Selling land with back taxes in Louisiana

How Louisiana handles unpaid property taxes

Louisiana sells tax lien certificates. An investor pays your overdue taxes and gets a lien with interest. You still own the land, but if the lien is not paid off, you can lose it through the process in the rule below. Paying off the lien, including from a sale, clears it.

The redemption rule in Louisiana: Starting Jan. 1, 2026, the owner keeps title after a tax sale and can pay off the lien until a sale to enforce it. A private certificate holder cannot sue until three years after the certificate is recorded, or six months after required notices if later. Once the owner is served, the payoff goes to the tax collector for 30 days, and after that the court sets it. If the parish or city holds the lien because no one bid, it can sell the land without a lawsuit after three years. The owner can pay off the lien until that sale, and gets 60 days' or 6 months' written notice first. If the land sells at a court-ordered sale, money left after the lien, costs and recorded mortgages and liens goes to the owner. After a parish or city sale, the excess is held one year for owners who apply, then kept by the parish or city. For tax sales before Jan. 1, 2026, the old rule applies, with redemption for three years after the tax sale was recorded. That old period was 18 months for property declared blighted or abandoned. Land adjudicated to a parish or city before 2026 because no one bid can still be redeemed until it is sold, after notice. Interest on delinquent taxes is capped at 1% per month, and the penalty at 5%.

Law: La. Const. art. VII, sec. 25, and La. R.S. 47:2201, 47:2206, 47:2211, 47:2241.1, 47:2266.1 and 47:2267. Rules change, so confirm with the county tax collector.

What to do before the tax sale

• Call the county tax office and get the exact amount owed and the next sale date.
• Decide whether you want to keep the land. If not, selling before the sale stops the interest and penalties from growing.
• Gather the parcel number and any tax bills. A buyer and the title company need them to order a payoff.

Louisiana land at a glance

• Average farm real estate value: $3,950 per acre (2026, USDA).
• Average property tax on farmland: about $7.30 per acre per year (2022 Census of Agriculture).
• Transfer tax: Louisiana has no state deed or transfer tax. The state constitution, Article VII, Section 2.3, bars any new tax on the sale or transfer of immovable property after November 30, 2011. In Orleans Parish, the city still charges an older documentary transaction tax, a flat $325 on most transfer documents. Recording fees apply everywhere, set under La. R.S. 13:844 and tiered by page count.
• Seller disclosure: Louisiana requires no seller disclosure document for vacant land sold before Jan. 1, 2027. Starting that date, Act 708 of 2026 adds vacant residential property, meaning land authorized only for residential use or otherwise intended for homes. Land legally authorized for agricultural, commercial or other nonresidential use stays outside the law, as do court-ordered transfers and sales by a succession representative.

These are statewide averages, not an appraisal. See selling land in Louisiana for county values, or try the land value estimator.

How a cash sale handles this

Liberty Acres is a family-owned cash land buyer. We buy land anywhere in the US, in any condition, including land with back taxes, inherited land and land with no road access. We pay back taxes and all closing costs, use no agents and charge no commissions, and close through a title company, escrow company or real estate attorney who pays you by wire or check.

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