If a Mississippi county hires an online auction vendor to run its delinquent tax sale, can the $20-per-parcel auction fee be charged to property owners who redeem their land?
Plain-English summary
Wilkinson County contracted with an online auction vendor to run its April 2023 sale of land on which property taxes were delinquent. The vendor's fee was $20 per parcel sold. Historically, the county had absorbed those costs.
The Chancery Court Clerk asked: when an owner comes in to redeem land that was sold at the tax sale, can the county add that $20 auction expense to the redemption amount as part of the "costs incident to the sale" under Section 27-45-3?
The AG said yes. Section 27-45-3 is the redemption statute. It requires a redeeming owner to pay:
- The taxes for which the land was sold.
- "All costs incident to the sale."
- 5% damages on the tax amount.
- 1.5% per month interest on taxes and costs.
- All costs that have accrued on the land since the sale, with interest.
The phrase "costs incident to the sale" is unambiguous. The auction fee paid to the online vendor is exactly that: a cost the county incurred to conduct the sale. The AG cited a 1986 opinion (McGee) holding that mailing notice costs are part of the incidental cost of a sale. The same logic applies to auction-vendor fees.
The practical effect: when counties move to online auctions for delinquent property tax sales, the per-parcel fee passes through to the redeeming owner as part of the redemption amount. This protects the county from absorbing the cost while still giving owners their statutory two-year redemption window.
What this means for you
If you're a Mississippi delinquent property owner
If your county sold your land at a tax sale and you want to redeem it, you must pay all costs incident to the sale, including any per-parcel auction fee the county was charged by an online vendor. Build that into your redemption budget. Specifically:
- Ask the chancery clerk for an itemized redemption amount in writing.
- Verify the components: tax owed, costs of sale (including the auction fee), 5% damages, 1.5% per month interest from sale date, any post-sale costs.
- Redeem within the two-year window from the sale date. After two years, the right to redeem is generally lost and the purchaser can perfect title.
If you're a chancery court clerk
When tabulating redemption amounts on properties sold through online vendors, include the auction fee in the "costs incident to the sale" line. Use a clear itemization so redeeming owners (and any auditors) can see what each charge represents. Document the contract with the vendor in your records to support the auction-fee charge if challenged.
If you're a Mississippi county tax collector or board
This opinion confirms you can use online auction vendors and pass the per-parcel cost through to redeemers without absorbing it from the general fund. That removes a financial barrier some counties cite for sticking with paper auctions. Section 27-41-59(2) is your authority for online auctions; confirm that your contract with the vendor is ratified by the board of supervisors.
What this opinion does not authorize: large per-parcel fees that look more like profit-sharing than cost recovery. The AG analyzed a $20 fee and called it a "cost incident to the sale." A wildly disproportionate fee might generate a different result if challenged.
If you're a tax sale investor
For pricing purposes, redemption from an online-auction county costs the redeeming owner more than from a paper-auction county, because the per-parcel fee is added to the redemption amount. That marginally reduces the rate of redemption and slightly increases your odds of acquiring tax title. It does not change your statutory entitlements during the two-year redemption window.
If you're a real estate attorney handling a tax sale matter
Verify the components of the redemption amount carefully. The AG's opinion gives counties broad latitude to label costs as "incident to the sale," but the underlying expense must be a real cost of the sale (not a fee unrelated to the sale process). Costs of foreclosure, post-sale title work, or costs incurred in disputes with the purchaser may not qualify.
Common questions
Q: What does Section 27-45-3 require for redemption?
A: To redeem, the owner (or an interested party with the owner's consent) must pay the chancery clerk the unpaid taxes, "all costs incident to the sale," 5% damages on the tax amount, and 1.5% per month interest on taxes and costs from the date of sale, plus any costs accrued since the sale and their interest.
Q: How long do I have to redeem?
A: Two years from the day of sale.
Q: Can the county add any cost it wants as a "cost incident to the sale"?
A: No. The cost has to actually relate to the sale. The AG and a 1986 opinion (McGee) have approved costs like mailing notices and online-auction fees, both of which are clearly part of conducting the sale. A cost unrelated to the sale process likely does not qualify.
Q: Does the per-parcel auction fee apply only when there is an online auction?
A: This opinion specifically addresses online auctions. The same principle (real costs of conducting the sale are recoverable as costs incident to the sale) applies to traditional auctions, but the dollar amounts are typically different.
Q: Is the $20 auction fee separate from the chancery clerk's redemption fee?
A: Yes. The chancery clerk has her own statutory fees for handling redemptions; those continue separately. The $20 is paid to the auction vendor by the county, then passed through to the redeeming owner as part of the redemption amount.
Q: What if I cannot pay the full redemption amount?
A: Section 27-45-3 contemplates redemption of "any part" of the land where it is separable by legal subdivisions of not less than forty (40) acres. For smaller parcels, partial redemption is generally not available, and you must pay the full amount.
Background and statutory framework
Mississippi delinquent tax sales work in two stages: the sale itself (Title 27, Chapter 41) and the redemption period that follows (Title 27, Chapter 45).
Section 27-41-59(2) authorizes a tax collector "to enter into an agreement with an online provider to conduct tax sales using online bidding and sale" so long as the agreement is ratified by the county board of supervisors. The legislature added this online-auction authority to modernize what had been a courthouse-step bidding process. Online auctions broaden the pool of potential bidders and tend to produce higher sale prices.
Section 27-45-3 is the redemption statute. It allows the property owner (or someone interested in the property, with the owner's consent) to redeem within two years of the sale by paying the redemption amount. The "costs incident to the sale" element is broad enough to cover any real cost the county incurred to conduct the sale. It is not limited to the chancery clerk's statutory fees; it extends to mailing, advertising, and (per this opinion) online auction vendor fees.
The AG's reasoning relies on plain-meaning statutory construction. City of Tchula v. Mississippi Public Service Commission, 187 So. 3d 597, 600 (Miss. 2016), is cited for the standard rule: when statutory words are clear and concise, courts apply their usual and ordinary meaning. The 1986 McGee opinion is the prior application of that rule to "costs incident to the sale."
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-59(2) (online tax sale authority)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 27-45-3 (redemption from tax sale)
Case:
- City of Tchula v. Mississippi Public Service Commission, 187 So. 3d 597, 600 (Miss. 2016), plain-meaning rule of statutory construction
Prior AG opinions referenced:
- MS AG Op., Morgan (Aug. 19, 2016)
- MS AG Op., McGee (Apr. 2, 1986), mailing of notices is part of the incidental cost of the sale
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/N.Anderson-March-13-2023-Auction-Expense-for-Tax-Sale.pdf
Original opinion text
March 13, 2023
The Honorable Nakia Stewart Anderson
Chancery Court Clerk, Wilkinson County
Post Office Box 516
Woodville, Mississippi 39669
Re: Auction Expense for Tax Sale
Dear Ms. Anderson:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Background
According to your request, Wilkinson County ("County") has contracted with an auction vendor to conduct its April 2023 sale of land on which taxes are due. The auction vendor conducts the sale on behalf of the County at a cost of $20 per parcel sold. These costs have historically been absorbed by the County.
Question Presented
May a $20 auction expense be assessed against persons entitled to redeem land sold for taxes as a "cost[] incident to the sale" as prescribed by Mississippi Code Annotated Section 27-45-3?
Brief Response
Yes. The $20 auction expense described in your request may be assessed against persons entitled to redeem land sold for taxes as a "cost[] incident to the sale" as prescribed by Section 27-45-3.
Applicable Law and Discussion
Section 27-41-59(2) allows a tax collector "to enter into an agreement with an online provider to conduct tax sales using online bidding and sale" so long as the agreement is ratified by the county board of supervisors. See also MS AG Op., Morgan at *1–2 (Aug. 19, 2016).
Section 27-45-3, referenced in your opinion request, outlines the requirements for persons entitled to redeem land sold for taxes. It provides, in part:
The owner, or any persons for him with his consent, or any person interested in the land sold for taxes, may redeem the same, or any part of it, where it is separable by legal subdivisions of not less than forty (40) acres, or any undivided interest in it, at any time within two (2) years after the day of sale, by paying to the chancery clerk, regardless of the amount of the purchaser's bid at the tax sale, the amount of all taxes for which the land was sold, with all costs incident to the sale, and five percent (5%) damages on the amount of taxes for which the land was sold, and interest on all such taxes and costs at the rate of one and one-half percent (1- ½ %) per month, or any fractional part thereof, from the date of such sale, and all costs that have accrued on the land since the sale, with interest thereon from the date such costs shall have accrued, at the rate of one and one-half percent (1- ½ %) per month, or any fractional part thereof . . . .
(Emphasis added).
The phrase "costs incident to the sale" as used in Section 27-45-3 is unambiguous, and the auction expense described in your request would meet this criterion. See City of Tchula v. Miss. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 187 So. 3d 597, 600 (Miss. 2016) ("No citation is needed for the principle that, where the words are clear and concise, courts and agencies are bound to apply their usual and ordinary meaning. Only if the words are unclear do we refer to other rules of statutory interpretation."); see also MS AG Op., McGee at *1 (Apr. 2, 1986) (concluding the expense of "mailing of notices is part of the incidental cost of the sale and may be assessed as Section 27-45-3 provides").
Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that an auction expense such as the one described in your request may be assessed against persons entitled to redeem land sold for taxes as a "cost[] incident to the sale" as prescribed in Section 27-45-3.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: /s/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General