Behind on property taxes
Yes, if you still own the house. The title company can pay the back taxes at closing when the price covers them, so you do not have to bring that payoff in cash first. The deadline follows the county, and Jackson County is the Missouri exception.
The tax-sale clock is not the same on both sides of State Line, and Jackson County is the Missouri exception. You can still sell before that clock runs out. If the price covers the taxes, the title company pays them at closing. You do not have to bring that payoff in cash first.
Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 CT (America/Chicago). Saturday and Sunday closed.
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In Kansas City
A Kansas City address can sit in Missouri or Kansas. The city name is not enough. Start with the county. The comparison below is the same framing as our Missouri vs. Kansas tax-sale guide. Confirm the payoff and the date with the county. This is not legal advice.
In most of Missouri, including Clay and Platte, the county sells a tax-lien certificate at the August sale under RSMo Chapter 140. The sale is typically the fourth Monday in August. You usually keep title and have about a year after the sale to redeem by paying the taxes, interest, and costs.
Jackson County does not follow that long post-sale window. Under RSMo Chapter 141, the 16th Circuit Court runs a Delinquent Land Tax sale. You generally have to pay before the court confirms the sale. For a vacant house, the cutoff can come sooner. The county page lists the current sale weeks.
Wyandotte and Johnson counties sue in court and the sheriff sells the house under K.S.A. 79-2801. Your chance to stop it ends before the auction. Once the deed is issued, there is no buying it back. Johnson County says listed property must be redeemed before 5 p.m. the day before the auction.
If you still own the house, a sale can pay the back taxes from the closing funds. The title company orders the payoff. The county is paid before you receive what is left. If the price does not cover the taxes and any mortgage or other liens, we say so before you sign.
Dates and payoffs change. The county collector or treasurer, and the court docket in Jackson County, are the record. Our county pages point at those offices.
These timing notes are the ones already published for the five counties we serve. Confirm the current date with the county.
Your choices
A cash offer is what we can pay for the house as it is today. It is less than a retail price. Paying the county, or listing the house, can be the better path if you have the money and the time. We will say so.
Keep the house
This fits when you want to stay and you can cover the balance.
A retail sale
A listing can bring more if the sale date is not close and the house can be shown.
What Saving KC does
We buy as-is. The offer is a number we can pay, not an appraisal.
The clock keeps running
Waiting adds interest, costs, and the chance the sale happens without you.
A number you can read
We will tell you whether a cash sale can pay the taxes at closing, or whether you should call the county or a listing agent first.
What we actually do
We buy the house. We do not collect the tax, and we do not file the court case. Here is the path when selling is the option you want to price.
Call or use the form. Tell us if you have a sale notice, a court paper, or only a delinquent bill. The notice changes the deadline.
A walkthrough is short. Do not repair or clean first. After we see the house, you get a written cash offer, usually within 24 hours of that visit. It is what we can pay, not a statement of market value.
A local title company searches taxes, mortgages, and other liens. Back taxes are paid from the sale before you are paid. You see the settlement statement before closing day.
If the price will not cover the county and the other payoffs, a sale may be a short sale or it may not be possible on your date. We tell you before you sign. We do not promise a closing we cannot make.
Stephen Mills had three years of delinquent property taxes and a house that needed repairs. He was not asked to fix it first. That sale closed in 28 days. The price is not published. His page is the case study, not a promise for the next house.
The money and the stuff
The house can be behind on taxes and still have equity. It can also be short. The settlement statement is the only place that math is real.
Delinquent taxes, and the interest and costs on the payoff quote, come out of the sale. You do not write that check before we start.
The title company pays recorded debts in order. If a lender sale date is also on the calendar, read the foreclosure page. Tax foreclosure and a mortgage foreclosure are different cases.
That remainder is yours. If nothing is left, the settlement statement shows a zero or a shortage before you close. We will not write in a number the title company does not show.
Take what you want. Leave the rest. We do not require a cleanout before the offer.
Ernest Dodson is a Missouri-licensed real estate salesperson with Platinum Realty LLC, license #2023026433. Saving KC Homebuyers LLC buys real estate as a principal. We may assign the purchase contract to another buyer, and we tell you when we do.
Questions
These answers are about this situation. They are not legal advice. The company list is on the FAQ page.
We will tell you whether a cash sale can pay the taxes at closing, or whether you should call the county or a listing agent first.
Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 CT (America/Chicago). Saturday and Sunday closed.