Pitkin County, CO tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Pitkin County, seat of Aspen: 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 Pitkin County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Pitkin County Treasurer / Public Trustee
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early November, online. The Treasurer states "The tax lien sale will be held November 05, 2026 online." The county's delinquent-taxes page adds that "Delinquent real estate taxes will be advertised once a week for 3 consecutive weeks prior to the annual Tax Lien Sale held in November." In the prior cycle the auction site posted bidding open on Friday, October 3rd, 2025 and the sale concluding Thursday, November 6th, 2025 at 12:00 PM MST.
- Next expected
- by the second Monday in December, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at the auction site. The Treasurer states "The sale website will be available on Oct 05th, several weeks before the sale to allow for registration, which must be completed before the sale date. Bidding rules and instructions will also be available on the site." The posted bidding rules require every bidder to complete online registration with the name that will appear on the certificates, an address, and a Social Security number or Tax ID, since IRS W-9 forms, certificates, refunds, and redemptions are prepared from that information. In the prior cycle the registration fee was $0.00 and each investor had to submit an ACH deposit of at least 10% of anticipated winning bids by 10/29/2025 at 2:00 PM MT, with registration and deposits closing at the same time and full payment due by ACH the day after the sale. Foreign bidder registrations were not accepted and sub-accounts were not allowed. Realauction customer service is listed at (877) 361-7325.
Bidding is premium style: the Treasurer explains "The starting bid is the taxes, interest, and fees owed. Investors at the online public auction may bid a premium for purchasing those liens and the tax lien will be issued to the highest bidder." Premiums earn no interest and are not refunded. The auction site's bidding rules set $1.00 bid increments, run a proxy bid auction in timed batches closing 60 minutes apart, and note that certificates sold in the 2025 sale carry 15% interest. For the upcoming sale the county lists the rate as not yet set. The delinquent list is posted on the sale website with links to Assessor property records, and the initial list is also published on Tuesdays in the Aspen Daily News beginning October 13th. Between sale cycles the auction site's preview and registration pages show as unavailable until the county reopens them. County employees, their spouses and family members, and agents acting for them may not bid, per C.R.S. 39-11-151, and a lien later found to have been wrongfully sold earns 8% per annum instead of the sale rate. Separately, a certificate holder may request a Treasurer's Deed public auction 3 to 15 years after purchase, which requires a $1,000 deposit as of 2/1/2025 to cover advertising, posting, and notification costs.
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)
Notes for Pitkin County
- Pitkin County runs its annual tax lien sale entirely online through RealAuction's RealTaxLien platform at pitkin.coloradotaxsale.com, not at the courthouse.
- The auction site opens for registration about a month before the sale, and registration must be finished before the sale date. Plan for the ACH deposit deadline, which in the prior cycle fell a week ahead of the auction.
- Premium bidding applies. Anything paid above taxes, interest, and fees is not returned and earns no interest, so model the premium as a permanent cost against the certificate's yield.
- The certificate interest rate is set annually at 9 percentage points above the federal discount rate as of September 1, rounded to the nearest whole percent, and stays fixed for the life of the certificate. The 2025 rate was 15%.
- Certificate holders may endorse later delinquent taxes onto the certificate for up to 15 years.
- Colorado's post-Tyler v. Hennepin process means a lawful holder requesting a Treasurer's Deed triggers a public auction at fair market value, with overbid funds going to junior lienors and the owner rather than the certificate holder. Budget the $1,000 deposit that request requires.
- Confirm the current year's date, rate, and deadlines with the Treasurer's Office before committing funds, since the county page and the auction site's bidding rules can lag one cycle behind each other.
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 Pitkin County, Colorado sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Pitkin County follows Colorado's tax lien state system.
When is the Pitkin County tax certificate sale?
- Early November, online. The Treasurer states "The tax lien sale will be held November 05, 2026 online." The county's delinquent-taxes page adds that "Delinquent real estate taxes will be advertised once a week for 3 consecutive weeks prior to the annual Tax Lien Sale held in November." In the prior cycle the auction site posted bidding open on Friday, October 3rd, 2025 and the sale concluding Thursday, November 6th, 2025 at 12:00 PM MST.. 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 Pitkin 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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