Land with Back Taxes: What Landowners Need to Know
Delinquent property taxes are one of the most common complications we see on land in Indiana and Kentucky. Whether taxes have been unpaid for one year or ten, you have options, and selling directly is often the fastest way out.
How Tax Delinquency Works in Indiana
Indiana property taxes are paid in two installments each year. If taxes go unpaid, a tax lien is placed on the property. After a statutory period of delinquency, Indiana counties may offer the delinquent parcel in a tax sale. If your land is approaching tax sale status, time matters, we can often move quickly enough to let you close before a tax sale date, but this depends on how far along the process is.
How Tax Delinquency Works in Kentucky
Kentucky uses a Certificate of Delinquency system. Unpaid bills pass to the county clerk, and each clerk offers the certificates to third-party purchasers at an annual sale, generally mid-July through late October; certificates not sold there can still be bought later (Kentucky Department of Revenue). A certificate holder can sue once a year has passed from the date the taxes became delinquent, so the timeline can move faster than many landowners expect. See our Kentucky delinquent property tax guide for the full process.
Liens Beyond Property Taxes
Liens on land come in several forms besides delinquent taxes: mechanic's liens from unpaid contractors, judgment liens from court judgments, IRS federal tax liens, and old mortgage liens that were never formally released. A title search identifies known liens. Many of these can be resolved at closing, paid from proceeds. We factor known encumbrances into our offer rather than treating them as deal-killers.
Delinquent taxes feel like a wall between you and selling. They are not. We work with this regularly. Taxes get paid from proceeds at closing and it does not complicate the deal as much as you would think. The longer you wait, the more they compound.