Flathead County tax lien assignments, Montana

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Flathead publishes its full general timeline on the tax lien page, from the November 30 and May 31 due dates through the late June publication of the pending attachment notice to the early August attachment. It also links a Property Tax Lien Procedure manual from its property tax page, and it defines cost for third party purchasers to include certified mailing postage, title search expenses when needed, publication costs, and filing costs for proof of notice.

Selling office: Flathead County Treasurer, 290 A North Main Street, Kalispell, MT 59901; phone (406) 758-5680

Next sale: Lien attachment: Monday, August 2, 2027, the first working day in August. The published timeline puts the notice of pending attachment in late June and attachment in early August, with the list of eligible properties made available once the county holds the liens. Watch the treasurer's tax lien sales page for the season's list and any lottery date.

Plan around early August attachment and a documentation heavy purchase: notices postmarked from August 15, an Excel priority list, and exact payment ready before approaching the office. Build in time after purchase, because certificates issue only after review and are then filed with the Clerk and Recorder.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	Lien attachment: Monday, August 2, 2027, the first working day in August
First half due	November 30; delinquent December 1
Second half due	May 31; delinquent June 1
Notice of pending attachment published	Late June, on or before the last Monday in June
Lien attached by the county	Early August, no later than the first working day in August; Monday, August 2, 2027 in the next cycle
Earliest Notice of Pending Assignment mailing	August 15, at least two weeks before payment
Redemption deadline	First working day in August, 3 years after attachment
Notice that a tax deed may be issued	May 1 to May 30 of the final redemption year
Format	The treasurer's tax lien page walks through attachment and assignment. Once the county is listed as purchaser of the lien, the assignment process begins and the list of eligible properties is made available. Competing requests are settled by a lottery: a card is chosen on behalf of each party, order runs from the highest card to the lowest with aces treated as low, and the party with the highest card receives first selection of the first assignment. The office reviews all submitted documentation before anything is final, and Tax Lien Sale Certificates are not issued on the date of sale because of document review and lien volume.: The treasurer's office in Kalispell, in person or by mail with the full documentation package.
Selling office	Flathead County Treasurer, 290 A North Main Street, Kalispell, MT 59901; phone (406) 758-5680

Sources: Tax Lien Sales, Flathead County Treasurer. Property Tax Department, Flathead County Treasurer. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and parcels are pulled up to sale day.

Research Flathead County parcels before you bid

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How Montana tax lien assignments work

Taxes are due in halves, on November 30 and May 31. A delinquent installment draws a 2 percent penalty at once and interest at 5/6 of 1 percent per month until paid (MCA 15-16-102).
The county warns, then attaches. The notice of pending attachment is published by the last Monday in June and mailed to the assessed person at least two weeks before attachment; the treasurer attaches the lien no later than the first working day in August, and the county itself is the possessor of the lien (MCA 15-17-122 and 15-17-125).
A buyer takes the lien by assignment. The buyer mails the Notice of Pending Assignment by certified mail to the person the property was assessed to, not earlier than August 15, at least two weeks before payment and not more than 60 days before purchase, gives the treasurer proof of the mailing, and pays the full delinquency of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs. There is no bidding and no premium (MCA 15-17-323).
Competing buyers are sorted by county policy, not by price. Treasurers publish their own rules for competing requests, from preference lists and lotteries to a card draw, and an assignee may later reassign the lien to another buyer for any consideration (MCA 15-17-323).
Redemption runs three years from attachment. The owner, an occupant, the holder of an unrecorded interest, or another interested party may redeem by the first working day in August three years after attachment; a subdivided residential or commercial lot with delinquent special assessments and no habitable structure redeems in two years (MCA 15-18-111).
The final year notice is mandatory. Between May 1 and May 30 of the year the redemption period expires, the assignee must notify the occupant and every interested party that a tax deed may be issued, and file proof within 30 days; an assignee who fails to give the notice has the lien and the assignment certificate cancelled (MCA 15-18-212).
The deed issues, or the home is auctioned. For most property the treasurer grants the assignee a tax deed on payment of the deed fee and notice costs. Where the property is a dwelling occupied by its record owner, the treasurer instead holds a public auction whose opening bid adds half the assessed value of the land and dwelling, and that half value component and any overbid are paid to the former owner as surplus (MCA 15-18-211 and 15-18-219 to 15-18-221).

How buying works in Flathead County

Provide proof of mailing the Notice of Pending Assignment: a copy of the notice sent plus the certified mailing receipt showing both the postmark date and the address used; a receipt missing either one is not sufficient proof. For large mailings the United States Postal Service manifest mailing system may be used if a copy of the official manifest is provided. The package also requires a priority list in Excel format, copies of the notices sent, and a W-9 form for any interest earned.

There is no bidding on a lien An assignment is not won by offering more. The price is fixed by statute at the full delinquency, and where more than one buyer wants the same lien, the published policy of that county treasurer for competing requests decides who is served first.
What is due at assignment The full delinquency: taxes, penalties, interest, and costs from the date of delinquency, plus any assignment fee the county charges. Each county page carries the fee and payment forms that county publishes, or says plainly that the county does not publish them.
Reassignment An assignee may assign the lien on to another buyer for any consideration, by filing the statutory statement of reassignment with the treasurer (MCA 15-17-323).

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Flathead County	Montana assignments have no bidder deposit. Due at assignment is the exact payment amount for the delinquency, plus a $50.00 assignment fee per assessor number. A separate payment is required if the assignments include reassignments or junior liens.
Payment, Flathead County	The tax lien page requires the exact amount of the delinquency and does not publish which payment forms the office accepts for assignment purchases, so confirm forms with the treasurer before submitting. Payment is not final until the office finishes its document review.
Redemption period	Three years from the date the county attaches the lien, ending on the first working day in August of the third year, with a two year period for a subdivided residential or commercial lot carrying delinquent special assessments and no habitable dwelling or commercial structure (MCA 15-18-111).
Interest the assignee earns	On redemption the treasurer pays the assignee back the amount paid for the assignment and any subsequent taxes the assignee paid into the lien, plus interest at 5/6 of 1 percent per month from the date of payment until redemption, the same rate the delinquency itself carries (MCA 15-16-102 and 15-18-114).
Penalty on delinquency	A delinquent installment draws a 2 percent penalty at once, then interest at 5/6 of 1 percent per month until paid. The penalty is part of what an assignment buyer pays at purchase and part of what redemption repays (MCA 15-16-102).
The final year notice, and the cancellation risk	Between May 1 and May 30 of the year the redemption period expires, the assignee must send the statutory notice that a tax deed may be issued, in the statutory form, and file proof of notice with the clerk and recorder within 30 days. An assignee who fails to give the notice has the lien and the assignment certificate cancelled (MCA 15-18-212).
The owner occupied auction	Where the property is a dwelling occupied by its legal titleholder of record, the tax deed goes through a public auction instead of a direct grant. The opening bid is the full redemption amount plus half the most recent assessed value of the land and the dwelling; the high bidder posts a deposit of 5 percent of the bid or $200, whichever is greater, and pays in full within 24 hours, and the half value component and any overbid go to the former owner as surplus (MCA 15-18-219 to 15-18-221).
Subsequent taxes	An assignee may pay later delinquent taxes on the same property into the assignment, and those payments are repaid with the same interest on redemption (MCA 15-18-112 and 15-18-114). Counties run a set window for these payments each summer, and each county page states the window that county publishes.
Assignment fee	$50.00 per assessor number
W-9	Required for any interest earned
Certificate timing	Certificates are not issued on the date of sale; they issue after document review, are filed with the Clerk and Recorder, and the original goes to the purchaser

Liens nobody takes

A lien nobody takes stays with the county, which is listed as purchaser, and remains on the list of eligible properties open to assignment while the redemption period runs. The county pages do not publish a separate sale for untaken liens, and a deed to the county itself requires a commissioners' resolution under state law.

Before you bid

The notice is the first deadline of the deal An assignment bought without the certified Notice of Pending Assignment, mailed inside its window (not before August 15, at least two weeks before payment, and within 60 days of purchase), is not a valid assignment. Counties examine the proof of mailing closely, and receipts missing the address or the postmark are rejected.
Calendar the third year notice on day one The May notice in the year the redemption period expires is the step that kills assignments: miss it and the lien and the certificate are cancelled. The treasurer mails a reminder in January of that year, but the duty and the risk belong to the assignee.
Know which deed path the property is on A vacant parcel or a rental ends in a direct tax deed to the assignee; a home occupied by its owner ends in an auction where the assignee can be outbid and repaid instead. Price the assignment with both endings in view before paying the delinquency.

Every Montana county in this set

One page per county, each verified against the county's own publications and the current text of MCA title 15 chapters 17 and 18. Montana assigns its county held liens county by county through each county treasurer; this set is the 10 largest counties.

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