entered (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18206). The sharp edge sits at the end. Judgment on the default route hands the holder a treasurer's deed and leaves the former owner with no further legal or equitable interest, so equity above the tax debt survives only if the owner asks the court for an excess proceeds sale (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18204). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Arizona
Where are you with the unpaid property taxes?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
How long before someone can take my Arizona home over delinquent property taxes?
Not for at least three years, and only by lawsuit. Beginning three years after the sale of a tax lien, but not later than ten years after the last day of the month in which the lien was acquired, the purchaser may bring an action in superior court to foreclose the right to redeem (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18201).
How much interest does an Arizona tax lien redemption actually carry?
Whatever rate the winning bidder accepted. A lien is sold to the person offering the lowest rate of interest, which may not exceed the sixteen percent per year simple set by Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18053, and it bears interest at that bid rate from the first day of the month following the purchase (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18114).
When do Arizona property taxes become delinquent each year?
In halves. One half is due October 1 and the unpaid half is delinquent after November 1 at 5:00 p.m.; the remaining half is due the following March 1 and is delinquent after May 1 at 5:00 p.m. A total tax of one hundred dollars or less is delinquent after December 31 (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18052).
Where does an Arizona tax lien redemption get paid?
To the county treasurer. A redeemer pays the treasurer the amount the lien sold for with certificate interest, the endorsed subsequent taxes with interest, and statutory fees, and the treasurer then issues a certificate of redemption stating the date, the amount paid and who redeemed (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18153, 42-18154).
Arizona delinquent property tax rules at a glance
Unpaid Arizona property taxes are taxes the county treasurer did not get by the statutory hour, after which interest and a penalty pile on and the treasurer can sell a lien to collect. The instrument sold is a certificate of purchase, so the owner keeps title and the buyer keeps a claim (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18101, 42-18118). Two features set the state apart. First, the auction runs downward: the lien goes to whoever accepts the lowest rate of interest under the sixteen percent per year simple ceiling, so the rate on your certificate may be far below the headline figure (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18114, 42-18053). Second, nothing is automatic. No deed issues unless a certificate holder files suit at least three years after the sale and wins a judgment (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18201, 42-18205).
A Kingman lot whose certificate sold below the ceiling, with three years left to run
Picture a vacant Kingman lot carrying 3,200 dollars of 2024 taxes. The first half went delinquent after 5:00 p.m. on November 1, 2024, and sixteen percent per year simple began running (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18052, 42-18053). The Mohave County Treasurer listed the parcel by December 31, 2025, added the greater of five dollars or five percent on January 1, and offered the lien in February 2026 (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18106, 42-18107, 42-18112). Suppose bidding settled at four percent; that figure, not sixteen, is what the certificate recites and what a redemption carries (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18114, 42-18153). Full redemption stays open for three years from that sale date (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18152). Whether a given payment satisfies the lien is for the treasurer's records.
Relevant Laws
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18052 (due dates and the hour of delinquency)
Makes one-half of the taxes on real property due and payable October 1 and the remaining one-half due the following March 1, and provides that one-half of the amount unpaid is delinquent after November 1 at 5:00 p.m. and the remaining unpaid half after the following May 1 at 5:00 p.m. Where the total tax is one hundred dollars or less the whole amount is due October 1 and the unpaid amount is delinquent after December 31 at 5:00 p.m. A delinquency date falling on a Saturday, Sunday or other legal holiday moves to 5:00 p.m. on the next business day.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18053 (sixteen percent per year simple, and when no interest is collected)
Provides that all taxes bear interest from the time of delinquency at the rate of sixteen percent per year simple until paid, counting a fraction of a month as a whole month. Interest is not collected where the delinquency results from an error by the county assessor or county treasurer, or where the full year tax for the year is paid on or before December 31 of the tax year. With board of supervisors approval the treasurer may also waive the interest and other penalties once per property for a delinquency in the year after a mortgage or deed of trust is released.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18056 (partial payments and the limits of a payment plan)
Requires the treasurer, at any time before either installment becomes delinquent, to accept partial payments of at least ten percent of the installment and at least 10 dollars, with the delinquency then relating only to the amount remaining unpaid. A separate twenty-five percent partial payment route applies only to certificates sold during calendar year 2016 and afterwards for tax year 2014 and afterwards, in a county with a population of more than three million persons, where no prior year certificates are outstanding. A payment plan agreement of up to thirty-six months, with a fee of not more than 150 dollars, is limited to delinquent business personal property taxes of more than 1,000 dollars.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18101 (the treasurer collects by selling the lien and foreclosing redemption)
Provides that the county treasurer shall secure the payment of unpaid delinquent taxes by using article 3 and articles 4, 5 and 6 of the chapter to sell the tax liens and to foreclose the right to redeem, and that an insubstantial failure to comply does not affect the validity of the assessment and levy, any tax lien on real property, or the sale of a tax lien or the foreclosure of the right to redeem.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18103, 42-18106 and 42-18107 (the September notice, the December list, the January penalty)
Section 42-18103 requires the treasurer, on or before September 1 of each year, to mail each person or firm owing delinquent taxes notice of the delinquency at the last known address. Section 42-18106 requires the treasurer, on or before December 31 of each year, to prepare a list of all real property on which taxes for prior tax years are unpaid and delinquent plus a notice that a lien on each parcel will be sold at public auction. Section 42-18107 adds a penalty of five dollars or five percent of the delinquent taxes for which the lien is being sold, whichever is more, imposed and due on January 1 after the list is prepared.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18105 and 42-18112 (the five year advertising limit and the February sale)
Section 42-18105 provides that no sale for an unpaid tax may be commenced later than five years after delinquency unless the sale is advertised within the five year period, or the failure to advertise was due to a court restraining order or injunction. Section 42-18112 provides that the tax lien sale shall be held in February, and that the treasurer continues the sale from day to day, Sundays and holidays excluded, until the lien on each parcel has been offered and no more bids are offered.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18108 and 42-18109 (mailed, posted and published notice of the sale)
Section 42-18108 requires the treasurer to mail a copy of the notice of proposed sale to the owner of each parcel on the delinquent tax list at the owner's last known address. Section 42-18109 requires the list and notice to be posted near the outer door of the treasurer's office for at least two weeks before the sale start date, published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation at least two but not more than three weeks before that start date, and posted by the newspaper from the first publication date through March 1 on a site carrying the legal notices of ten or more Arizona newspapers.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18114 (the lien goes to the lowest rate of interest bid)
Provides that a real property tax lien shall be sold to the person who pays the whole amount of delinquent taxes, interest, penalties and charges due on the property and who in addition offers to accept the lowest rate of interest on the amount so paid to redeem the property from the sale, which may not exceed the rate prescribed by, and computed pursuant to, section 42-18053, and that the lien bears interest at the bid rate from the first day of the month following the purchase of the tax lien. This is the section that turns the sixteen percent figure into a ceiling rather than a return.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18113 (no bid, assignment to the state, and the full statutory rate)
Provides that where there is no bid for a tax lien the treasurer passes it for the time and reoffers it at the beginning of the sale on the next day until all liens are sold or the treasurer is satisfied no more sales can be made, then assigns the remaining unsold liens to the state for the amount of the taxes, interest, penalties and charges and issues a certificate of purchase to the state. On a state-assigned lien the rate of interest payable on redemption is the rate prescribed by section 42-18053.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18115 (the sale does not wipe out easements or listed assessments)
Provides that the sale of a real property tax lien does not extinguish any easement on or appurtenant to the property, and does not extinguish any lien for an assessment levied pursuant to title 48, chapter 4, 6 or 14 or section 9-276 or 11-268. The section carries two versions, one effective until October 1, 2028 and one effective October 1, 2028, which differ only in whether section 11-268 appears in the surviving-assessment list.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18118 and 42-18121 (the certificate of purchase and subsequent taxes)
Section 42-18118 requires the treasurer to make, execute and deliver a certificate of purchase to each purchaser or assignee, or to keep a registered certificate instead, reciting the sale date, the purchaser, the tax years covered, the amount for which the lien was sold and the rate of interest payable in order to redeem, and sets a fee of ten dollars for each certificate. Section 42-18121 lets a certificate holder pay subsequent taxes on or after June 1, with those amounts bearing interest at the rate stated in the certificate from the first day of the month following the purchase, and a five dollar fee for the entries.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18151 and 42-18152 (who may redeem, and the three year window)
Section 42-18151 lets the owner, a person paying on the owner's behalf as a charitable gift, the owner's agent, assignee or attorney, and any person with a legal or equitable claim in the property including the holder of a certificate of purchase of a different date, redeem the lien, and lets a part owner redeem a proportionate share. Section 42-18152 provides that a lien may be fully redeemed at any time within three years after the date of tax lien sale, and after three years but before the delivery of a treasurer's deed to the certificate of purchase holder or the holder's heirs or assigns.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18153 and 42-18154 (what a redemption costs, and the certificate of redemption)
Section 42-18153 requires a redeemer to pay the county treasurer the amount for which the lien was sold with interest at the rate stated in the certificate of purchase, all taxes accruing after the sale that the purchaser paid and had endorsed on the certificate with interest at that same rate, and any statutory fees the purchaser paid in connection with the certificate with the same interest, except the processing fee imposed by section 42-18116(C). Section 42-18154 requires the treasurer to issue a certificate of redemption stating the date, the amount paid and by whom redeemed, collect a fee of ten dollars for a full redemption where no partial payments were made, and lets the holder record it.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18201 and 42-18127 (when the holder may sue, and when the certificate expires)
Section 42-18201 provides that at any time beginning three years after the sale of a tax lien, but not later than ten years after the last day of the month in which the lien was acquired under section 42-18114, an unredeemed lien lets the purchaser, the purchaser's heirs or assigns, or the state as assignee bring an action to foreclose the right to redeem in the superior court of the county where the property sits, naming the county treasurer as a party. Section 42-18127 voids the lien and expires the certificate where no action is commenced within that ten year period, with certified mail notice to the holder before and after expiration.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18202 (the certified mail notice of intent, and the equity warning it must carry)
Requires the certificate of purchase holder, at least thirty days before filing a foreclosure action and not more than one hundred eighty days before it is commenced or may be commenced, to send notice of intent by certified mail to the owner of record (or to the assessor, situs and treasurer addresses) and to the county treasurer. The notice must state the owner's name, the parcel number, the assessor's description, the certificate number, the proposed filing date, and a warning that an owner who believes the property has value beyond the tax burden must request an excess proceeds sale under section 42-18204. No court may enter judgment foreclosing redemption until the notice is sent.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18204 (judgment, and the excess proceeds sale the owner must request)
Provides that where the lien sale is valid, the lien is unredeemed, and the defendant either did not request an excess proceeds sale or the request is unreasonable, the court enters judgment foreclosing the right to redeem and directing the treasurer to deliver a deed. Where the defendant's request is reasonable, the judgment forecloses redemption but directs a sale under article 6 with a court-set opening bid. The court must find an excess proceeds sale reasonable where the price is likely to be more than 2,500 dollars above the holder's itemized total. After judgment the foreclosed parties have no further legal or equitable right, title or interest in the property.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18205 and 42-18206 (the treasurer's deed, and redemption right up to judgment)
Section 42-18205 requires the treasurer, on receiving a certified copy of a judgment foreclosing the right to redeem under section 42-18204(A)(1) and a fee of 50 dollars per parcel, to execute and deliver a deed conveying the property to the party in whose favor judgment was entered. Section 42-18206 lets any person entitled to redeem do so at any time before judgment is entered even though the action has been commenced, but a redemption after a notice is recorded under section 12-1191 draws a judgment for the plaintiff's litigation guarantee or insured title report, the cost of identifying interests of record, and reasonable attorney fees.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18234 and 42-18236 (the excess proceeds auction and where the money goes)
Section 42-18234 requires the qualified entity to offer the property at public auction for cash to the highest bidder, with a minimum bid equal to the court-set opening bid and a nonrefundable deposit of ten percent of the opening bid or 2,500 dollars, whichever is greater, from every bidder except the certificate holder. Section 42-18236 distributes the proceeds in order: the qualified entity's cost of facilitating the sale, the certificate holder's itemized amounts, the county treasurer for other tax liens and current taxes and then other state lien and encumbrance holders, and finally any remaining proceeds to the property owner whose right to redeem was foreclosed, within ninety days after the sale.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18261 and 42-18267 (the separate route for liens the state took)
Section 42-18261 provides that where a lien assigned to the state is not redeemed, at any time beginning five years after the assignment the county board of supervisors, acting on behalf of the state, may apply for and receive a treasurer's deed to the property. Section 42-18267 requires the treasurer, where the property is not redeemed before the date stated in the notice, to execute and deliver a treasurer's deed conveying the property to the state, and provides that on delivery of the deed the redemption rights of all persons terminate whether or not they were named in the notice.
Mohave County Treasurer: tax lien sale
A county treasurer page showing how the statutory calendar lands in practice. It headlines the 2026 tax lien sale, states that tax lien certificates will be sold against parcels with 2024 delinquent taxes and any prior year taxes, requires all bidders including existing bidder numbers to register, states that all purchases made at the auction are final, and notes a 10 dollar non-refundable processing fee charged to each certificate citing Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18116(C) plus a 5 dollar winning bidder fee per parcel charged by the auction vendor.
Regional Variances
Arizona delinquent property tax rules at a glance
Sale mechanism
Tax lien, then a deed only by lawsuit. The treasurer sells a real property tax lien at the February auction and issues a certificate of purchase, or keeps a registered certificate in the treasurer's records; no title passes and the owner stays the owner (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18101, 42-18112, 42-18118). A treasurer's deed issues only on a certified copy of a judgment foreclosing the right to redeem, plus a fee of 50 dollars per parcel (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18205).
Delinquency dates
Two halves. One half of the tax is due October 1 and the unpaid half is delinquent after November 1 at 5:00 p.m.; the remaining half is due the following March 1 and is delinquent after May 1 at 5:00 p.m. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18052). Where the whole year's tax is one hundred dollars or less, it is all due October 1 and delinquent after December 31 at 5:00 p.m.
Penalty and interest before the sale
Sixteen percent per year simple from the time of delinquency until paid, counting a fraction of a month as a whole month, with no interest at all where the full year tax is paid on or before December 31 of the tax year or where a county assessor or treasurer error caused the delinquency (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18053). Once the parcel is listed, add a penalty of five dollars or five percent of the delinquent taxes, whichever is more, due January 1 (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18107).
Time before the lien is sold
An annual calendar rather than a number of years. The treasurer prepares the delinquent list by December 31, and the sale is held the following February (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18106, 42-18112). The taxes a lien covers are not limited to any particular year (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18104), and no sale may be commenced later than five years after delinquency unless advertised inside that period (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18105).
Redemption period and clock
Three years, running from the date of the tax lien sale, not from the delinquency and not from any notice (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18152(A)(1)). The right then continues past three years until a treasurer's deed is delivered (42-18152(A)(2)), and once a foreclosure action is filed it continues until judgment is entered (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18206). A partially redeemed lien must be fully redeemed before the deed is delivered.
Redeemer's charge
A bid-down interest rate, not a fixed return and not a flat penalty. The redeemer pays the amount the lien sold for with interest at the rate stated in the certificate of purchase (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18153). That rate is whatever the winning bidder agreed to accept as the lowest rate of interest, capped at the sixteen percent per year simple of Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18053, and it runs from the first day of the month following the purchase (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18114). The full statutory rate applies on a lien assigned to the state for want of a bid (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18113).
Other redemption costs
Post-sale taxes the holder paid and had endorsed on the certificate, with interest at the certificate rate, plus any statutory fees the holder paid in connection with the certificate with the same interest, except the processing fee of not more than 10 dollars under Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18116(C) (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18153). Add the treasurer's ten dollar fee for a full redemption where no partial payments were made (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18154), and, for a redemption after a recorded notice in a filed action, the plaintiff's title report, record search and attorney fees (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18206).
Notice to the owner
Four stages. A mailed delinquency notice on or before September 1 (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18103); a mailed notice of proposed sale plus two weeks of posting and a newspaper publication two to three weeks before the sale start date (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18108, 42-18109); certified mail notice of intent to foreclose, at least thirty and not more than one hundred eighty days ahead, carrying the statutory equity warning (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18202); and on the state route, certified mail at least ninety days before the deed (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18264).
Where to redeem
The county treasurer, who is the county's tax collector. A redeemer must pay the county treasurer, and the treasurer, once satisfied of the right to redeem, issues a certificate of redemption that the holder may record with the county recorder (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18153, 42-18154). The owner, the owner's agent, assignee or attorney, a charitable payer, and anyone with a legal or equitable claim may redeem (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18151).
Surplus proceeds
Reachable, but only on request, and there is no post-sale claim window. On the default judgment the holder gets the deed and the foreclosed parties keep no legal or equitable interest, so no surplus exists. An owner must ask the court for an excess proceeds sale before the judgment is effective; the court must grant it where the price is likely to exceed the holder's itemized total by more than 2,500 dollars (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18204). Any remaining proceeds then go to the foreclosed owner within ninety days (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18236).
Payment plan
No general installment right for delinquent real property taxes. Before an installment goes delinquent the treasurer must accept partial payments of at least ten percent of it and at least 10 dollars. A twenty-five percent partial payment on an outstanding certificate is limited to a county with a population of more than three million persons, for certificates sold in 2016 or later for tax year 2014 or later, and stops once the treasurer receives a notice of action to foreclose. The thirty-six month plan agreement covers only business personal property taxes over 1,000 dollars (Ariz. Rev. Stat. 42-18056, 42-18202).
Frequently Asked Questions
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