The History of Tax Liens and Deeds

It is widely known that the forefathers of this country made the treacherous journey to American
to escape the government rule of several European countries. Along with religious freedom, they sought to escape a tax system that provided taxpayers with very little protection. In England three hundred years ago, a property owner that was delinquent in paying their property taxes would most likely lose the property altogether. People were thrown into jail for not paying their taxes all of the time. Our current tax system was implemented early in the history of the country. The system’s objective was to enforce property taxes in an effective manner while still offering property owners a fair chance to settle their debts.

Today property owners are given a grace period following the date taxes are due. This grace period is referred to as the redemption period, or time in which the property owner may redeem all property rights and remove the impending lien. The duration of the grace period is set by state statute, and ranges from 3 months to 4 years. Most property owners have three to five years without paying their property taxes before losing a property.

The Tax Lien and Deed systems in use today are a testament to the great thought and planning that went into the fair collection of property taxes. They were determined not to repeat their past experiences with taxation without representation.

Today, property owners enjoy the peace of mind that if they are late paying their property taxes they won't be sent immediately to jail or lose their property to Foreclosure.