El Paso County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in El Paso County, seat of Colorado Springs: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Colorado tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How El Paso County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- El Paso County Treasurer's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual online tax lien sale held in the fall. The Treasurer states "Delinquent Taxes are published in The Gazette every September" and lists the 2024 taxes payable in 2025 publication dates as Wednesday September 10th, Wednesday September 17th and Wednesday September 24th. The auction site's bidding rules say "The Tax Lien Public Auction is usually held around the first part of November," but the posted schedule for the most recent sale ran earlier: "Bids may be made starting Wednesday, September 24th, 2025, at 10:00 AM MST" and "Tax liens will be grouped into batches and sold in one hour increments starting on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025, at 9:00 AM MST and concluding on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025, at 4:00 PM MST," with deposits due by 12:00 PM MST on October 15th, 2025 and final payment due October 23rd, 2025 at 2:00 PM MST. Confirm the current year's dates on the Treasurer's tax lien sale page and the auction site's bidding rules before planning.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register directly on the county's RealAuction site. The posted schedule lists registration as open all year and shows no registration fee. Bidders complete an online registration wizard using an SSN or EIN, enter ACH redemption banking information, and fund a deposit equal to 10 percent of anticipated winnings by the posted deposit deadline (12:00 PM MST on October 15th, 2025 for the most recent sale). Foreign bidder registrations are not accepted and sub-accounts are not permitted. Final payment is taken by ACH auto-debit. The Treasurer also directs prospective bidders to RealAuction training sessions held before the sale, with training dates listed as October 4th and 10th for the most recent cycle.
The sale is online only through RealAuction's RealTaxLien platform, which the Treasurer describes as "Our Annual Tax Lien Sale has been moved online to Real Auction!" Bidding is proxy style with premium bidding: the minimum starting bid equals the face value of unpaid taxes, interest, penalties and fees, bid increments are $1, and the system bids $1 above the next highest bidder up to your maximum. Liens are grouped into batches that close on 60 minute intervals, and ties are broken at random by the auction website. The premium paid over face value is not returned to the buyer and earns no interest. Redemption runs three years from the sale date before a treasurer's deed application, and the county lists a $1,300 deed application fee. On redemption interest, the Treasurer's page states "As of October 1, 2025, the Statutory Redemption Interest rate is 14%" while the auction site's bidding rules page still carries an older 15 percent figure, so verify the rate printed on your certificate. Subsequent year taxes can be endorsed onto an existing certificate after July 1 and earn the same rate. Certificates of purchase are issued about two weeks after the sale, and the Treasurer will hold them for the buyer on request. Liens that do not sell become county-held and can be bought later by written request to the Treasurer's Office. At the last check the auction site's bidding rules and preview pages still described the 2025 sale, so the next year's dates and item list may not be posted yet.
Register on RealAuctionTax deed sale
- Run by
- County Treasurer
- Frequency
- on application
- Typical timing
- There is no fixed calendar. A public auction is scheduled only when a certificate holder applies for one, at least three years after the tax lien sale, and the treasurer must hold it between 110 and 125 calendar days after the known interested party notice is first published or mailed.
Registration and deposit
What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright. The treasurer may only accept bids above the combined amount owed to the lawful holder plus the treasurer's fees and costs. County officials, county employees acting in their individual capacity, and their immediate family members may not bid. Payment is by cash, cashier's check, bank check, or electronic funds transfer subject to the treasurer's bidding rules. Any overbid goes to junior lienors who filed a notice of intent to redeem and then to the property owner. Confirm the notice, the bidding rules, and the auction venue with the county treasurer.
This Article 11.5 process replaced direct deed issuance on July 1, 2024. Colorado does not hold a routine calendar tax deed sale, so treat this as an occasional, application-driven auction rather than a recurring event.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Liens that draw no bid are struck off to the county and the treasurer issues the county a certificate of purchase. The county may then assign, sell, or transfer those certificates in the manner, at the times, and on the terms set by resolution of the board of county commissioners, which is how county-held liens are sold between annual auctions. A certificate on property owing more than ten thousand dollars in taxes needs the property tax administrator's approval after published notice. Whether a county maintains a published county-held list, and on what terms, varies. Contact the county treasurer.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
El Paso County Treasurer's Office
P.O. Box 2018, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-2018 (in person: Citizens Service Center, 1675 West Garden of the Gods Road, Suite 2100, Colorado Springs, CO 80907)
Official websiteNotes for El Paso County
- The county's bidding rules cite Colorado Revised Statutes Title 39, Articles 11, 11.5 and 12 as the governing law for tax lien public auctions, treasurer's deeds and redemptions.
- Bidding rules cite C.R.S. 39-11-115(2)(c) and (d) for the minimum bid and bid increment structure, and C.R.S. 39-11-116 for the Treasurer's authority to bar a non-paying bidder from tax lien sales for up to five years.
- The advertised delinquent lists are published in the Colorado Springs Gazette for three consecutive weeks; the Treasurer's tax lien sale page links prior-year examples for real property, mobile homes and personal property.
- County-held liens are posted as a PDF on the Treasurer's county-held tax liens page and are purchased by submitting a written request to the Treasurer's Office; the page notes the list is updated as liens are assigned.
- The Treasurer issues a 1099 each January showing interest earned in the prior year on redeemed certificates.
- Employees and officials of El Paso County and their family members are barred from purchasing at the public auction.
- The auction site returns a 403 to plain automated fetchers but loads normally in a browser; it was confirmed live with a standard browser user agent.
Colorado statewide rules
- Redemption
- Redemption may be made at any time before a treasurer's deed is executed, so the practical window runs well past the three-year mark and through the Article 11.5 auction process. The treasurer must hold that public auction between 110 and 125 calendar days after the known interested party notice is first published or mailed, which gives owners and junior lienors a further defined period to pay. A separate rule lets an owner who was under a legal disability when the deed was executed redeem within nine years of the deed being recorded, at 15 percent per year plus the present value of any improvements.
- Deed deposit
- The treasurer may require the applying lawful holder to post a deposit covering the recording fee plus the actual and reasonable cost of administering the auction, and all Article 11.5 fees and costs are chargeable as additional amounts owing under the tax lien. For bidders, the treasurer accepts cash, cashier's check, bank check, or electronic funds transfer subject to the treasurer's bidding rules. The statute sets no fixed bidder deposit percentage, so the deposit terms come from county bidding rules.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any overbid goes first to junior lienors in order of recording priority, measured as of the recording date of the application for public auction, who filed a notice of intent to redeem and whose liens are unredeemed, up to each lien's unpaid amount plus fees and costs. Whatever remains is paid to the property owner. The treasurer must post a public notice about these funds and mail the owner a notice within thirty calendar days of the auction. Unclaimed remaining overbids sit in escrow for six months without interest, then transfer to the state administrator under the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. An agreement to pay someone to recover an owner's overbid is unenforceable, and inducing one is a class 2 misdemeanor.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does El Paso County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- El Paso County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the El Paso County tax certificate sale?
- Annual online tax lien sale held in the fall. The Treasurer states "Delinquent Taxes are published in The Gazette every September" and lists the 2024 taxes payable in 2025 publication dates as Wednesday September 10th, Wednesday September 17th and Wednesday September 24th. The auction site's bidding rules say "The Tax Lien Public Auction is usually held around the first part of November," but the posted schedule for the most recent sale ran earlier: "Bids may be made starting Wednesday, September 24th, 2025, at 10:00 AM MST" and "Tax liens will be grouped into batches and sold in one hour increments starting on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025, at 9:00 AM MST and concluding on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025, at 4:00 PM MST," with deposits due by 12:00 PM MST on October 15th, 2025 and final payment due October 23rd, 2025 at 2:00 PM MST. Confirm the current year's dates on the Treasurer's tax lien sale page and the auction site's bidding rules before planning.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does El Paso County hold tax deed sales?
- on application. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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