If you don't pay your Nevada property taxes, the county can sell your home after a waiting period. You can pay off the delinquent amounts during the waiting period and save your home, which prevents the county from selling it to a new owner at a tax sale.
When you don't pay the property taxes on your home or property in Nevada, the county (as trustee for the state and county) gets a certificate giving it the right to sell your home to a new owner at a tax sale after a specific amount of time.
Alternatively, the county can initiate a collection action in court or assign the tax lien on the home to a different party to recover the unpaid amounts. This article focuses on the tax sale process.
In Nevada, the waiting period, known as a "redemption period," before the county can sell your home at a tax sale is two years after the certificate has been issued. (Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 361.5648.)
During the redemption period, you get the right to pay off the debt and prevent a tax sale. This process is called "redeeming" the home.
Nevada law also says you can redeem up until 5:00 p.m. on the third business day before the day of the sale by a county treasurer. (Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 361.585.)
To redeem your home, you must pay the taxes, penalties, costs, and interest on the taxes at the rate of 10% per year. (Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 361.5648.)
If the county sells your home at a tax sale, you might be able to get your home back by filing a lawsuit to protest the sale if there was a problem with the process. You must file the suit within two years after the new owner receives a deed (title) to the home. (Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 361.600.)
Consult with a lawyer if you want to get your home back after a new owner gets a deed to the property.
While Nevada law allows you to pay off the tax debt before the county can sell it, in most cases, it is better to take action to make your taxes more affordable before you fall behind.
For example, you could try to reduce the amount you have to pay by challenging the tax assessor's value of your home (if you believe that your home is unfairly valued).
If you're already facing a property tax sale in Nevada and have questions or need help redeeming your property, consider talking to a foreclosure lawyer, tax lawyer, or real estate lawyer.
To learn more about property taxes and other aspects of homeownership in general, get Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home by Ilona Bray, J.D., Attorney Ann O'Connell, and Marcia Stewart.