Behind on Property Taxes in Alaska?

Back Taxes in Alaska: Your Options

This page explains what happens in Alaska when property taxes on a lot or acreage go unpaid. In Alaska, property tax is levied and collected by boroughs and cities, not by the state, so due dates and rates are set locally. State law (AS 29.45) sets the foreclosure steps every municipality follows. This page covers the penalty and interest limits, the yearly foreclosure, the redemption period, and the choices you have.

Back taxes do not stop you from selling while you can still redeem. Even after a court judgment, you keep possession and can redeem for at least one year. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice; for your own case, ask your borough or city tax office or an Alaska attorney.

When Alaska property taxes are due and when they go delinquent

Each borough or city that levies a property tax sets its own due dates, and some let you pay in installments. Not every area of Alaska is inside a borough or city that taxes property, so first confirm which local government bills your parcel.

Taxes not paid by the local due date are delinquent. If the municipality lets you pay in two installments, penalty and interest on a missed installment start from that installment's due date (AS 29.45.250).

Penalty and interest

State law caps what a municipality can charge. The penalty can be up to 20 percent of the tax due, and interest can be up to 15 percent a year on the unpaid tax, not counting the penalty, from the due date until paid (AS 29.45.250). Each municipality sets its own rates within those limits.

Unpaid property taxes, with penalty and interest, are a lien on the land that comes ahead of other liens, including mortgages (AS 29.45.300).

What the municipality does next: the yearly foreclosure

Alaska does not sell tax liens or tax certificates. Unless a local ordinance says otherwise, the municipality enforces unpaid real property taxes by a yearly foreclosure (AS 29.45.320).

Each year, the municipality files a petition for judgment and a foreclosure list of the previous year's delinquent taxes in superior court. It publishes the list for four weeks in a row (or posts it if there is no local paper), and within 10 days of the first publication it mails a notice to each owner on the list (AS 29.45.330). You can pay the taxes, penalty, interest and costs at any time up to the transfer to the municipality (AS 29.45.340). An owner who objects can file an answer within 30 days after the last publication (AS 29.45.370).

The court then enters a judgment and decree, and the foreclosed properties are transferred to the municipality for the lien amount (AS 29.45.380 and 29.45.390).

Redemption: the one-year period and after

After the judgment, the municipality holds the property for at least one year. During that time, anyone with an interest in the property can redeem it by paying the lien amount plus penalties, interest and costs (AS 29.45.400). The former owner keeps possession during the redemption period (AS 29.45.430).

At least 30 days before the period ends, the municipality publishes an expiration notice for four weeks and sends it by certified mail to each record owner. The right to redeem ends 30 days after the first publication of that notice. Unredeemed property is then deeded to the borough or city (AS 29.45.440 and 29.45.450).

Even after the deed, the former record owner may buy the land back within 10 years, as long as the municipality has not sold it, contracted to sell it, or kept it for a public purpose by ordinance. The price is the judgment amount plus interest of up to 15 percent a year, later taxes, and the municipality's costs (AS 29.45.470).

If the municipality sells foreclosed land within 10 years after the redemption period and the land was never set aside for public use, the former record owner is entitled to the sale proceeds above the taxes, interest, penalty and costs. The municipality must mail a notice of the excess, and a claim must be filed within six months of the sale (AS 29.45.480).

Your options if you owe back taxes on Alaska land

• Pay the delinquent taxes, penalty and interest before your parcel appears on the yearly foreclosure list.
• Pay any time up to the transfer to the municipality, or redeem during the redemption period.
• Watch for the redemption expiration notice; your right to redeem ends 30 days after it is first published.
• If the land was already deeded to the municipality, ask about repurchase or excess sale proceeds.
• Sell the land. The taxes and redemption amount are paid from the sale price at closing.

Selling Alaska land with back taxes

You can sell land with delinquent taxes, including land under a foreclosure judgment that is still in its redemption period. At closing, the closing agent pays the municipality from the sale price, and the rest goes to you.

EasyLotBuyer buys land with back taxes, liens and title issues, including land owned by heirs or an estate. We make a cash offer within 24 hours, charge no fees or commissions, pay the closing costs, and can close in as few as 7 days. The back taxes are paid at closing from the sale. Get a cash offer for your Alaska land.

Where to check your tax status in Alaska

Contact the finance or tax office of the borough or city where the land is. It can tell you which years are unpaid, whether the parcel is on a foreclosure list, and the payoff amount. The state rules that apply to every municipality are in Alaska Statutes 29.45.