Las Animas County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Las Animas County, seat of Trinidad: 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 Las Animas County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Las Animas County Treasurer's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early December, later than most Colorado counties. The Colorado County Treasurers and Public Trustees Association sale calendar lists "Las Animas" with the date "December 1, 2026", and places the county in the calendar's "Live Auction" column rather than the "Online Auction" column. Most other Colorado counties on the same calendar sell in late October or November.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
The county publishes no online registration process for the tax lien sale. Because the sale is conducted live rather than through an auction site, bidders should contact the Treasurer's Office at 719-846-2981 ahead of the sale date to confirm registration paperwork, bidder identification and taxpayer forms, funding requirements, and the exact time and room for the auction.
Las Animas County runs its tax lien sale as a live, in-person auction. The statewide treasurers association calendar places the county in its Live Auction column and names no online bidding vendor, so no auction platform URL is confirmed for this county. Verify the venue and start time with the office. The county website has no dedicated tax lien sale page: the Treasurer menu item labeled "Property Tax-Lien Sale" opens a shared document folder that currently holds a small set of individual property PDFs and one unrelated presentation, not a full delinquent list, so ask the Treasurer's Office for the advertised sale list. Caution for researchers: Bid4Assets hosts a page titled "NOTICE OF SALE: Las Animas County, Colorado - Live Tax Lien Sale", which can read like an online auction listing. That page states Bid4Assets "is providing this notice of sale strictly as a courtesy", is "not conducting this public auction", and is not affiliated with the sale, and it records the sale type as live and in person. Bid4Assets is not a bidding platform for this county. In-person live auction, no online bidding vendor published
Tax 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 Las Animas County
- The Treasurer also serves as Public Trustee, so tax lien work and real estate foreclosures run through the same office. Sarah A. Martinez is Treasurer and Public Trustee; Juanita Peters is Chief Deputy Treasurer.
- Property tax due dates set the delinquency clock that feeds the lien sale. The Treasurer's page states: "Full payment is due April 30th (U.S. Postal Service Postmark is accepted) OR half payments are due February 28th and June 15th with no penalty." Any tax amount under $25.00 is due in one payment.
- The Treasurer publishes a monthly delinquent interest chart. On the first-half installment, interest runs from 1 percent in March up to 10 percent in December; on the second-half installment it runs from 1 percent after June 15 to 7 percent in December.
- Parcel, tax, and payment history lookups are available on the county's Treasurer Web portal at http://treasurer.lasanimascounty.net:8081/treasurer/web/ . The Treasurer's page also links a credit card payment portal and an assessor records search for pre-bid research.
- The county office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fax is 719-845-2591.
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 Las Animas County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Las Animas County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the Las Animas County tax certificate sale?
- Early December, later than most Colorado counties. The Colorado County Treasurers and Public Trustees Association sale calendar lists "Las Animas" with the date "December 1, 2026", and places the county in the calendar's "Live Auction" column rather than the "Online Auction" column. Most other Colorado counties on the same calendar sell in late October or November.. 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 Las Animas 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.
Explore all 64 Colorado counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.