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How to Invest in Louisiana Tax Sales (Pre-2026)

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Verified by LienSpot Jan 22, 2025
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Beginning January 1, 2026 tax sales in Louisiana will operate under a new process. This guide applies to tax sales that take place before 2026.

Investing in Louisiana tax sales is a great way to make money with relatively low risk. However there are several steps investors should take to protect their investment and prepare for the possibility of quieting title to take ownership.

Type of Sale

Tax Lien

A tax sale in Louisiana is a tax lien auction where bidders bid down the percentage of ownership they are willing to accept if a redemption does not occur.

Bid Format

Lowest Percentage of Ownership

Bidding starts at 100% ownership and goes down to 1%, where the lowest bid wins. This is the percentage of ownership that a tax sale purchaser is willing to accept for the price of the tax debt owed, in the event no redemption occurs. Louisiana law favors property owners and the bid format of tax sales reflects this.

Interest Rate

1% per month plus a one-time 5%

The interest rate is 1% per month, non-compounding, on the tax debt sold. In addition, a one-time 5% "penalty" is added at the time of sale.

Redemption Period

3 Years

The tax debor typically has three years to redeem the property. This is shortened to 18 months if the property is designated blighted or abandoned.

Winning a Tax Sale Auction

Congratulations, you’ve just won an auction and are now a tax sale purchaser! Now is the time to get organized so that you stay on top of what you’ll need to do over the coming years to ensure a successful investment experience. You should gather and document these items immediately after the sale:

  • Recorded tax sale certificate. This document contains several important pieces of information that you’ll need later:
  • Date of recordation. This date is stamped or printed on the tax sale certificate by the conveyance office, indicating when the document was recorded. This is the date that the redemption period starts and determines when certain actions should be taken in the future.
  • Property account number. This may also be called a parcel number, assessment number, or tax bill number. You’ll need this when making tax bill payments in the future.
  • Payment receipt. Always retain documentation of payments you make in case there is a dispute over who made the payment later.

Mail Post-Sale Notice

Louisiana Revised Statutes §47:2156 states that “Within the applicable redemptive period, the tax sale purchaser may send a written notice to any or all tax sale parties notifying the parties of the sale.”  Although the language in the statute might suggest this is an optional step, it’s always a good idea to eliminate any openings for an argument that you didn’t fulfill your obligations as a tax sale purchaser. Plus, this notice can be an effective tool to get the tax debtor to redeem the property.

Pay the Annual Tax Bill

Every year, in late November or December, pay the property tax bill. Tax bills are due December 31st in Louisiana, except for Orleans Parish where they are due January 31st.

  • Save your payment receipt, ideally showing the matching account number of property on the tax sale certificate, along with the date, your name, and the amount paid.
  • You’ll receive 1% non-compounding interest per month on this payment, if and when a redemption occurs.

After the Redemption Period

Once the redemption period expires, tax sale purchasers can begin the process of acquiring ownership of the property. The basic steps are:

  1. Determine who needs to be notified of their imminent loss of property.
  2. Notify parties with an interest in the property of your intent to terminate their interest.
  3. Prove to a court of law that you are entitled to take ownership of the property and other parties with an interest have received due notice in order to have the court confirm your ownership.

Determining Who Should Receive Notice

All tax sale parties should be notified of your intent to terminate their interest. Tax sale parties include:

  • the tax debtor(s),
  • any person requesting notice from the tax collector,
  • the owner of property, including the owner of record at the time of a tax sale,
  • any other person holding an interest, such as a mortgage, privilege, or other encumbrance on the property, including a tax sale purchaser.

Prior to the tax sale, the tax collector should have notified the tax sale parties of the delinquent tax debt and the imminent tax sale. This list is a good starting point for building a mailing list of tax sale parties, but it should not be relied on as complete or correct since time has passed and it’s not possible to verify the sources or methods used to create the list, all of which you’ll need to document and prove in a court of law later.

  • Search for the most up-to-date mailing addresses for all tax sale parties, documenting where and when you discovered the information.

Notifying Tax Sale Parties

Louisiana Revised Statues §47:2157 lists several procedural steps that that the tax sale purchaser should follow after “the expiration of the applicable redemptive period,” including:

  • Mail a notice of tax sale to all tax sale parties, by certified mail with return receipt. From the date of this notice, the tax sale purchaser can challenge the tax sale in court within:
    • Six months, if less than five years has elapsed since the filing of the tax sale certificate, or
    • Sixty days, if five years or more has elapsed since the filing of the tax sale certificate.
  • Publish a notice of tax sale to all tax sale parties in the official journal of the political subdivision (the city or parish) for two consecutive weeks.
  • File a copy of the notice of tax sale mailed to tax sale parties in the recorder of mortgages for the parish where the property is located.

Proving Compliance with Notice Requirements

After the window of time in which a tax sale party can challenge the tax sale, either six months or sixty days, tax sale purchasers can file an affidavit with the recorder of mortgages that documents the attempts to notify tax sale sale parties of the purchaser’s intent to terminate their interest. The affidavit should list:

  • how the tax sale parties were identified,
  • how the address of each tax sale party was obtained,
  • how the notice was sent,
  • the results of sending the notice, and
  • the dates of publication.

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