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Tax Sale Atlas

Montrose County, CO tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Montrose County, CO tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Colorado sells tax lien certificates paying up to 13%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Oct 12, 2026.

How tax lien and tax deed sales work in Montrose County, seat of Montrose: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Colorado tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next certificate sale
Tax lien auction scheduled for October 29, 2026.Thursday · 2026
Format
In person
Registration
What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright.
County office
(970) 249-3565
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
Look up a sale detail

County Treasurer. on application

Record quality: high. Last verified: 2026-10-12.

C.R.S. 39-11.5-102 - Application for public auction (source accessed 2026-07-29)

Recorded reference information. Verify current sale conditions with the county. Read the full sale details.

Link to this detail

How Montrose County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

In person
Run by
Montrose County Treasurer's Office
Frequency
annual
Next certificate sale
Tax lien auction scheduled for October 29, 2026.
Next expected
by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Delinquent Tax Sale List
When it runs
Annual, held in late October. The county's Tax Lien Sale Procedures state: "The sale of Montrose County delinquent tax and special assessment tax liens will be held on October 29, 2026. The sale will commence at 10:00 a.m. and will be conducted at the historic Montrose County Courthouse, 320 S. 1st Street, Montrose Colorado." Bidders must arrive at Suite 200 no later than 9:30 a.m. because the doors lock at that time, and the sale continues until all parcels are sold.
Registration and deposit

Registration closes about three weeks before the sale and is handled on paper, not through an auction platform. The procedures state: "Registration will be completed electronically or by mail no later than October 9, 2026." The county's registration notice now reports that entry for the 2026 Montrose County Tax Lien Sale is closed. Investors obtain two forms, the Investor Bidder Document and an IRS W-9, from the Treasurer's page and return them electronically or by mail by the deadline. The procedures add that "The number of investors may be limited" and that "The permitted investors will be decided by the arrival date of the registration forms." Selected investors receive a confirmation email. Bidder numbers are handed out at the sale, each bidder sits in the matching numbered chair, and any missing signature or tax ID number is added on sale day.

Sale format and venue
Montrose County runs a live, in person tax lien sale at the historic Montrose County Courthouse, 320 S. 1st St, Suite 200, Montrose, where the Treasurer's office is now located. There is no online bidding platform, so remote bidding is not available. Bidding uses a round robin format: chairs are numbered to match bidder numbers, a number is drawn to start, and bidding proceeds in numerical order with each successive lien. A bidder may pass, but does not get another chance until the rotation comes back around. The procedures state that all bids "must be remitted at close of sale by cash or check" and that "Debit or Credit Cards will not be accepted," with payment taken directly after the sale in the same location. Buyer agents are barred: "we have agreed NOT TO ALLOW AGENTS to participate in the sale" and "Only individuals buying tax liens on their own behalf will be allowed to participate." County officials, employees, and their immediate family may not buy. Parcels are offered under Title 39 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, following the published list order as closely as practical. For the 2026 sale the county set redemption interest at 13 percent, calculated by adding nine percentage points to the September 1 federal discount rate and rounding to the nearest full percent. Certificate holders may apply for a Treasurer's Deed after the third anniversary of the certificate, which starts a separate Treasurer's Deed public auction held in person at the Treasurer's office. Delinquent lists are published in the Montrose Daily Press and posted on the county site; the 2026 real property advertising list covers 2025 taxes due in 2026 and ran in the Montrose Daily Press on September 12, 19 and 26, 2026. Caution: third party auction websites sometimes publish notices for this sale. The Treasurer's office conducts it in person and lists no online platform, so verify any such listing against the county site.

Tax deed sale

Run by
County Treasurer
Frequency
on application
Typical timing
There is no fixed calendar.
Registration
What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright.
When it runs
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.

Sale format and venue
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.
Source: C.R.S. 39-11.5-102 - Application for public auctionC.R.S. 39-11.5-102· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Montrose County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Montrose County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.

  1. Confirm the advertised parcel list

    Use Delinquent Tax Sale List as a starting reference. Check which sale or list it covers; a Lands Available or office information page is separate from an auction parcel list. Ask the sale office for the advertised parcels for the auction you plan to attend.
  2. Register to bid

    What sells is a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, not the parcel outright. Full requirements are in the sale card above.
  3. Sale day

    Tax lien auction scheduled for October 29, 2026. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the County Treasurer before you go.
  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Montrose County

  1. Confirm the parcel list before pricing

    Open Delinquent Tax Sale List. Confirm whether this reference contains the auction parcels or covers a different list. Get the advertised parcel list from the county before you price a bid, and recheck it before the sale.
  2. Confirm 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.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Colorado due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Colorado before you price the title work.
  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

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. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Colorado calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Montrose County Treasurer - Public Trustee

(970) 249-3565

320 S. 1st Street, Suite 200, Montrose, CO 81401 (mailing: P.O. Box 609, Montrose, CO 81402)

Official website

County notes

  • The sale is conducted in person at the historic Montrose County Courthouse, home of the Treasurer's office, and not online.
  • Registration is a mail or email paper process with a hard cutoff about three weeks before the sale, and the field of investors may be capped by order of receipt.
  • Payment is cash or check only, due immediately at the close of the sale.
  • Buyer agents and bidding on behalf of others are prohibited.
  • The Treasurer's office email for investor questions is etreasurer@montrosecounty.net.

Colorado rules

Max interest rate
13% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)
Minimum return
No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the sale
Redemption
Redemption may be made at any time before a treasurer's deed is executed, so the practical window runs past the three-year mark and into the Article 11.5 process. Once a deed application is pending, the owner must file an intent to redeem with the treasurer no later than seven calendar days before the scheduled public auction, then pay the amount on the redemption statement while it is in effect, and must redeem the entire property. The auction itself is set 30 to 60 calendar days after the treasurer mails the notice of public auction. A separate rule lets an owner who was under a legal disability when a tax deed was executed under Article 11 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 deposit up to one thousand dollars plus statutory fees when the application is accepted, applied against the treasurer's fees and costs, and all Article 11.5 fees and costs are chargeable as additional amounts owing under the certificate of purchase. A third-party winner may be charged up to three hundred dollars for processing. The statute sets no bidder deposit percentage, so payment terms come from the treasurer's written auction policies.
Surplus proceeds
Junior lienors whose liens were recorded before the application for treasurer's deed may file a claim for overbid money within eight business days after the auction. Between the ninth and fifteenth business day the overbid is paid to them in order of recording priority, each up to the unpaid lien plus fees and costs, and whatever remains goes to the property owner. The treasurer mails the owner a notice within thirty days after the claim period ends. Unclaimed overbid stays in escrow for two years without interest to the claimant. Amounts under twenty-five dollars left unclaimed for six months go to the county general fund, and larger amounts left unclaimed for two years go to the state treasurer as unclaimed property. An agreement to pay someone to recover an unclaimed overbid is enforceable only if the fee is capped at ten percent and the agreement is made at least two years after the transfer.
Governing statute
C.R.S. Title 39, Article 11

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.

See the full Colorado rules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Montrose County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Montrose County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.

When is the Montrose County tax certificate sale?

Annual, held in late October. The county's Tax Lien Sale Procedures state: "The sale of Montrose County delinquent tax and special assessment tax liens will be held on October 29, 2026. The sale will commence at 10:00 a.m. and will be conducted at the historic Montrose County Courthouse, 320 S. 1st Street, Montrose Colorado." Bidders must arrive at Suite 200 no later than 9:30 a.m. because the doors lock at that time, and the sale continues until all parcels are sold. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

How often does Montrose County hold tax deed sales?

Montrose County tax deed sale schedule: on application. There is no fixed calendar. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Colorado's redemption rule: About 3 years: the certificate holder cannot apply for the treasurer's deed until after August 1 of the third calendar year following the tax lien sale. Call the County Treasurer as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Montrose County tax sale list?

The recorded official list reference is at montrosecounty.net. Check whether it covers auction parcels, office information or Lands Available, then obtain the advertised parcel list for the sale you plan to bid on. Confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement.

Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state sources.

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 office that runs the sale before you bid.

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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Call Montrose County Treasurer - Public Trustee