The St. Louis County tax delinquent list is a public record of every parcel with unpaid real estate or personal property taxes, kept by the county Collector of Revenue. You can search it online through the county’s property tax inquiry portal at taxpayments.stlouiscountymo.gov, or in person at the Collector of Revenue’s office at 41 South Central Avenue in Clayton.1St. Louis County Government. Revenue2City of St. Louis. City Government Structure3St. Louis County Government. Collector of Revenue
How to Search the List
The online inquiry tool is the fastest option. Enter an address or account number and the portal returns the parcel, the balance owed, the tax years involved, and current payment status. If an account is complicated, or you need paper records, the collector’s office in Clayton can pull the file and walk you through it.
As the annual tax sale gets close, Missouri law also requires the county collector to send written notice to owners and publish the delinquent list in a local newspaper of record. If a property shows up in one of those published notices, the window to pay before the sale is short.
What Each Entry Shows
Every listing carries the owner’s name as it appears on the most recent assessment and a locator number — the parcel ID used across the county’s mapping and tax records. You’ll find the same locator on prior tax bills, on assessment notices, and in the online portal. The record separates the tax years that are unpaid so you can see whether the account is one year behind or several, and it lists the base tax for each year apart from the penalties and charges that have piled on since.
Penalties on Unpaid Property Taxes
Missouri applies an 18 percent penalty on each year’s unpaid amount once a property lands on the back tax rolls. If you pay the account off before the property reaches the tax sale, the penalty is capped at 2 percent per month or any fraction of a month. A property five months delinquent when it clears owes 10 percent on top of the original tax, not the full 18 percent. Once a property enters the sale process, the full annual penalty applies, and the county adds costs for advertising, legal notices, and administrative processing.
The math adds up quickly on accounts with several years of missed payments. Each additional month before payoff adds another 2 percent, and interest running on multiple years of tax combines into a much larger figure than the original bill.
How to Pay and Clear the Delinquency
The county takes several forms of payment, each with its own cost. Credit cards carry a 2.29 percent convenience fee. Debit cards are charged 0.85 percent with a $2.00 minimum. Electronic checks cost a flat $0.50.4St. Louis County Government. How Can I Pay My Taxes and Are There Any Fees? On a large delinquent balance, credit card fees alone can add hundreds of dollars, so an electronic check is usually the cheapest online option.
You can also drop off a payment at a county office or mail a check or money order to the Collector of Revenue in Clayton. Send the tax bill or enough account information with any payment so it posts to the correct parcel. After the county processes the payment, it issues a receipt and updates the electronic records within a few business days, at which point the property comes off the delinquent list.4St. Louis County Government. How Can I Pay My Taxes and Are There Any Fees?
Before you pay, make sure you’re working from a current payoff that includes penalties and any sale-related costs, not the amount from an old bill. Use the portal or call the collector’s office to confirm the exact figure. Paying short leaves the delinquency in place.
If You Don’t Pay: The Tax Sale
Any property still delinquent on January 1 is subject to enforcement by the county collector.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 140.010 – County Collector, Enforcement of State’s Lien That enforcement leads to the annual tax sale, which St. Louis County has held in late August. The 2025 sale began August 25.
At the sale, the collector auctions the delinquent tax debt to the person willing to pay the taxes, interest, and charges owed on a parcel. Bidders must be Missouri residents, or, if nonresidents, must file written consent to the jurisdiction of the local circuit court and appoint a Missouri agent. No one currently delinquent on their own property taxes can bid, and every bidder signs an affidavit to that effect.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 140.190 – Period of Sale, Manner of Bids, Prohibited Sales
What the Winning Bidder Gets
A successful bidder does not walk away with the property. What they receive is a certificate of purchase, which is essentially a lien.7Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 140.250 – Certificate of Purchase, Collector’s Deed The original owner keeps all rights during the redemption period and can continue to live in the home, rent it out, or otherwise use it. The certificate holder has no right to enter the property, change locks, or act as owner until the full legal process is complete.
Redemption
After the first or second offering at a tax sale, the owner can reclaim the property by paying the full purchase amount on the certificate, all costs of the sale, recording fees, title search and postage costs, and interest at the rate stated on the certificate, which cannot exceed 10 percent per year on the purchase amount. If the certificate holder has paid later years’ taxes on the property, the owner has to reimburse those too, with 8 percent interest.8Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 140.340 – Redemption of Land
If nobody redeems within the allowed period, the certificate holder can apply for a collector’s deed. Before the county issues it, the purchaser has to pay all current taxes on the property, complete a title search, and file an affidavit showing they gave proper notice to the owner and anyone else with a recorded interest at least 90 days before requesting the deed.9Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 140.405 – Collector’s Deed Requirements Only after each of those steps does ownership actually transfer.
The Third-Offering Trap
The picture changes sharply once a property has gone through three consecutive annual sales without selling or being redeemed. On the fourth offering, the purchaser is entitled to an immediate collector’s deed with no redemption period. The deed takes priority over almost all other claims on the property except current real estate taxes.7Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 140.250 – Certificate of Purchase, Collector’s Deed At that point the original owner has permanently lost the property. Owners who assume they can always catch up next year are the ones most likely to run out of chances.
Personal Property Taxes and Vehicle Registration
The delinquent list is not only about real estate. Missouri requires a paid personal property tax receipt or a tax waiver (formally, a statement of non-assessment) to register a vehicle or renew license plates. If you owe personal property taxes in St. Louis County and haven’t paid, the Missouri Department of Revenue won’t process your vehicle paperwork.
A waiver is available when you didn’t owe personal property tax for the relevant year, such as a new Missouri resident or someone who didn’t own a vehicle on January 1 of the prior year. County residents can request one by visiting an office, scheduling an in-person or virtual appointment, or applying online.10St. Louis County Government. Statement of Non-Assessment (Tax Waiver) If you moved into St. Louis County during the year, the waiver has to come from the county where you lived on January 1, not from St. Louis County.