Tax lien interest rates by state: ceiling vs return

Tax lien interest rate by state is not one national number. Each statute sets a maximum, a fixed schedule, or a formula, and what you actually keep depends on how the county runs the sale: bidders may accept a lower rate, pay a premium above the amount due, or bid a penalty percentage under a cap. This article checks four states (Florida, Arizona, Illinois, and Colorado) against primary sources opened September 29, 2026. It does not publish a national rate table; for every other state, start with the education guides. A statutory maximum is not the amount you receive, and this is not legal advice.

The statutory rate is a ceiling or a schedule, not a promise

A list that prints one percentage beside a state name is printing a maximum, a formula, or a schedule from somewhere. It is not printing the winning bid at the county sale you mean to enter. OCC Bulletin 2004-39 says the laws governing the redemption and transfer of tax lien certificates vary among states and municipalities. Interest and penalty rules sit on top of the sale model. The lien-versus-deed article separates a certificate, a deed, and a redeemable deed for the states it checks. This article does not restate those models, and it does not invent a national range.

• Tax lien vs tax deed states
• Education guides

Three auction formats that change what you keep

These labels describe how bidders compete under the statutes cited below. They are not a tally of which states use each format.

Bid down the interest rate

Bidders compete by accepting a lower rate. The lowest acceptable rate wins. The statutory maximum is the opening ceiling. Florida and Arizona, in the sections cited below, use this form.

Premium (bid up the price)

Bidders pay more than the taxes, interest, and fees due. Whether that excess earns interest, and whether it comes back on redemption, is a statute or county-page question. This article answers it only for Colorado and for Boulder County, where the opened pages say the excess goes to the county and earns no interest, and Boulder says the premium is not returned. This article does not describe New Jersey.

Fixed or penalty schedule

The rate or penalty is set by statute, or it is bid as a penalty percentage under a statutory cap. It is not competed as a free-floating interest rate. Illinois, in the sections cited below, is the penalty-bid example.

Four states checked against the statute

Only these four rows were checked, against the cited statute or official page, on September 29, 2026. This is not a full list, and it is not legal advice. Our Florida, Arizona, Illinois, and Colorado guides each label the state tax lien.

States not in the table are not given a rate here. Open the education guide, then the statute or county page it cites. Check your county or state rules before you treat any other percentage as the rule for a sale.

• Education guides
• Florida guide (tax lien)
• Arizona guide (tax lien)
• Illinois guide (tax lien)
• Colorado guide (tax lien)

Why interest-rate-by-state lists disagree

The same state can carry a different percentage on a different list. The sources opened for this article point to four reasons.

1. Ceiling versus winning bid. Florida prints a maximum of 18 percent per year on the certificate, and the sale can award a lower rate. Arizona prints sixteen percent per year simple, and the sale can award a lower rate that does not exceed that figure. A list that prints only the ceiling is not printing the bid.
2. Premium versus the interest-bearing amount. Colorado redemption interest is the statutory rate. Competition under § 39-11-115 is on the excess, which is credited to the county general fund. Boulder County says that excess earns no interest and is not returned. Interest on the lien amount is not interest on the premium.
3. The statute changes. Illinois § 21-215’s 9 percent cap carries the source line P.A. 104-553, effective July 10, 2026. A copied list that still prints 36 percent does not match that text, and this article does not try to reconstruct the older version of the section.
4. A deed or a redeemable-deed penalty is not this instrument. The lien-versus-deed article separates what the sale gives you. This article does not state a Texas rate or a Georgia rate.

• Tax lien vs tax deed states

What evidence to save before you bid

Every check has four parts. The question is what you still do not know. The record and the office are where that answer lives. The evidence to save is the source URL, the retrieval date, and the section or page you relied on. The outcome is pass, fail, or unresolved. A missing value is an unresolved check, not a clean result. Do not substitute the date you saved a file for the date the office published the rate.

What ceiling or schedule does the statute set?

• Question: Does the opened section set a maximum rate, a formula, or a penalty schedule?
• Record and office: the interest or penalty section, not a copied list. For the states in the table, that is Florida § 197.172, Arizona § 42-18053, Illinois §§ 21-215 and 21-355, and Colorado § 39-12-103 plus the Division of Banking page.
• Evidence to save: the section URL, the retrieval date, and the sentence that states the ceiling, formula, or schedule.
• Outcome: Pass when the saved sentence names the ceiling or schedule you mean to use. Fail when the file uses a different section. Unresolved when the section will not open.

What auction format does this county use, and what did the winning bid actually say?

• Question: Did bidders lower a rate, pay a premium, or bid a penalty percentage, and what did the winning bid say?
• Record and office: the sale section and the county’s list of certificates sold or the auction result. Florida § 197.432(6) is a lowest-rate award. Arizona § 42-18114 is a lowest-rate award. Illinois § 21-215 is a least-penalty-percentage award. Colorado § 39-11-115 is a largest-excess award, and the treasurer announces the bidding rules.
• Evidence to save: the sale-section URL, the county result URL, the retrieval date, and the winning rate or premium as printed.
• Outcome: Pass when the file has both the format in the statute and the winning figure from the county. Fail when the file uses the statutory ceiling as if it were the winning bid. Unresolved when the winning bid is missing.

Does a premium earn interest, and is it refunded on redemption?

• Question: If you paid more than the taxes, interest, and fees, does that excess earn interest, and do you get it back?
• Record and office: the sale or redemption statute, and the county page when that is the page you can open. For Boulder County, the treasurer FAQ says you do not earn interest on a premium bid and you do not get the premium back. Section 39-11-115 credits the excess to the county general fund. This article does not answer the question for any other county.
• Evidence to save: the statute or county URL, the retrieval date, and the sentences on interest and on return of the excess.
• Outcome: Pass when the saved page answers both interest and refund for that county. Fail when the file treats the premium as interest-bearing and the opened page says it is not. Unresolved when the county page does not say.

Is your source current (version / effective date / retrieval date)?

• Question: Which version did you open, when does it take effect, and when did you retrieve it?
• Record and office: the legislature or the official agency or county page. Record the statute year or source line, the effective date, and your retrieval date as separate facts.
• Evidence to save: the URL, the retrieval date (September 29, 2026, for the sources in this article), and the version or effective-date line. Illinois P.A. 104-553 is effective July 10, 2026. The Colorado banking rate under § 39-12-103 is effective October 1, 2026. The public.law compilation note says current through Fall 2025.
• Outcome: Pass when the file has an official URL, a version or effective-date line, and a retrieval date. Fail when the only source is an undated list. Unresolved when the version line is missing.

The checks above ask what ceiling applies and what the winning bid was. They do not identify the parcel, the assessor record, or a bankruptcy case. Those questions are on the tax lien due diligence checklist. What happens after the purchase is a separate article.

• Tax lien due diligence checklist
• Tax lien evidence packs
• What happens after you buy a tax lien
• Over the counter tax liens
• Tax-lien diligence at scale
• From spreadsheet to bid review
• Preparing certificate records for legal review
• Preparing a tax-certificate evidence pack
• The county data problem

Where Accrella fits

Knowing the statutory ceiling is not the same as knowing the winning bid or the premium you paid. Those figures belong in the evidence record next to the parcel. A missing value is an unresolved check, not a clean result. An organized evidence record is not a legal opinion.

In Accrella Discovery you can filter candidates by state and county and by auction format (Bid down, Premium, Rotation, OTC only). Use the Watchlist to review diligence and edit the bid strategy before a bid-sheet export. Accrella gates that export on diligence and strategy approval. An exported file does not submit a bid or replace the auction platform registration and payment process. Coverage, a current list, and readiness to buy are separate questions. A geographic directory is not a current auction list.

• County coverage and sources
• Tax lien software

Questions investors ask

What is the tax lien interest rate by state?

There is no single national number. This article checks four states, and only those four. Florida’s certificate ceiling is 18 percent per year, and the sale can award less. Arizona’s delinquent-tax rate is sixteen percent per year simple, with the exceptions in § 42-18053, and the bid may not exceed it. Illinois caps a penalty bid at 9 percent of the tax or special assessment, effective July 10, 2026, and § 21-355 applies that bid by six-month band. Colorado’s redemption interest effective October 1, 2026 is 13 percent, on the Division of Banking page, and the auction bids a premium. Every other state is on the education guides.

Is the statutory maximum what I earn?

No. In Florida and Arizona the statute sets the highest rate a bid may use, and the certificate can sell at a lower rate. In Colorado the redemption rate is the figure the banking commissioner publishes, and competition is on the excess. In Illinois the bid is a penalty percentage under the cap in § 21-215, and § 21-355 applies that bid over time. A statutory maximum is not the amount you receive. This is not legal advice.

What is the Florida tax certificate interest rate?

Florida Statutes § 197.172(2) (2026) says the maximum rate of interest on a tax certificate is 18 percent per year. Section 197.432(6) awards the certificate to the person who demands the lowest rate not above that maximum. The maximum is the opening ceiling. It is not the rate on a certificate that sold for less. On redemption, § 197.472(2) levies an absolute 5 percent on the face value when interest earned is less than 5 percent of face, except a bid of zero percent. The certificate also may not bear interest during the 60 days after delinquency, except the 3 percent charge in § 197.172(1).

What is the Arizona tax lien interest rate?

Arizona Revised Statutes § 42-18053(A) says that, except as subsection B provides, taxes bear interest at sixteen percent per year simple until paid, and a fraction of a month counts as a whole month. Section 42-18114 sells the lien to the person who offers the lowest rate, which may not exceed that rate. The lien bears interest at the bid rate from the first day of the month following the purchase. Sixteen percent is the ceiling. It is not the winning bid.

What is a tax lien premium bid?

In Colorado, a premium bid is an amount above the taxes, delinquent interest, and fees then due. Section 39-11-115 credits that excess to the county general fund. Boulder County’s treasurer FAQ says premium bids are the amounts over taxes, interest, and fees, that you do not earn interest on a premium bid, and that you do not get the premium back. Boulder’s statement that its premiums averaged from 5 percent to 7.6 percent over the last five years is about Boulder County. Check the county you are bidding in. This article does not state a premium rule for any other state.

Why do some lists still say Illinois is 36%?

The § 21-215 page opened September 29, 2026, source line P.A. 104-553, effective July 10, 2026, says no bid shall be accepted for a penalty exceeding 9 percent of the amount of the tax or special assessment. Section 21-355, source line P.A. 103-555 and P.A. 103-592 on the page opened the same day, multiplies the penalty bid by one through six across six-month bands through 36 months from the sale. It does not state one annual percentage. A list that still prints 36 percent does not match the current § 21-215 text, and this article does not try to reconstruct the older wording those lists relied on.