Gunnison County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Gunnison County, seat of Gunnison: 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 Gunnison County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Gunnison County Treasurer and Public Trustee Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual internet tax lien sale held on one day in November. The county page is headed "ANNUAL INTERNET TAX LIEN SALE November 16, 2026" and states "BIDDING OPENS 8:00 am" and "AUCTION CLOSES 5:00 pm - SAME DAY." It also states "The Gunnison County Tax Lien Sale will be held via the Internet for ONE DAY ONLY, November 16, 2026." Confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer before planning around it.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at the Zeus Auction site. The county states the auction site "will be open for registration and research on or about October 19 @ 8:00 AM through November 15 @ 11:59 PM" and that "REGISTRATION CLOSES ON November 15, 2026 - NO EXCEPTIONS." Each bidder creates a login; no deposit is required at registration. Only bidders with a US taxpayer ID may participate, and the registered name must match the taxpayer ID because W-9s, certificates, redemptions, and refunds are prepared from that information. Winning bids are paid by ACH from the bank account used at registration, which the county calls the only accepted form of payment. A $12.00 online fee is added per account and is not refunded if the lien is redeemed.
Premium bidding. The county states bidding "will begin at the amount of taxes, interest, advertising, and fees dues at the time of sale. Any bid in excess of this amount is called a Premium Bid," and that premiums are not returned if the property is redeemed and earn no interest. The high bidder receives a Tax Lien Certificate of Purchase, not title. Liens not sold are struck off to the county and can be bought afterward through the Treasurer's Office. The Treasurer reserves discretion to change the method of sale. Auction operations questions go to SRI Inc. at (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
Register on SRI / ZEUSTax 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)
Notes for Gunnison County
- Treasurer and Public Trustee: Teresa Brown. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with voicemail available 24/7. Fax: 970-641-7955.
- The sale list is advertised for three consecutive weeks before the sale in the Gunnison Country Times. The Treasurer will mail a hard copy of the advertised paper for $2 sent with the request and a mailing address.
- The Treasurer posts the delinquent tax list on the Online Tax Lien Sale page as three PDFs plus an Excel file. As of the July 2026 check, the posted lists covered the 2025 tax year. The county warns that delinquent lists are not updated once published and links a tax search site at https://taxsearch.gunnisoncounty.org/prod/propertytaxsearchwebsite for current payment status.
- As of the July 2026 check the county listed the 2026 tax lien interest rate as not yet set. If a property is wrongfully sold, the county cites C.R.S. 39-12-111 for interest at two points above the discount rate but no lower than 8%.
- Certificates are valid for 15 years from the original issue date and are canceled after that, per C.R.S. 39-11-148 as cited by the county. Originals are held in the Treasurer's Office and a copy is mailed to the buyer about two weeks after the sale.
- Employees and officials of Gunnison County, their immediate families, and their agents may not acquire a tax lien at the sale, per C.R.S. 39-11-151 as cited by the county.
- The county calls this a buyer beware sale. All successful bids are final at the close of the auction, with no changes or cancellations after a lien is sold. A high bidder who fails to pay loses the item and is barred from future auctions on the platform, and rejected payments may cancel the corresponding bids under C.R.S. 39-11-116.
- The county also runs a separate Public Trustee foreclosure function and a Tax Lien / Treasurer's Deed process page at https://www.gunnisoncounty.org/214/Tax-LienTreasurers-Deed-Process. Do not confuse Public Trustee foreclosure sales with the November tax lien sale.
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 Gunnison County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Gunnison County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the Gunnison County tax certificate sale?
- Annual internet tax lien sale held on one day in November. The county page is headed "ANNUAL INTERNET TAX LIEN SALE November 16, 2026" and states "BIDDING OPENS 8:00 am" and "AUCTION CLOSES 5:00 pm - SAME DAY." It also states "The Gunnison County Tax Lien Sale will be held via the Internet for ONE DAY ONLY, November 16, 2026." Confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer before planning around it.. 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 Gunnison 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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