Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB712 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
3	3	SENATE BILL NO. 712
4	4	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5	5	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
6	6	2766S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	To repeal sections 140.120, 140.250, 140.340, and 140.405, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof
9	9	four new sections relating to delinquent property taxes.
10	10
11	11	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
12	12	Section A. Sections 140.120, 140.250, 140.340, and 1
13	13	140.405, RSMo, are repealed and four new sections enacted in 2
14	14	lieu thereof, to be known as sections 140.120, 140.250, 140.340, 3
15	15	and 140.405, to read as follows:4
16	16	140.120. 1. If it appears to any county commissi on, 1
17	17	that any tract of land or town lot contained in the back tax 2
18	18	book is not worth the amount of taxes, interest and cost due 3
19	19	thereon, as charged in the back tax book or that the same 4
20	20	would not sell for the amount of the taxes, interest and 5
21	21	cost, the commission may compromise the taxes with the owner 6
22	22	of the tract or lot. Upon payment to the collector of the 7
23	23	amount agreed upon, a certificate of redemption shall be 8
24	24	issued under the seal of the commission, which shall release 9
25	25	the lands from the lien of the state and all taxes due 10
26	26	thereon, as charged on the back tax book. If the commission 11
27	27	compromises and accepts a less amount than appears to be due 12
28	28	on any tract of land or town lot, as charged on said back 13
29	29	tax book, the commission shall order the amount so paid to 14
30	30	be distributed to the various funds to which the taxes are 15
31	31	due, in proportion as the amount received bears to the whole 16
32	32	amount charged against the tract or lot. 17 SB 712 2
33	33	2. Prior to commencing the sale of any property to 18
34	34	satisfy delinquent taxes, interest, and penalties, the 19
35	35	collector shall, by registered mail, notify the property 20
36	36	owner of such property that the property owner may negotiate 21
37	37	a compromise on any delinquent taxes, interest, and 22
38	38	penalties. Notwithstanding any provision o f law to the 23
39	39	contrary, any such compromise shall not include a reduction 24
40	40	in the amount of property tax owed, but may include an 25
41	41	agreement to pay such amount in installments over a period 26
42	42	not to exceed three years, and may include, at the 27
43	43	collector's discretion, a waiver of all or part of interest 28
44	44	and penalties owned. If no such agreement is in place by 29
45	45	April first, the collector may proceed to sell the property 30
46	46	pursuant to this chapter. 31
47	47	140.250. 1. Whenever any lands have been or shall 1
48	48	hereafter be offered for sale for delinquent taxes, 2
49	49	interest, penalty and costs by the collector of the proper 3
50	50	county for any two successive years and no person shall have 4
51	51	bid therefor a sum equal to the delinquent taxes thereon, 5
52	52	interest, penalty and costs provided by law, then such 6
53	53	county collector shall at the next regular tax sale of lands 7
54	54	for delinquent taxes sell same to the highest bidder, except 8
55	55	the highest bid shall not be less than the sum equal to the 9
56	56	delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and costs, and , 10
57	57	except as provided in subsection 6 of section 140.340, there 11
58	58	shall be a ninety-day period of redemption from such sales 12
59	59	as specified in section 140.405. 13
60	60	2. A certificate of purchase shall be issued as to 14
61	61	such sales, and the purchaser at such sales shall be 15
62	62	entitled to the issuance and delivery of a collector's deed 16
63	63	upon completion of title search action as specified in 17
64	64	section 140.405. 18 SB 712 3
65	65	3. If any lands or lots are not sold at such third 19
66	66	offering, then the colle ctor shall advertise or offer such 20
67	67	lands or lots for sale once every thirty days. 21
68	68	4. A purchaser at any sale subsequent to the third 22
69	69	offering of any land or lots, whether by the collector or a 23
70	70	trustee as provided in section 140.260, shall be entit led to 24
71	71	the immediate issuance and delivery of a collector's deed 25
72	72	and there shall be no period of redemption from such post - 26
73	73	third year sales; provided, however, before any purchaser at 27
74	74	a sale to which this section is applicable shall be entitled 28
75	75	to a collector's deed it shall be the duty of the collector 29
76	76	to demand, and the purchaser to pay, in addition to the 30
77	77	purchaser's bid, all taxes due and unpaid on such lands or 31
78	78	lots that become due and payable on such lands or lots 32
79	79	subsequent to the date of th e taxes included in such 33
80	80	advertisement and sale. The collector's deed or trustee's 34
81	81	deed shall have priority over all other liens or 35
82	82	encumbrances on the property sold except for real property 36
83	83	taxes. 37
84	84	5. A purchaser at any sale subsequent to the th ird 38
85	85	offering of any land or lots, whether by the collector or a 39
86	86	trustee as provided in section 140.260, may elect to proceed 40
87	87	under subsection 1 of this section and subsection 6 of 41
88	88	section 140.405 by giving notice to the collector prior to 42
89	89	the issuance of a collector's deed. 43
90	90	6. In the event the real purchaser at any sale to 44
91	91	which this section is applicable shall be the owner of the 45
92	92	lands or lots purchased, or shall be obligated to pay the 46
93	93	taxes for the nonpayment of which such lands or lots wer e 47
94	94	sold, then no collector's deed shall be issued to such 48
95	95	purchaser, or to anyone acting for or on behalf of such 49
96	96	purchaser, without payment to the collector of such 50 SB 712 4
97	97	additional amount as will discharge in full all delinquent 51
98	98	taxes, penalty, interest an d costs. 52
99	99	140.340. 1. Upon paying the reasonable and customary 1
100	100	costs of sale to the county collector for the use of the 2
101	101	purchaser, his or her heirs, successors, or assigns; the 3
102	102	owner; lienholder; or occupant of any land or lot sold f or 4
103	103	taxes, or any other persons having an interest therein, 5
104	104	shall, except as provided in subsection 6 of this section, 6
105	105	have the absolute right to redeem the same at any time 7
106	106	during the one year next ensuing and shall continue to have 8
107	107	a defeasible right to redeem the same until such time as the 9
108	108	tax sale purchaser acquires the deed, at which time the 10
109	109	right to redeem shall expire, provided upon the expiration 11
110	110	of the lien evidenced by a certificate of purchase under 12
111	111	section 140.410 no redemption shall b e required. 13
112	112	2. The reasonable and customary costs of sale include 14
113	113	all costs incurred in selling and foreclosing tax liens 15
114	114	under this chapter, and such reasonable and customary costs 16
115	115	shall include the following: the full sum of the purchase 17
116	116	money named in the certificate of purchase and all the costs 18
117	117	of the sale, including the cost to record the certificate of 19
118	118	purchase as required in section 140.290, the fee necessary 20
119	119	for the collector to record the release of such certificate 21
120	120	of purchase, and the reasonable and customary cost of the 22
121	121	title search and postage costs of notification required in 23
122	122	sections 140.150 to 140.405, together with interest at the 24
123	123	rate specified in such certificate, not to exceed ten 25
124	124	percent annually, except on a sum paid by a purchaser in 26
125	125	excess of the delinquent taxes due plus costs of the sale 27
126	126	incurred by the collector, no interest shall be owing on the 28
127	127	excess amount, with all subsequent taxes which have been 29
128	128	paid thereon by the purchaser, his or her heirs or assign s 30 SB 712 5
129	129	with interest at the rate of eight percent per annum on such 31
130	130	taxes subsequently paid, and in addition thereto the person 32
131	131	redeeming any land shall pay the costs incident to entry of 33
132	132	recital of such redemption; provided, however, that no costs 34
133	133	incurred by tax sale purchasers in providing notice of tax 35
134	134	sale redemption rights required by law shall be reimbursable 36
135	135	as a reasonable and customary cost of sale unless such costs 37
136	136	are incurred after March first following the date of 38
137	137	purchase of the tax sale certificate by said tax sale 39
138	138	purchaser at a first or second offering delinquent tax sale. 40
139	139	3. Upon deposit with the county collector of the 41
140	140	amount necessary to redeem as herein provided, it shall be 42
141	141	the duty of the county collector to mail to the p urchaser, 43
142	142	his or her heirs or assigns, at the last post office address 44
143	143	if known, and if not known, then to the address of the 45
144	144	purchaser as shown in the record of the certificate of 46
145	145	purchase, notice of such deposit for redemption. 47
146	146	4. Such notice, given as herein provided, shall stop 48
147	147	payment to the purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns of any 49
148	148	further interest or penalty. 50
149	149	5. The reasonable and customary costs of sale needed 51
150	150	to redeem any land or lot sold for taxes under this section 52
151	151	shall be determined by the collector. 53
152	152	6. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 54
153	153	contrary, and in the absence of a compromise entered into 55
154	154	pursuant to subsection 2 of section 140.120, for all 56
155	155	property actually occupied by the owner of record as the 57
156	156	primary residence and that is sold for delinquent taxes on 58
157	157	or after January 1, 2026, the purchaser of such delinquent 59
158	158	property at auction shall not acquire the deed to or take 60
159	159	possession of the delinquent property unless the owner of 61
160	160	record has transferred ownership pursuant to subsection 3 of 62 SB 712 6
161	161	section 140.405 or has otherwise vacated the property for a 63
162	162	period of thirty days or more. 64
163	163	140.405. 1. Any person purchasing property at a 1
164	164	delinquent land tax auction shall not acquire the deed to 2
165	165	the real estate, as provided for in section 140.250 or 3
166	166	140.420, until the person meets the requirements of this 4
167	167	section, except that such requirements shall not apply to 5
168	168	post-third-year sales, which shall be conducted under 6
169	169	subsection 4 of section 140.250. The purchaser shall obtain 7
170	170	a title search report from a licensed attorney or licensed 8
171	171	title company detailing the ownership and encumbrances on 9
172	172	the property. 10
173	173	2. At least ninety days prior to the date when a 11
174	174	purchaser is authorized to acquire the deed, the purchaser 12
175	175	shall notify the owner of record and any person who holds a 13
176	176	publicly recorded unreleased deed of trust, mortgage, lease, 14
177	177	lien, judgment, or any other publicly recorded claim upon 15
178	178	that real estate of such person's rig ht to redeem the 16
179	179	property. Notice shall be sent by both first class mail and 17
180	180	certified mail return receipt requested to such person's 18
181	181	last known available address. If the certified mail return 19
182	182	receipt is returned signed, the first class mail notice i s 20
183	183	not returned, the first class mail notice is refused where 21
184	184	noted by the United States Postal Service, or any 22
185	185	combination thereof, notice shall be presumed received by 23
186	186	the recipient. At the conclusion of the applicable 24
187	187	redemption period, the purchas er shall make an affidavit in 25
188	188	accordance with subsection 5 of this section. 26
189	189	3. If the owner of record or the holder of any other 27
190	190	publicly recorded claim on the property intends to transfer 28
191	191	ownership or execute any additional liens or encumbrances on 29
192	192	the property, such owner shall first redeem such property 30 SB 712 7
193	193	under section 140.340. The failure to comply with redeeming 31
194	194	the property first before executing any of such actions or 32
195	195	agreements on the property shall require the owner of record 33
196	196	or any other publicly recorded claim on the property to 34
197	197	reimburse the purchaser for the total bid as recorded on the 35
198	198	certificate of purchase and all the costs of the sale 36
199	199	required in sections 140.150 to 140.405. 37
200	200	4. In the case that both the certified notic e return 38
201	201	receipt card is returned unsigned and the first class mail 39
202	202	is returned for any reason except refusal, where the notice 40
203	203	is returned undeliverable, then the purchaser shall attempt 41
204	204	additional notice and certify in the purchaser's affidavit 42
205	205	to the collector that such additional notice was attempted 43
206	206	and by what means. 44
207	207	5. The purchaser shall notify the county collector by 45
208	208	affidavit of the date that every required notice was sent to 46
209	209	the owner of record and, if applicable, any other publicly 47
210	210	recorded claim on the property. To the affidavit, the 48
211	211	purchaser shall attach a copy of a valid title search report 49
212	212	as described in subsection 1 of this section as well as 50
213	213	completed copies of the following for each recipient: 51
214	214	(1) Notices of right to redeem sent by first class 52
215	215	mail; 53
216	216	(2) Notices of right to redeem sent by certified mail; 54
217	217	(3) Addressed envelopes for all notices, as they 55
218	218	appeared immediately before mailing; 56
219	219	(4) Certified mail receipt as it appeared upon its 57
220	220	return; and 58
221	221	(5) Any returned regular mailed envelopes. 59
222	222	As provided in this section, at such time the purchaser 60
223	223	notifies the collector by affidavit that all the ninety 61 SB 712 8
224	224	days' notice requirements of this section have been met, the 62
225	225	purchaser is authorize d to acquire the deed, provided that a 63
226	226	collector's deed shall not be acquired before the expiration 64
227	227	date of the redemption period as provided in section 140.340. 65
228	228	6. If any real estate is purchased at a third -offering 66
229	229	tax auction and has a publicly recorded unreleased deed of 67
230	230	trust, mortgage, lease, lien, judgment, or any other 68
231	231	publicly recorded claim upon the real estate under this 69
232	232	section, the purchaser of said property shall within forty - 70
233	233	five days after the purchase at the sale notify such pe rson 71
234	234	of the person's right to redeem the property within ninety 72
235	235	days from the postmark date on the notice , unless otherwise 73
236	236	exempted pursuant to subsection 6 of section 140.340 . 74
237	237	Notice shall be sent by both first class mail and certified 75
238	238	mail return receipt requested to such person's last known 76
239	239	available address. The purchaser shall notify the county 77
240	240	collector by affidavit of the date the required notice was 78
241	241	sent to the owner of record and, if applicable, the holder 79
242	242	of any other publicly recorded claim on the property, that 80
243	243	such person shall, except as provided in subsection 6 of 81
244	244	section 140.340, have ninety days to redeem said property or 82
245	245	be forever barred from redeeming said property. 83
246	246	7. If the county collector chooses to have the title 84
247	247	search done then the county collector may charge the 85
248	248	purchaser the cost of the title search before giving the 86
249	249	purchaser a deed pursuant to section 140.420. 87
250	250	8. Failure of the purchaser to comply with this 88
251	251	section shall result in such purchaser's loss of all 89
252	252	interest in the real estate except as otherwise provided in 90
253	253	sections 140.550 and 140.570. 91
254	254	9. The phrase "authorized to acquire the deed" as used 92
255	255	in this chapter shall mean the date chosen by the tax sale 93 SB 712 9
256	256	purchaser that is more than th e minimum redemption period 94
257	257	set forth in section 140.340 if the tax sale purchaser has 95
258	258	complied with the following requirements entitling the 96
259	259	purchaser to the issuance of a collector's deed: 97
260	260	(1) Compliance with the requirements of this section 98
261	261	to the satisfaction of the collector; 99
262	262	(2) Payment of the recording fee for the collector's 100
263	263	deed as required under section 140.410; 101
264	264	(3) Production of the original of the certificate of 102
265	265	purchase as required under section 140.420, or production of 103
266	266	an original affidavit of lost or destroyed certificate 104
267	267	approved by the collector as to form and substance; and 105
268	268	(4) Payment of all subsequent taxes required to be 106
269	269	paid under section 140.440. 107
270	270	10. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 108
271	271	contrary, any person except a minor or an incapacitated or 109
272	272	disabled person may receive notice under this section in a 110
273	273	foreign country or outside the United States: 111
274	274	(1) By any internationally agreed -upon means of 112
275	275	service that is reasonably calculate d to give notice, such 113
276	276	as the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial 114
277	277	and Extrajudicial Documents; 115
278	278	(2) If there is no internationally agreed -upon means 116
279	279	of service, or if an international agreement allows service 117
280	280	but does not specify th e means, by a method that is 118
281	281	reasonably calculated to give notice; 119
282	282	(3) As set forth for the foreign country's acceptable 120
283	283	method of service in actions in courts of general 121
284	284	jurisdiction; 122
285	285	(4) As the foreign country directs in response to a 123
286	286	letter of request; 124 SB 712 10
287	287	(5) Unless prohibited by a foreign country's law, by 125
288	288	delivering a copy of the notice to the person personally or 126
289	289	using a form of mail that requires a signed receipt; or 127
290	290	(6) By any other means not prohibited by international 128
291	291	agreement as approved by the collector. 129
292	292	