Tax lien vs tax deed states: what the statute says you buy

Tax lien vs tax deed states differ by what the sale gives you and when redemption ends. In a tax lien state, the sale gives you a claim, usually a certificate, that the owner can pay off with the statutory interest or penalty. Getting the property takes a later statutory process. In a tax deed state, the sale conveys the property itself, and redemption generally ends before the sale. Some states sell a deed the owner can still redeem after the sale. That purchase is a redeemable deed. Hybrid is a label that lists use, not a statutory term. The label matters less than what the statute says you receive and when redemption ends. The table below covers only seven states whose statutes or official county pages were reviewed September 27, 2026. Every other state is on the education guides. This is not legal advice. A retrieval date records when a source was opened. It is not the statute's effective date.

Four labels, defined by what you buy

Use the label only as a pointer to the section that names the instrument. The examples below are the statutes and county pages opened for this article.

Tax lien

Florida Statutes § 197.432 (2026) says the tax collector sells tax certificates for unpaid taxes. Subsection (2) says a lien created through the sale of a tax certificate may not be enforced in any manner except as prescribed in chapter 197. Arizona Revised Statutes § 42-18101(A) says the county treasurer sells the tax liens and forecloses the right to redeem. Section 42-18152 refers to the buyer as the certificate of purchase holder. 35 ILCS 200/21-250 says the county clerk delivers a tax certificate to the purchaser, and that a tax certificate is assignable by endorsement. Our Florida, Arizona, and Illinois guides label those states tax lien.

Tax deed

California Revenue and Taxation Code § 3691 says the tax collector sells tax-defaulted property, generally five years or more after it becomes tax defaulted, or three years or more for nonresidential commercial property. Any person may purchase at the sale. The same section adds other limits, including disaster tolling and a county option to delay certain sales. Section 3707 says the right of redemption terminates at the close of business on the last business day prior to the commencement date of the tax sale, and that the right revives if the property is not sold. Our California and Nevada guides label those states tax deed.

Redeemable deed

Texas Tax Code § 34.01(a) says real property seized under a tax warrant, or ordered sold on foreclosure of a tax lien, is sold by the officer charged with the sale. Section 34.21 then assumes a deed is filed, and the owner may still redeem within the statutory period. The period and the premium depend on the property class, as the table states. Greene County, Georgia, says: "Until the right of redemption has been foreclosed, a sheriff's tax deed has about the same equivalent as a lien." Our Texas and Georgia guides label those states redeemable deed.

Hybrid

Hybrid is not a statutory term. Lists use it for a state with more than one sale route, or for a lien sale followed by a deed sale. Florida is the example here. Certificates are sold first under § 197.432. The holder may apply for a tax deed under § 197.502 after 2 years have elapsed since April 1 of the year of issuance, and before the certificate is cancelled. The clerk of the circuit court then sells the property at public auction under § 197.542, and a tax deed is issued and recorded on payment. Our Florida guide labels it tax lien, since the first sale is the certificate sale. Our Alabama guide labels that state hybrid. This article makes no Alabama claims.

• Alabama guide (hybrid)

Why tax lien and tax deed state lists disagree

The same state name can sit in different columns on different lists. The statutes opened for this article show four reasons. None of them is a count of states.

1. Two stages. Florida is a certificate state, and the chapter ends in a deed auction, so a list can call it lien, deed, or hybrid. Section 197.432 is the certificate sale. Section 197.502 is the later application. Section 197.542 is the clerk's auction. Section 197.472 lets a person redeem the certificate at any time after it is issued and before a tax deed is issued, unless full payment for a tax deed is made to the clerk.
2. Property class changes the rule. Under Texas Tax Code § 34.21(a), homestead property, land designated for agricultural use when the suit or the warrant application was filed, and a mineral interest, sold to a purchaser other than a taxing unit, may be redeemed on or before the second anniversary of the date the purchaser's deed is filed for record. The premium is 25 percent of the aggregate total in the first year of that period, or 50 percent in the second year. Under § 34.21(e), other property may be redeemed not later than the 180th day after the purchaser's or taxing unit's deed is filed for record, and the premium payable to a purchaser other than a taxing unit may not exceed 25 percent. Lists that pair a 50 percent premium with the 180-day period merge those two rules.
3. One chapter can hold more than one route. Nevada sells a deed after a trustee-held redemption period. Section 361.570 authorizes the county treasurer, as trustee, to hold the property, and the certificate must also state that a tax lien may be assigned under NRS 361.7303 to 361.733. Those assignment sections were not opened for this article. This page says only that the sections exist.
4. Laws change. Illinois amended 35 ILCS 200/21-350 for certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026 (P.A. 104-553, eff. 7-10-26). An older copied list can be wrong. Check the version in effect when the certificate was issued. This article does not state the redemption period for certificates issued before that date. OCC Bulletin 2004-39 says the laws governing the redemption and transfer of tax lien certificates vary among states and municipalities.

A geographic directory is not a current auction list.

Tax lien vs tax deed: seven states checked against the statute

The rows below were checked against the cited statute or official county page on September 27, 2026. This is not a full list, and it is not legal advice.

States not in the table are not classified here. The education state guides carry each state's label and the sources reviewed for that guide. Open the guide, then the statute or county page it cites, before you treat the label as the rule for a sale.

• All state guides
• Florida guide (tax lien)
• Arizona guide (tax lien)
• Illinois guide (tax lien)
• Texas guide (redeemable deed)
• Georgia guide (redeemable deed)
• California guide (tax deed)
• Nevada guide (tax deed)

How to check any state yourself

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 it.

What does the sale give you?

• Question: Does the sale section give you a certificate, a deed, or a deed the owner can still redeem?
• Record and office: the sale section of the state statute, or the official county page when that is the page you can open. Read the sale section, not a list.
• Evidence to save: the statute or county URL, the retrieval date, and the words that name what the buyer receives.
• Outcome: Pass when the saved section names the interest you mean to buy. Fail when it names a different interest. Unresolved when the sale section will not open.

When does redemption end, and what starts the clock?

• Question: Which date ends redemption, and which event starts that clock?
• Record and office: the redemption section. In the states checked here, read the sale date in Arizona and Illinois, the deed filing in Texas, the year the certificate is dated in Nevada, and the last business day before the sale begins in California.
• Evidence to save: the section URL, the retrieval date, the triggering event, and the period as printed.
• Outcome: Pass when the saved section names both the end and the event that starts the clock. Fail when a deadline that still applies has passed. Unresolved when the triggering event is not in the section you saved.

Does property type or issue date change the rule?

• Question: Does the property class, or the date the certificate was issued, select a different period or premium?
• Record and office: Texas Tax Code § 34.21 for homestead, agricultural-use, and mineral property versus other property. Illinois § 21-350 for the issue date, including the July 10, 2026 effective date of P.A. 104-553.
• Evidence to save: the section URL, the retrieval date, the property class or issue date, and the version line on the statute.
• Outcome: Pass when the saved facts match one stated rule. Fail when you applied the other class or the other issue-date version. Unresolved when the class, the issue date, or the version in effect is missing.

What does it take to get the property?

• Question: After the sale, what later act does the statute or county page require before you hold the property?
• Record and office: Florida §§ 197.502 and 197.542 (application, then the clerk's auction). Arizona § 42-18201 (an action to foreclose the right to redeem, under the current version). Illinois § 22-40 (a court order and a judicial tax deed auction, under the version that governs the certificate). Georgia: Camden County's description of notice under O.C.G.A. 48-4-45 through 48-4-48 to bar redemption.
• Evidence to save: the section or county URL, the retrieval date, and the act that section names.
• Outcome: Pass when the file names that later act and its source. Fail when the file treats the sale itself as the end of the owner's rights and the opened section says otherwise. Unresolved when the later-act section was not opened.

Is your source current and official?

• Question: Is the page an official statute or county page, and which version did you open?
• Record and office: the legislature or county site, not a copied list. Record the statute year or version, any effective-date line, the county page date if one is printed, and your retrieval date.
• Evidence to save: the URL, the retrieval date (September 27, 2026, for the sources in this article), and the version or effective-date line. Keep that retrieval date separate from the effective date. Illinois P.A. 104-553 is effective July 10, 2026. The current Arizona § 42-18201 page header reads "Eff. until 10/1/28".
• 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 the sale conveys and when redemption ends. They do not identify the parcel, the assessor record, access, environmental flags, the recorder index, or a bankruptcy case. Those questions are on the tax lien due diligence checklist.

• Tax lien due diligence checklist

Where Accrella fits

The education state guides show a label for the state you open, such as tax lien, tax deed, redeemable deed, or hybrid, and the sources reviewed for that guide. A state label is a starting point, not a substitute for the statute and the county's sale terms.

In Accrella Discovery you can filter candidates by state and county and by auction format (Bid down, Premium, Rotation, OTC only). Use the Watchlist for diligence review 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.

• County coverage and sources
• Tax lien software
• Over the counter tax liens

Questions investors ask

What is the difference between a tax lien and a tax deed?

A tax lien sale gives you a claim, usually a certificate, that the owner can pay off under the statute. Getting the property takes a later statutory process. A tax deed sale conveys the property. In the deed examples checked here, California and Nevada, redemption ends before the sale. A redeemable deed is a deed the owner can still redeem after the sale, as in Texas and Georgia. The statute, not the label, decides which of those you are buying.

Is Florida a tax lien or tax deed state?

Our Florida guide labels it tax lien. The sale in § 197.432 is a tax certificate. A deed comes only later, through an application under § 197.502 and a clerk's auction under § 197.542. Section 197.472 allows redemption at any time after the certificate is issued and before a tax deed is issued, unless full payment for a tax deed is made to the clerk. Lists that call the first sale a final deed are describing a later step.

Is Texas a tax lien or tax deed state?

Our Texas guide labels it a redeemable deed. Section 34.01(a) is a sale of the property. Section 34.21 leaves a right of redemption after the deed is filed. For homestead, qualifying agricultural land, and mineral interests sold to a purchaser other than a taxing unit, that right runs to the second anniversary of the filing, with a premium of 25 percent in the first year or 50 percent in the second year. For other property, the right runs not later than the 180th day after filing, and the premium to a purchaser other than a taxing unit may not exceed 25 percent.

Is Georgia a tax lien or tax deed state?

Our Georgia guide labels it a redeemable deed. Greene County says that until the right of redemption has been foreclosed, a sheriff's tax deed has about the same equivalent as a lien, and that redemption may be made within 12 months from the original sale date. Camden County says that twelve months after the sale the purchaser may begin to bar that right by notice under O.C.G.A. 48-4-45 through 48-4-48. The price is the one those county pages state. This article does not cite other Georgia code sections.

Is California or Nevada a tax deed state?

Yes, on the guides and on the statutes opened for the table. Both are labeled tax deed. In California, § 3707 ends the right of redemption at the close of business on the last business day before the sale begins, and the right revives if the property is not sold. In Nevada, § 361.570 has the treasurer hold the property for the certificate period unless it is sooner redeemed, § 361.585 delivers a deed to the treasurer in trust when that period expires, and listed persons may seek reconveyance until the third business day before the sale, or during the 90-day period that section cites. This article does not describe Nevada lien-assignment mechanics.

Which states are tax lien states and which are tax deed states?

This article checks seven states, and only those seven. The label depends on the statute, and the statute can change, as the Illinois issue-date rule shows. It does not publish a national list, a map, or a list of deed states grouped by whether redemption has already ended. Each state's guide is on the education pages. Open that guide and the source it cites.