Idaho sells no tax lien certificates to investors. To buy a Idaho tax deed you bid on the property itself, at a county auction run by the Board of County Commissioners. Review the sale terms, deed and applicable law to confirm the property interest conveyed.
Each step below is drawn from Idaho statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.
New here? There is no certificate step in Idaho. You bid on the property itself, so the money is at risk on the parcel from day one and the research has to happen before the auction, not after. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Learn the timeline and lien priority
Property taxes are due in full on or before December 20 of the year they are levied, or in two halves, the first by December 20 and the second by a grace period ending June 20, and the second half is not treated as current while the first is delinquent. An unpaid half draws a late charge of 2 percent of the delinquency and interest of 1 percent per month calculated from January 1 following the year the tax lien attached. Interest is not charged on collection costs. Understand this before you commit any money.
Know when the redemption right ends
Not applicable to investors. The 2 percent late charge and 1 percent monthly interest under 63-201 and 63-1001 accrue to the county, not to a private certificate holder. The window belongs to the county's holding period, not to the auction. After the tax deed issues to the county, the record owner or a party in interest may redeem by paying the delinquency with late charges, accrued interest and costs including title search and professional fees, plus the taxes that accrued after the deed. That right runs only up to the moment the commissioners enter into a contract of sale or the property is transferred by county deed. Fourteen months after issuance it expires regardless. Since 31-808 requires the auction within those same fourteen months, a buyer at the county auction takes the property with the redemption already extinguished, and the tax deed is presumptive evidence of the regularity of everything before it. A redemption before that deadline pulls the parcel off the auction list, so confirm it is still scheduled before you travel or bid.
Learn what sends a parcel to the auction
A delinquency that has run three years from the date of delinquency without being redeemed. Before the deed can issue, the tax collector must serve a notice of pending issue of tax deed on the record owner and parties in interest of record by certified mail, no more than five months and no less than two months before the date set for the deed, publishing a summary if that notice comes back undelivered, and must record an affidavit of compliance.
Bid at the tax deed auction
The Board of County Commissioners. The county tax collector issues and records the tax deed to the county after a hearing before the commissioners, and the commissioners then conduct the auction that sells the property on. sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. No statutory deposit. The commissioners set a minimum bid covering all property taxes owing, interest and costs, and the parcel goes to the highest bidder over it. Payment terms are set by each county's own terms of sale, so confirm them before you bid.
Or buy over the counter
You do not have to wait for an auction. Idaho Code 31-808 sets out a procedure after an attempted auction, so parcels that draw no acceptable bid stay in county hands and can be offered again. Availability and method are set by each board of county commissioners rather than statewide, so check the county before assuming a list exists.
One more step: clear the title
Winning a tax deed does not hand you marketable title. Before you can resell to a normal buyer or insure the parcel, you will usually need a quiet title action, which takes months and costs money. Fold that cost into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed before you bid. A tax deed also does not wipe out everything: select governmental and municipal liens can survive, and a federal tax lien carries a 120-day IRS redemption right, so check what survives a tax deed too.
Buying tax deeds in Idaho: common questions
How do you buy a tax deed in Idaho?
More Idaho answers, including redemption and statute detail, are on the Idaho tax sale FAQ.
New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full Idaho walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Sep 7, 2026 against Idaho statutes.
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.