Brown County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Brown County, seat of Mount Sterling: 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 Illinois tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Brown County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Brown County Treasurer / Collector (the Treasurer serves as ex officio County Collector)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Fall, on a single date set each year. The Treasurer page's current-year tax table lists "Tax Sale Date - November 6, 2026", following installment due dates of July 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026. The county calendar carries the same entry, "Tax Sale Date", for November 6, 2026.
Registration and deposit
Brown County does not publish bidder registration instructions, forms, or deadlines online. Contact the Treasurer / Collector at 217-773-3133 ext. 7 or [email protected] for registration requirements, deposit rules, and check-in time. The county does describe the bidding method: "By law, tax sale interest rate bids start at 9% per 6 months and bid downward to the lowest bid."
Brown County publishes a tax sale date but no auction platform. The county calendar lists the venue for the tax sale as the Brown County Courthouse, 200 Court St., Mt. Sterling, which points to a sale conducted at the courthouse rather than on a bidding website. No online platform is confirmed for this county, so verify the format with the Treasurer's office before making travel or bidding plans. Delinquent parcels are pursued through a Circuit Court judgment and order of sale, and the certificate buyer's return is set by the interest-rate bid-down starting at 9% per six months. Pre-sale, unpaid taxes accrue interest at 1 1/2% per month or part of a month. Once a tax is sold, redemption is handled by the County Clerk, not the Treasurer. Brown County posts no delinquent tax list or sale list on its website; the linked DEVNET portal shows parcel-level tax status only. Treat third-party tax sale aggregator listings for this county as unverified, since none of them are published or endorsed by the county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Sheriff or a court-appointed private selling officer, under an order of the circuit court. A county acting as trustee runs its own tax deed auctions.
- Frequency
- as ordered by the circuit court
- Typical timing
- Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction. Public Act 104-0553 created this route for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026, so the earliest Illinois judicial tax deed auctions fall in 2027, after the 1 year short redemption track runs.
Registration and deposit
Terms of a judicial tax deed auction, including whether it runs online, in person, or both, and what deposit is required, are set in the court's order and published in the notice of tax deed auction. That notice runs once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, starting no more than 45 days and ending no less than 7 days before the auction. Read the notice for each parcel; there is no statewide platform or standing bidder registration.
Bidding opens at the tax deed judgment amount plus 0.75 percent per month since judgment, plus publication and selling officer costs. The petitioning certificate holder is entered as a credit bidder at that minimum. Surplus above the minimum goes to the county treasurer for the former owner to claim.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Certificates nobody bids on at the annual sale are forfeited to the county as trustee for the taxing districts. The county may then assign a forfeited certificate to any party or sell property it has acquired, which many counties handle through a delinquent tax agent rather than a public counter. Counties may also offer county-held certificates at a scavenger sale with a minimum bid of $250, or half the tax when total liability is under $500. Ask the county collector and the county clerk which program the county runs and who may buy.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Brown County
- The Treasurer's published duties include "Preparation of delinquent tax lists and mailing of notices to the taxpayer(s) on record", "Obtaining tax-sale judgment orders", and "Conducting an annual tax sale to seek payment of delinquent taxes".
- Current officeholder listed on the county site: Heather McClelland, Treasurer / Collector, with Leah Bond as Deputy. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
- Redemption of a sold tax is handled by the Brown County Clerk and Recorder at 200 Court St., Room 4, Mt. Sterling, IL 62353, phone 217-773-3421. The Treasurer page states: "Sold tax redemption is made at the County Clerk's office." The Clerk's own page carries no redemption detail, so investors should call for a redemption estimate.
- The county calendar event for the sale gives only a date and a courthouse venue. It carries no start time, no registration window, and no bidder packet.
- No delinquent tax list or sale list is posted on browncoil.org. Illinois counties of this size commonly publish the delinquent list in a local newspaper of record rather than online.
- Two similar domains exist for this area. browncoil.org is the county government site and the one used for every fact here. Any figure should be confirmed with the Treasurer's office before bidding.
Illinois statewide rules
- Redemption
- Property sold at an Illinois tax sale may be redeemed at any time before the redemption period expires. Public Act 104-0553 set the standard period at 3 years from the date of sale for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026. Certificates issued between January 1, 2024 and July 9, 2026 run on the earlier 2.5 year (30 month) track, and on that track the certificate holder could file a written notice with the county clerk extending redemption to a date no later than 3 years from the sale. A short 1 year period applies when the parcel was, on the date of sale, vacant non-farm property, commercial or industrial property, or improved with a structure holding 7 or more residential units. Certificates the county holds or assigns as trustee run on their own schedule under Section 21-385, and an assignee must file notice within 60 days of assignment setting a redemption deadline no later than 3 years from the assignment.
- Deed deposit
- Illinois does not fix a statutory deposit percentage. Deposit and payment terms are set in the court's order authorizing the auction and by the selling officer, so read the notice of tax deed auction for each sale. A purchaser who fails to complete the sale forfeits any deposit already made to the county surplus equity fund, and the court orders a new auction of the property.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any amount by which the winning bid exceeds the minimum bid is surplus. Within 30 days after the court confirms the sale the selling officer deposits the surplus with the county treasurer, who notifies everyone who received the Section 22-10 take notice that the owner at the time of the sale may file a claim for it. A county running its own tax deed auction deposits surplus with the treasurer within 30 days of the sale and notifies interested parties within 60 days. Separately, a previous owner who lost equity through a tax deed can claim an award from the county surplus equity fund, capped at the value of the property when the deed issued less mortgages, liens, and the taxes the purchaser paid.
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 Brown County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Brown County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Brown County tax certificate sale?
- Fall, on a single date set each year. The Treasurer page's current-year tax table lists "Tax Sale Date - November 6, 2026", following installment due dates of July 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026. The county calendar carries the same entry, "Tax Sale Date", for November 6, 2026.. 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 Brown County hold tax deed sales?
- as ordered by the circuit court. 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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