Rio Grande County, CO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Tax notices mail during the third week of January, and delinquent notices go out the first week of July.
• •Taxes are payable in one lump sum due April 30 or in two equal installments due February 28 and June 15. Interest accrues at 1 percent per month once a deadline passes.
• •Unpaid balances as of September 30 are advertised before the sale, and the advertising cost is added to the amount a bidder must pay at the sale. The Treasurer's page names the San Luis Valley Journal, while the notice for the 2026 sale is set to run in The Valley Courier.
• •The Treasurer's 2026 calendar sets June 26, 2026 as the date delinquent notices mail and August 1, 2026 as the first day to endorse certificates.
• •Certificate holders get an endorsement letter each year after August 1 listing the liens they hold. The Treasurer's office recommends paying subsequent taxes to protect the position.
• •Redemption runs three years from the sale date before a certificate holder can apply for a treasurer's deed. The office states that lien assignments are final and are not refunded, and that Colorado is a buyer-beware state where bidders do their own due diligence.
• •The Treasurer also serves as Public Trustee. Public trustee foreclosure sales are held Wednesday mornings and are a separate process from the tax lien sale.
• •The 2026 calendar also lists a separate mobile home tax sale in early November alongside personal property distraint dates. Confirm the mobile home sale date with the office, because the published sequence of mobile home deadlines looks inconsistent.
• •The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., including the lunch hour, and closes for legal holidays set by the Board of County Commissioners.

Colorado rules

Max interest rate

13% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)Colorado Division of Banking - Interest Rates set by the Bank Commissioner (rate set under C.R.S. 39-12-103)Verified Oct 1, 2026

Minimum return

No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the saleC.R.S. 39-12-103 - Redemption made, interestC.R.S. 39-12-103Verified Oct 12, 2026

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.C.R.S. 39-12-103 - Redemption made, interestC.R.S. 39-12-103Verified Oct 12, 2026

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.C.R.S. 39-11.5-102 - Lawful holder, application for treasurer's deed, feeC.R.S. 39-11.5-102Verified Oct 12, 2026

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.C.R.S. 39-11.5-112 - Treatment of overbid, agreement to assist in recovery of overbidC.R.S. 39-11.5-112Verified Oct 12, 2026

Governing statute

C.R.S. Title 39, Article 11C.R.S. 39-11-115 - To whom tax lien shall be soldC.R.S. 39-11-115Verified Oct 12, 2026

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.

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