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Tax Foreclosure

Definition

A legal process by which a government seizes and sells a person's property when the owner fails to pay property taxes. The sale proceeds are used to satisfy the unpaid tax debt, and any leftover money is the 'surplus.'

Examples

  • Isabella County used Michigan's tax foreclosure law to take Timothy Pung's property after he fell behind on his taxes, then kept all the sale proceeds instead of returning the surplus to his estate.

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