La Plata County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in La Plata County, seat of Durango: 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 La Plata County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- La Plata County Treasurer and Public Trustee's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The sale runs online each fall over roughly a month. The county's posted bidding rules for the most recent sale state: "The web site will open for research and deposits beginning Thursday, October 9th, 2025. Bids and modification of bids can be submitted starting on Thursday, October 9th, 2025 at 8:00 AM MT and can be done up until the closing hour of each batch on the last day of the tax lien sale which is Thursday, November 6th, 2025 at 1:00 PM MT." The auction site adds that "Public tax lien sales in Colorado are usually held in either November or December each year." Dates for the next sale were not yet posted when this was checked; confirm with the Treasurer's Office.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only through the county's RealAuction site. The county states that "Registration to participate in our online tax lien sale can be done at any time." Every bidder must register on the auction site before bidding, and there is no registration fee. Registration is limited to U.S. persons or U.S. entities as defined on IRS Form W-9, and each user gets a single primary bidder account. Before reaching the bid pages, bidders must place an ACH deposit equal to 10 percent of the total dollar value of liens they expect to win; winnings above the deposit are debited by ACH after the sale. Bidding is a proxy premium auction: the minimum starting bid is the lien face value (delinquent tax, interest, advertising fee, a $4.00 certificate fee, and an internet auction fee), increments are $1.00, and liens go to the highest premium bidder, with ties broken by random electronic selection. Liens close in batches at 60 minute intervals. Premiums are not returned and earn no interest. County employees and officials, their immediate families, and their agents may not buy liens under C.R.S. 39-11-151. Public computers are available at the Treasurer's Office for bidders without internet access.
La Plata County sells tax lien certificates online through RealAuction at laplata.coloradotaxsale.com, branded RealTaxLien. The Treasurer and Public Trustee's Office runs the sale; the auction site handles registration, deposits, bidding, and payment. Certificates sold in 2025 carry 15 percent redemption interest, set at nine points above the Federal Reserve discount rate as of September 1 and rounded to the nearest full percent, accruing at one twelfth per month. Erroneous sales earn two points above the discount rate with an 8 percent floor. The certificate is a lien only and conveys no ownership. If the owner does not pay later years' taxes, the certificate holder is notified and may endorse those payments onto the certificate at the same rate. Unredeemed certificates are canceled 15 years after the sale date if no public auction has occurred. On county held liens, the Treasurer's page states that "until further notice, we are not selling any county held liens to a 3rd party," pending an update to the Colorado statutes, so the over-the-counter path is closed for now. The public parcel and results list on the auction site showed 322 records for tax year 2024. Separately, the deed path changed under Colorado House Bill 24-1056 effective July 1, 2024: a treasurer's deed is no longer issued automatically to the certificate holder. After at least three years from the sale, only the lawful holder may apply for a public auction of a certificate of option for a treasurer's deed, with a $1,500 deposit per certificate. Those deed auctions are held in person at 679 Turner Drive, Durango, in the second floor conference room, and run about five to six months from application, with the auction roughly 120 days after first advertising.
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)
La Plata County Treasurer and Public Trustee's Office
679 Turner Drive, Suite B, Durango, CO 81303 (mailing: LPC Treasurer, PO Box 99, Durango, CO 81302)
Official websiteNotes for La Plata County
- Treasurer listed on the county site as Ann Monica Grushkin.
- Office hours posted as Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Wednesday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, closed Friday.
- The general Treasurer's Office line is (970) 382-6352; the Tax Lien Sale page lists (970) 382-6351 for lien questions and redemption payoff amounts.
- Redemptions must be paid in certified funds (cashier's check, money order, wire transfer, or cash), and cash only in person at the office.
- No separate county-hosted delinquent tax list PDF was found; the auction site's parcel and results list is the public list of certificates offered.
- The most recently posted bidding rules cover the 2025 sale for tax year 2024 and prior; dates for the next sale were not posted at the time of research.
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 La Plata County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- La Plata County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the La Plata County tax certificate sale?
- The sale runs online each fall over roughly a month. The county's posted bidding rules for the most recent sale state: "The web site will open for research and deposits beginning Thursday, October 9th, 2025. Bids and modification of bids can be submitted starting on Thursday, October 9th, 2025 at 8:00 AM MT and can be done up until the closing hour of each batch on the last day of the tax lien sale which is Thursday, November 6th, 2025 at 1:00 PM MT." The auction site adds that "Public tax lien sales in Colorado are usually held in either November or December each year." Dates for the next sale were not yet posted when this was checked; confirm with the Treasurer's Office.. 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 La Plata 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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