Michigan's tax forfeiture timeline
When property taxes go unpaid in Michigan, the property moves through a specific statutory sequence set out in the General Property Tax Act. The timeline below describes the path from delinquency to auction. The dates are set by statute and apply statewide, though administration runs through each county treasurer's office.
Enter the year the taxes were due and your county. These dates are set by Michigan statute and apply statewide. The county field only indicates where the delinquent taxes are administered.
How the timeline works
Summer and winter taxes are billed in the year they are due. If they go unpaid, they are returned delinquent to the county treasurer on March 1 of the following year. At that point the county treasurer, not the local city or township, holds the delinquent amount.
One year later, on March 1 of the year after that, the property is forfeited to the county treasurer. Forfeiture is a serious step, but it is not the end. The owner still has the right to redeem.
The foreclosure judgment comes next. The county brings a foreclosure action, and the court enters a judgment of foreclosure. The critical date is the redemption deadline, March 31 of the year after forfeiture. Until that date passes, the property can still be redeemed by paying what is owed. After March 31, on April 1, absolute title vests in the county. The former owner's interest is extinguished.
Following vesting, the county auctions the property, typically during the summer and autumn of that same year.
Forfeiture is not the end. The redemption deadline is.
This is the point that matters most. A property can be forfeited and still be saved. The redemption deadline, March 31 of the year after forfeiture, is the real line. Once it passes, the former owner loses the property entirely, and there is no longer anything to convey or to clear.
This page is general information about Michigan's property tax foreclosure process. It is not legal advice. The specific dates that apply to a given parcel depend on its own delinquency history. Anyone facing a forfeiture or foreclosure should talk to a qualified Michigan attorney without delay.