Tax Sale Overages: How to Claim Excess Proceeds, Step by Step
When a property is sold for unpaid taxes and the winning bid is higher than what was owed, the difference is called the overage, surplus or excess proceeds. Since Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court has held that a government that keeps more than the tax debt takes the owner's property. That money belongs, first, to anyone with a lien on the property, and then to the former owner.
It does not arrive on its own. In almost every state someone has to file a claim, with the right office, within a deadline that ranges from 90 days to several years — and once it passes, the money can go to the county, the state or a school fund. This guide walks through the claim in six steps, then covers the companies that offer to do it for a cut: what they are allowed to charge, and where their contracts are void.
What overages are, with an example
The same money goes by many names: overages, excess proceeds, surplus funds, excess funds, overbid. They all mean what is left of the sale price after the tax debt, interest, penalties and the costs of the sale are paid. Overages arise at deed sales, where bidders pay for the property, not at lien sales, where they bid a rate.
Illustrative example. A house with $12,000 of unpaid taxes, interest and costs sells at a tax deed auction for $60,000. The overage is $48,000. If a mortgage of $30,000 was still recorded against the house, the lender is paid first and the former owner can claim the remaining $18,000. If there was no mortgage, the whole $48,000 is the former owner's, but only if they claim it in time. The order of payment is set by each state; step 3 below gives examples.
Why the money belongs to the owner: Tyler v. Hennepin County
For a long time several states let the government keep the whole sale price. In Tyler v. Hennepin County, Geraldine Tyler owed about $15,000 in taxes and costs on her Minneapolis condominium; the county took it, sold it for $40,000 and kept the $25,000 difference, as Minnesota law then allowed. The Supreme Court held unanimously in May 2023 that keeping more than the debt is a taking of property without just compensation (598 U.S. 631). States with "county keeps it" rules have since rewritten them: Minnesota for forfeitures from 2024, Oregon in 2025 (HB 2089), Illinois in 2026 (Public Act 104-553). The details of each state's new process are in our surplus funds by state hub.
Step 1: Find out whether there is a surplus
Start with the office that ran the sale, because it is the one holding the money. Many publish a list. Our directory of official county surplus lists links the ones we have found and checked, and says which large counties do not publish one. If your county is not there, call or write to the treasurer, tax collector or clerk named on the sale notice and ask whether surplus is being held for the parcel, and how much. You do not need a lawyer or a recovery firm to ask.
Some states make the first move for you. Florida's clerk mails a notice of surplus funds to the former owner and recorded interest holders (Fla. Stat. § 197.582). New Mexico searches for the former owner before writing the money off. Montana's treasurer must pay the surplus on an owner-occupied home within 30 days, with no claim needed (Mont. Code Ann. § 15-18-221(3)), and Nebraska puts the burden on the investor who takes the deed, who must pay the surplus within 30 days (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-1838).
Step 2: Identify who holds it, and the deadline
The holder and the clock differ by state, and they are the two facts that decide whether the claim succeeds. A few examples:
- Florida: 120 days from the clerk's mailed notice, not from the sale.
- Texas: the district clerk holds it, and claiming it means filing a petition in the court that ordered the sale.
- Nevada: exactly one year from the recording of the deed; after that the county keeps it and it "must not thereafter be refunded" (NRS 361.610(4)).
- Missouri: 90 days after the redemption period ends, with competing claims decided at an interpleader hearing.
- Michigan: Form 5743, which must be filed by July 1 following the foreclosure.
- Georgia: no short deadline, but after five years the state takes it.
The table at the end of this guide lists every state, with a link to our guide to that state's claim.
Step 3: Check who is paid first
Former owners are usually last in line. Lienholders — a mortgage lender, a judgment creditor, a homeowners' association with a recorded lien — come first, up to what they are owed. Florida pays governmental liens first, then other recorded lienholders, then the person who held title at the time of the sale. Colorado gives lienholders whose liens were recorded before the deed application eight business days after the auction to file, pays them in order of recording, and only then releases the rest to the former owner (C.R.S. 39-11.5-303, 39-11.5-112(1)). Idaho gives lienholders 60 days after notice. If a mortgage was still unpaid, expect much of the surplus to go to the lender.
Step 4: Gather the documents
Most claims need the same core papers: the claim form the office uses, a government photo ID, and proof that you held title, or a recorded interest, when the property was sold — a copy of the deed, or a title or recorder's search. Many counties want the form notarized; South Carolina counties publish their own notarized overage claim forms online, which makes it one of the easiest states to file in without help.
If the owner has died, heirs need proof of the right to inherit: letters of administration or testamentary from a probate court, or the affidavit of heirship the office accepts. Some states limit who can claim. In Arkansas, heirs can claim only within the first degree — parents, children or siblings (26 CAR §§ 400-402, 400-403). Ask the office which documents it accepts before you order certified copies.
Step 5: File the claim, or the petition
In many counties the claim is a form filed with the treasurer or clerk. In others it is a court case. Texas excess proceeds are paid out by the district court that handled the tax suit. Delaware has no claim form: you file a petition in Superior Court. North Carolina's surplus is held by the Clerk of Superior Court and claimed in a special proceeding; Tennessee's by the Chancery Court Clerk and Master, on a motion; Kentucky's is paid out in the foreclosure case itself. In Indiana, the owner can claim directly from the county, but a finder, executor, attorney-in-fact or guardian is paid only as the tax sale court directs, on a petition filed within three years of the sale (IC 6-1.1-24-7(d)–(e)). A court filing does not always need a lawyer, but it does need to be done correctly; legal aid organizations and court self-help centers can help with the forms.
Step 6: If the deadline has passed
A missed deadline is not always the end. In several states unclaimed surplus moves to the state's unclaimed property program, where it can still be claimed, for free: Utah treats tax sale excess as unclaimed property by statute (Utah Code § 59-2-1351.1(7)); Colorado sends larger amounts to the State Treasurer after two years; North Dakota moves it to the state unclaimed-property office after 90 days; South Dakota after the county has tried to find the owner for 180 days; Oregon to the State Treasurer, where the claim is free. Search your state's unclaimed property database, or MissingMoney.com, which searches many states at once. In other states the money is gone: Nevada's county keeps it after a year, and West Virginia's goes to the state school fund after two.
Recovery firms: what they can charge, and where their contracts are void
Surplus lists are public, so companies watch them and contact former owners offering to recover the money for a percentage. Some do real work, especially when a court petition or an estate is involved. Their fee is a percentage of the surplus set in their contract, often for a claim the owner could file alone. A number of states regulate them:
| State | Rule on finders and assignments | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | A recovery agent's contract cannot take more than 10%. Heirs can claim only within the first degree (parents, children, siblings). | 26 CAR §§ 400-402, 400-403 |
| Colorado | A finder agreement is enforceable only if the fee is at most 10% and it was signed at least two years after the money was transferred. | C.R.S. 39-11.5-112(2)(c) |
| Indiana | Finder fee capped at 10% of the amount collected; the agreement must be in writing and signed by the owner, and a third party is paid only as the tax sale court directs, on a petition filed within three years. | IC 6-1.1-24-7(d)–(e), 6-1.1-24-7.5 |
| Nevada | Finder fees capped at 10% of the excess, for any individual claimant and anyone collecting under a power of attorney or assignment. | NRS 361.610(11)–(12) |
| Texas | An owner's claim can be assigned only from the 36th day after the money is deposited, in writing, not as a result of in-person or telephone solicitation, with at least 80% of the claim paid on the day of assignment and a sworn statement that the transfer was voluntary. | Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f) |
| Oklahoma | An assignment of the right to excess proceeds made on or after the day the county resale began is not valid. | 68 O.S. § 3131(D) |
| Michigan | The right to claim cannot be sold or assigned, except through inheritance. | MCL 211.78t(11) |
| Oregon | Assignments of a surplus claim are void, except protective ones such as in a bankruptcy or a guardianship. | HB 2089 (2025), §§ 5, 9 |
| Utah (Utah County) | By county ordinance, an unlicensed "fee finder" — anyone who is not a licensed attorney or CPA — may charge no more than 20% of the amount collected. | Utah County ordinance |
| Washington | The 5% finder cap that recovery firms still quote (RCW 63.29.350) was repealed on January 1, 2023, with the old unclaimed property law. | Laws of 2022, ch. 225 |
What a cap is worth in dollars: on a $25,000 Nevada surplus, the county first keeps $300 plus 10% of the next $10,000 — $1,300 — leaving $23,700 (NRS 361.610). A finder there can take at most 10%, about $2,370. A contract for a third of the surplus would have taken about $7,900.
Where there is no cap, the contract is a private agreement and the percentage is whatever you sign. Before you sign anything:
- Ask the office that holds the money how to claim it yourself, and what the deadline is. If the answer is a one-page form, you may not need help.
- Read whether the contract is an agreement to help you claim, or an assignment that sells your claim. In Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan and Oregon an assignment outside the statute's terms is void.
- Check the percentage against the state's cap, if it has one, and against the work involved. A court petition or a contested estate is real work; a notarized form usually is not.
- Make sure the firm is paid out of the money recovered, not upfront.
If you are the investor
Surplus rules do not change what a property is worth to you, but they change what your overbid means. Everything you bid above the debt goes to lienholders and the former owner, not into the county budget, and you have no claim on it as the buyer. A large gap between the debt and the likely price is also a sign that the owner, or a recovery firm acting for them, will be watching the sale. If you want to work on the other side, as a finder, check first whether the state caps fees or voids assignments (table above), and remember that contacting owners in person or by phone can make a Texas assignment invalid (Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f)).
Common mistakes
- Counting the deadline from the sale. Florida's 120 days run from the clerk's notice, Missouri's 90 days from the end of redemption, Connecticut's 90 days from when the money is deposited with the court. Read the start point, not just the length.
- Not updating your address. Notices go to the address on the tax roll. If you have moved, tell the treasurer, in writing, as soon as you learn of the sale.
- Selling the claim cheaply. An offer to buy your claim for a fraction of its value is an assignment; several states void them, and none require you to accept one.
- Forgetting the lienholders. If there was a mortgage, the lender may take most of the surplus. Ask for the payout order before you count on an amount.
- Assuming it is gone. Even after a deadline, check the state's unclaimed property database. In several states, the money is waiting there.
Every state: who holds the surplus and the deadline
One line per state, from our state-by-state guides, each of which cites the statute and the claim process.
| State | In short |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Surplus can arise at the lien-sale stage itself, before any deed changes hands. |
| Alaska | You only get the surplus if the borough resells within 10 years and never put the land to public use — then 6 months from that sale to claim. |
| Arizona | Usually no surplus at all — the owner has to request an excess proceeds sale. |
| Arkansas | Runs through the state Commissioner of State Lands, not the county — and unclaimed funds go to the county, not the state. |
| California | Had a real excess proceeds law decades before Tyler — 1-year window, lienholders paid first. |
| Colorado | A public auction is required since July 2024, and SB26-144 rewrote it in 2026: unclaimed overbid goes to the State Treasurer after 2 years. |
| Connecticut | The 90-day clock starts when funds are deposited with the court — not on the sale date. |
| Delaware | No claim form — recovering it means filing an actual petition in Superior Court. |
| District of Columbia | Under the standard process, the surplus goes back to the investor, not the former owner. |
| Florida | 120-day claim window from the mailed notice — miss it and it's gone for good. |
| Georgia | No short deadline, but wait 5 years and the state takes it. |
| Hawaii | Four counties, four rules: Hawaii County gives lienholders 1 year and owners 2, Kauai's list runs on 1 year, and Honolulu and Maui set no deadline. |
| Idaho | Lienholders get a hard 60-day window after notice; what remains goes to the former owner, often through the State Treasurer's unclaimed property program. |
| Illinois | The last state to comply with Tyler v. Hennepin — HB 4537 rewrote the rules in July 2026. |
| Indiana | A separate county surplus fund — claims need sign-off from both the auditor and the treasurer, and unclaimed money goes to the general fund after 3 years. |
| Iowa | No cash overbid exists to claim — but a 2026 lawsuit argues losing a $37,500 home over a $2,441 debt is the same equity theft Tyler v. Hennepin banned, just paid in property instead of cash. |
| Kansas | Paid by court order after the sheriff's sale — but if the county takes the deed and resells later, the money goes to the taxing funds (79-2805). |
| Kentucky | The clerk sells certificates, not land: a surplus only arises at a circuit court foreclosure sale, and that court case is where it gets paid out. |
| Louisiana | An affidavit when a parish or city sells (§ 2211), the court registry after a certificate holder's sheriff's sale (§ 2267) — 1 year either way. |
| Maine | The town has to list your house with a broker and sell it, not auction it off cheap. |
| Maryland | Two separate pots of money — the investor's bid premium refund, and the owner's actual surplus. |
| Massachusetts | The foreclosure and the surplus dispute happen in two different courts. |
| Michigan | Michigan's own Supreme Court beat Tyler by 3 years. Form 5743, due by July 1. |
| Minnesota | The state behind Tyler v. Hennepin itself — plus a separate settlement fund for pre-reform cases. |
| Mississippi | The 2-year clock starts when redemption ends, not at the sale — and redeeming cancels the claim. |
| Missouri | Just 90 days after redemption ends — and competing claims go to an interpleader hearing. |
| Montana | Only owner-occupied homes go to auction, and there the treasurer must pay you the surplus within 30 days — no claim needed (§ 15-18-221(3)). |
| Nebraska | The burden is flipped: an investor who takes the deed has to pay you the surplus within 30 days, not the other way around (§ 77-1838). |
| Nevada | Exactly 1 year from the deed recording, lienholders first, after the county keeps $300 + 10% of the next $10,000 — miss it and the county keeps the rest. |
| New Hampshire | The statute's 3-year deadline is still on the books — but the state's own Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. |
| New Jersey | Premium bidding pays the municipality, not the owner — the real recovery route is separate. |
| New Mexico | The state actually searches for you before writing the money off as abandoned. |
| New York | Since 2024 (RPTL Article 11, Title 6), the enforcing officer must work out any surplus within 45 days of the sale and pay it into court; county paperwork varies. |
| North Carolina | Held by the Clerk of Superior Court, not the tax office — a special proceeding, not a form. |
| North Dakota | Just 90 days to claim after the county auction, then it moves to the state unclaimed-property office. |
| Ohio | Held by the clerk of courts first, then 3 years with the county treasurer (R.C. 5721.20) — after that the county keeps it. |
| Oklahoma | Only 1 year to claim — and your claim right legally can't be bought or sold once the resale starts. |
| Oregon | HB 4056 (2024) and HB 2089 (2025): the surplus earns interest, is set within 60 days and goes to the State Treasurer, where you can claim it free. |
| Pennsylvania | Depends which sale — Upset Sale surplus is rare, Judicial Sale is where it actually shows up. |
| Rhode Island | Surplus only arises when a town resells land without foreclosure — then 5 years to claim, and unclaimed money stays with the town, not the state. |
| South Carolina | Most counties publish their own notarized "overage" claim form online — one of the easiest states to self-file. |
| South Dakota | The county has to try to find you for 180 days before the money moves to the state unclaimed-property system. |
| Tennessee | Held by the Chancery Court Clerk and Master, not the tax office — a court motion, not a form. |
| Texas | Held by the district clerk, not the treasurer — claiming it means filing a court petition. |
| Utah | By statute it is unclaimed property (§ 59-2-1351.1(7)); Utah County holds it 90 days, wants a court order and caps fee finders at 20% by ordinance. |
| Vermont | The statute is silent, but towns are told the excess belongs to the former owner: paid out, or held in escrow until the redemption year ends. |
| Virginia | A commissioner in chancery may review the claim — 2 years, then it goes to the locality. |
| Washington | Owners can redeem only until the day before the sale — then 3 years to claim the excess before the county keeps it. |
| West Virginia | Miss the 2-year window and it goes to the state school fund, not back to the county. |
| Wisconsin | Since Act 207 (in force March 24, 2024), a county that takes land by tax deed must advertise it for sale within 240 days (180 from 2026) and mail the former owner the net proceeds (§ 75.36(2m)). Takings before April 2022 are outside these rules. |
| Wyoming | Most Wyoming tax sales produce no surplus at all — only the less-common judicial foreclosure route does. |
Frequently asked questions
What are tax sale overages?
Overages, also called excess proceeds, surplus funds or excess funds, are the part of a tax sale price that is left after the tax debt, interest, penalties and the costs of the sale are paid. Since Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023) a government may not keep them: they go to lienholders in order of priority and then to the former owner, who usually has to file a claim.
How do I recover a tax sale overage?
Find out from the office that ran the sale whether surplus is being held and the deadline; check who is paid ahead of you; gather a claim form, photo ID and proof that you held title or a recorded interest at the time of the sale; then file the claim with the treasurer, tax collector or clerk, or a petition with the court where the state requires one. If the deadline has passed, check the state's unclaimed property program.
How long do I have to claim excess proceeds?
It depends on the state and on when the clock starts. Florida allows 120 days from the clerk's mailed notice; Nevada exactly one year from the recording of the deed; Missouri 90 days after the redemption period ends; Georgia's money goes to the state after five years. The table on this page gives every state.
Do I need a surplus recovery company to claim tax deed overages?
Usually not. Most claims are a form filed with the county, and several counties say no third party is needed. Some states cap what a finder can charge (10% in Nevada, Indiana, Colorado and Arkansas) and others void assignments of the claim (Texas outside its statutory conditions, Oklahoma, Michigan, Oregon). Read the contract and the state's rule before signing.
Can an investor claim tax deed overages?
Not as the buyer. The buyer's overbid is the surplus, and it belongs to lienholders and the former owner. Investors can only claim if they held a recorded lien on the property before the sale, or, where the state allows it, by taking an assignment or acting as a finder within the state's limits.
Sources
- Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023)
- Fla. Stat. § 197.582
- Tex. Tax Code § 34.04
- NRS 361.610
- IC 6-1.1-24-7 and 6-1.1-24-7.5
- C.R.S. 39-11.5-112, 39-11.5-303
- Code of Arkansas Rules, 26 CAR §§ 400-402, 400-403 (Commissioner of State Lands)
- 68 O.S. § 3131; MCL 211.78t; Oregon HB 2089 (2025); Mont. Code Ann. § 15-18-221; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-1838
- Utah Code title 59, ch. 2, part 13 (§ 59-2-1351.1)
Each state guide in the table above has its own sources. For the rule in every state, see the surplus funds by state hub and the official county surplus lists. For how the sale that creates the surplus works, see how a tax deed auction works.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Claim deadlines, forms and finder rules change and vary by county. Confirm them with the office holding the money, and consider a licensed attorney for a court petition or an estate.