Bureau County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Bureau County, seat of Princeton: 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 Bureau County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Bureau County Collector, the office held by the Bureau County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's Office page states: "The County Collector holds a tax sale at the end of every tax year to sell the tax on every parcel that remains unpaid." No fixed sale date is posted anywhere on the county website. The County Clerk's delinquent tax page says the Treasurer mails certified notices fifteen days before the date of application for judgment, then "publishes the delinquency lists in local newspapers ten days prior to the date of application," and that this publication carries "the date, time and location of the sale." For 2025 taxes payable in 2026 the installments are due July 22, 2026 and September 22, 2026, so the sale follows the second installment. Confirm the current date with the Collector.
Registration and deposit
Bidder registration details are not published online. The County Clerk states the Treasurer's newspaper publication "shall also contain the date of application for judgment, the date, time and location of the sale and the registration requirements for persons bidding at the sale," so the registration terms arrive with that notice. Request the form and deadline from the Bureau County Collector at 815-872-3241. Costs added to each parcel sold total $44.00: $10.00 publication, $4.00 clerk, $10.00 automation, $20.00 indemnity.
No online auction platform is confirmed for Bureau County's annual tax sale and the county posts no tax sale page, so verify the sale format and location with the Collector before planning to bid. The annual delinquency list is published in local newspapers rather than on the county site. Separately, Joseph E. Meyer & Associates serves as Bureau County Trustee and runs a sealed bid sale of trustee held real estate, next dated 09/04/2026 with an $841.00 minimum bid, where bids are placed online at iltaxsalebids.com or delivered to the Treasurer's office at 700 S. Main Street, Room 103; the trustee also sells a list of assignable tax lien certificates for the county. That trustee sale is not the annual certificate sale. RAMS Auctions, which supplies in person networked bidding used at many Illinois county tax sales, announced in 2010 that Bureau County would use its system, but its current schedule page shows no Bureau date, so treat that format as unconfirmed.
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 Bureau County
- The County Clerk handles redemption, not the Collector. The clerk's real estate tax FAQ says taxes sold at the annual tax sale leave the owner "the right to redeem your property for two and one-half years to three years," and directs owners to call (815) 875-2014 and ask for a Statement of Redemption using the parcel PIN.
- Delinquent taxes accrue a penalty of 1.5% per month per installment. The County Clerk notes this penalty "is not prorated and is applied the day after each due date."
- A $10.00 fee is added to unpaid taxes after the second installment due date for publication and mailing of certified delinquent notices. Once those notices are mailed the Collector accepts only certified funds, meaning cashier's check, money order, or cash, and no personal or business checks.
- For the 2025 tax year collected in 2026, the first installment was due July 22, 2026 and the second installment is due September 22, 2026.
- The Clerk's real estate tax cycle page assigns the sale to the Treasurer, listing "Conducts delinquent tax sale" among the Treasurer's duties, while the Clerk sets rates and calculates amounts.
- Parcel and tax lookup for Bureau County runs on the Fike and Fike public inquiry at propertytaxonline.org, linked from both the Treasurer's page and the County Clerk site.
- The Treasurer is Joseph Birkey, listed on the County Trustee sale notice for the Bureau County Courthouse and reachable at [email protected]. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
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 Bureau County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Bureau County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Bureau County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's Office page states: "The County Collector holds a tax sale at the end of every tax year to sell the tax on every parcel that remains unpaid." No fixed sale date is posted anywhere on the county website. The County Clerk's delinquent tax page says the Treasurer mails certified notices fifteen days before the date of application for judgment, then "publishes the delinquency lists in local newspapers ten days prior to the date of application," and that this publication carries "the date, time and location of the sale." For 2025 taxes payable in 2026 the installments are due July 22, 2026 and September 22, 2026, so the sale follows the second installment. Confirm the current date with the Collector.. 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 Bureau 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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