Can You Sell a House With Delinquent Property Taxes in Michigan?
Yes. Unpaid property taxes are a lien against the property, not a bar to selling it. In an ordinary Michigan closing, the title company pays the delinquent taxes, interest and fees out of your proceeds, and the buyer takes clear title. What matters is where you are in the three-year timeline. Once the county forecloses — which happens on 31 March of the third year — the property is no longer yours and you cannot sell it. Before that date, you still hold the title and you still have options.
That three-year window is longer than most homeowners expect, and it is the reason this situation is so often more fixable than it feels. It is also the reason waiting is expensive: the fees and interest stack at every stage, and they come out of the same equity you are trying to protect.
Here is the clock, what it costs at each step, and the four paths people actually take.
The three-year clock
Michigan's delinquent property tax process runs on the same schedule everywhere in the state. Macomb County publishes its version plainly — this is the county's own timeline for 2025 taxes:
Year 1, March — unpaid taxes are returned delinquent to the county treasurer · 4% administration fee, plus 1% interest per month
Year 1, June and September — notices by first-class mail
Year 1, October 1 — $15 fee
Year 2, February 1 — certified mail notice that forfeiture is coming
Year 2, March 1 — property is forfeited to the county treasurer · minimum $175 title search fee plus recording fees; interest rises to 1.5% per month
Year 2, September — personal visit to the property · $50
Year 2, November — publication · $35
Year 3, January and February — show cause hearing, then circuit court foreclosure hearing
Year 3, March 31 — foreclosure. Title passes to the county treasurer and the right to redeem expires.
Year 3, summer and fall — the property goes to auction
"Forfeiture" is not the end. That word scares people, and it should not. Forfeiture at the start of year two does not transfer ownership — you still own the home, you can still sell it, and you can still redeem it. It starts a one-year countdown and raises the interest rate. Foreclosure, a year later, is the event that actually takes the property.
Why a normal sale still works
Delinquent taxes behave like any other lien at closing. The title company orders a payoff from the county treasurer, the amount is deducted from your proceeds, the lien is released, and the buyer gets clear title. You do not need to pay the taxes first in order to sell — that is the single most common misunderstanding, and it stops people from calling anyone for months.
The one requirement is equity. If the sale price covers the mortgage payoff, the tax payoff and closing costs, the deal simply works. If it does not, it becomes a harder conversation about short-sale approval or other options — still a conversation worth having early, when there are more of them available.
Four realistic options
1. Pay it off, or set up a plan with the county
If you want to keep the house and the shortfall is manageable, start with the treasurer. Counties have real programs and they would rather collect than foreclose.
Macomb County Treasurer — (586) 469-5100, or (586) 469-5446 to request a hardship extension and schedule an appointment with a tax consultant. Free housing and foreclosure counseling through MSU Extension at (586) 469-6430. The county also points homeowners to the poverty tax exemption, the Principal Residence Exemption (Form 2368) and the state homestead property tax credit (MI-1040CR).
Wayne County Treasurer — (313) 224-5990, payment plans at WCTOpaymentplans@waynecountymi.gov. Wayne offers an Interest Reduction Stipulated Payment Agreement for owner-occupants with a Principal Residence Exemption that cuts interest from 18% to 6% with 10% down, a standard Stipulated Payment Agreement, and a Distressed Owner Occupant Extension for documented hardship. Veterans and first responders have the down payment waived.
Both counties set their payment-plan enrollment deadlines weeks ahead of the 31 March foreclosure date, and Wayne's required down payment increases the longer you wait. Call early in the cycle, not in March.
2. List it on the market and pay the taxes at closing
If the house shows reasonably well and you have time before the foreclosure date, a traditional listing usually produces the highest number, and the highest number is what protects your equity. Taxes come off the top at closing like any other payoff.
Time is the constraint. A listing needs weeks to market and a buyer needs weeks to close, so this path works when you are in year one or two — not in February of year three.
3. Sell as-is or off-market
When the house needs work you cannot fund, when the timeline is short, or when you would rather not have the property publicly listed, an as-is or private sale trades some price for speed and certainty. It is a smaller buyer pool and usually a lower number, but it is a real option, and it is dramatically better than letting the county take the house and the equity with it.
4. Do nothing
Worth naming, because it is the most common choice and the most costly one. Fees and interest keep accruing, and on 31 March of year three the title transfers to the county. Anything you had built up in the property stops being yours to sell.
The surplus-proceeds rule people miss
If a foreclosed property is auctioned for more than what was owed, Michigan law provides a process for the former owner to claim the remaining proceeds — but it is a claim you have to file, on a deadline, and it does not happen automatically. Macomb County lists 1 July of the foreclosure year as the deadline to claim surplus proceeds.
Two things to be clear about. First, this is a legal filing with strict timing, and it is the right moment to talk to an attorney rather than to a real estate agent. Second, and more important: surplus proceeds are a distant second-best to selling the house yourself. An auction rarely produces what a normal sale produces, and a claim is money you may recover later rather than money you control now. It is a safety net, not a plan.
If you are behind on the mortgage too
These are two separate processes with two separate clocks, and they interact. A mortgage servicer often advances unpaid property taxes and adds them to your loan balance, which can move a tax problem into a mortgage problem without you ever seeing a county notice. If both are in play, see selling a house in pre-foreclosure in Michigan — the mortgage timeline is different and usually shorter.
What I would want to know first
Three things, and none of them require you to commit to anything: what the county actually shows owed, where you are on that timeline, and what the house is genuinely worth today in its current condition. With those three numbers, the right move is usually obvious — and often it is the least dramatic option on the list.
What I do not do is push a sale on someone who should be calling their treasurer. If a payment plan solves this, that is the answer, and I will say so. Here is more on how tax foreclosure works and what your options look like.
Frequently asked questions
Can you sell a house in Michigan if you owe back property taxes?
Yes. Delinquent property taxes are a lien on the property, not a barrier to selling. At closing the title company pays the county from your sale proceeds and the buyer receives clear title. You can sell at any point before the county's foreclosure judgment takes effect on 31 March of the third year.
How long before the county takes your house for unpaid taxes in Michigan?
About three years. Taxes are returned delinquent to the county treasurer on 1 March of the year after they were billed, the property is forfeited to the treasurer on 1 March of the following year, and foreclosure takes effect on 31 March of the year after that. Ownership transfers on that final date.
What does forfeiture mean for Michigan property taxes?
Forfeiture happens on 1 March of the second year of delinquency. It does not transfer ownership — you still own the property and can still sell or redeem it. It starts the final one-year countdown, adds a title search fee of at least $175 plus recording fees, and raises interest to 1.5% per month.
Do you get money back if your house is sold at a Michigan tax foreclosure auction?
Possibly, but only if you claim it. Michigan law provides a process for a former owner to claim surplus proceeds when a foreclosed property sells for more than what was owed, and the claim must be filed by a deadline — Macomb County lists 1 July of the foreclosure year. It is a legal filing, so talk to an attorney, and treat it as a last resort rather than a plan.
Can you set up a payment plan for delinquent property taxes in Michigan?
Yes. County treasurers offer payment arrangements and hardship extensions. Macomb County takes hardship extension requests at (586) 469-5446, and Wayne County offers several plan types including reduced interest for owner-occupants with a Principal Residence Exemption. Enrollment deadlines fall weeks before the 31 March foreclosure date, so call early.
Not sure where you stand?
Send me the address. I will tell you what the property is worth today, what a sale would actually net after the tax payoff, and whether selling is even the right move — because sometimes it is not. No pressure, and no cost.
Options first. Recommendation second.
Call, text, or email: (586) 238-3693 · aj@ajrittner.com · see all your selling options
AJ Rittner · Real Estate Advisor
eXp Realty, LLC · 39555 Orchard Hill Place, Suite 600, Novi, MI 48375 · (586) 238-3693
Licensed Michigan Real Estate Salesperson since 2018 · License #6501416084 (Alexander Rittner)
Sources, checked 8 September 2026: Macomb County Treasurer — Forfeiture/Foreclosure Timeline and Tax Foreclosure Prevention (macombgov.org); Wayne County Treasurer — "How to Save Your Property From Tax Foreclosure," 2026 (waynecountymi.gov); Michigan Department of Treasury, Real Property Tax Forfeiture and Foreclosure timeline (michigan.gov); Michigan General Property Tax Act, MCL 211.78 et seq.
This article explains how Michigan's property tax foreclosure process generally works. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. AJ Rittner is a licensed Michigan real estate agent and active real estate investor, not an attorney, accountant or tax adviser. Deadlines, fees and county programs change and vary by county — confirm your own situation with your county treasurer, and speak with a qualified attorney or tax professional before making decisions about your property.
