Missoula County, Montana

Tax Lien122,546 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Lien

Redemption periodstate default

3 years from sale (36 months)

Investor returnstate default

10% per annum plus penalties

Governing statutestate default

Montana Code Annotated Title 15, Ch. 17–18

Notes

Montana tax-lien assignment county with a separate tax-deed auction channel. Missoula County Clerk & Treasurer attaches statutory tax liens on delinquent real property (typically first business day in August; $75 tax lien certificate fee). Third-party investors may request assignment of outstanding liens in late August under a published priority policy (MCA §15-17-323) — this is assignment/OTC, not a competitive live lien auction. After the multi-year redemption window, the county has offered tax-deeded parcels via Bid4Assets online auctions (e.g. Nov 2025 cycle with deposit deadline and full-payment settlement rules). Confirm current-year assignment instructions and any 2026 Bid4Assets tax-deed sale on missoulacounty.gov and Bid4Assets. Hire counsel before investing in MT liens.

Auction logistics

Format

Assignment / over-the-counter lien purchase; online tax-deed auctions when inventory posts (Bid4Assets)

Frequency

Liens attached ~first business day in August; third-party assignment window late August; tax-deed online auctions when scheduled (historically fall)

Platform

Missoula County Clerk & Treasurer — tax lien assignments; Bid4Assets for tax-deed auctions ↗

Deposit rules

Lien assignment: follow Treasurer priority-policy packet and pay certificate fees/taxes per MCA Title 15. Bid4Assets tax-deed cycles require platform deposit by posted deadline and full payment within platform settlement window (confirm each auction T&Cs).

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Tax lien assignment is a lien interest only during redemption (~2–3 years from attachment). After a properly issued tax deed, most junior private liens are cut off; federal tax liens can survive. Full title search mandatory before tax-deed bidding.

Quiet title

Often recommended after tax deed issuance for marketable/insurable title in the Missoula market.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Missoula County Clerk & Treasurer — Property Taxes / Delinquent ↗

406-258-4747

Clerk of court

Missoula County Clerk & Recorder (combined with Treasurer) / District Court records ↗

Property appraiser

Missoula County Property Assessment / GIS ↗

406-258-3426

GIS / parcel map

Missoula County GIS / parcel map resources ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

Downtown Missoula / Hip Strip

University of Montana and riverfront employment core with multifamily and adaptive-reuse demand

Miller Creek / South Hills

Suburban SF absorption with school-driven local demand

East Missoula / Bonner edge

Relative entry pricing versus central Missoula with I-90 logistics adjacency