Carroll County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Carroll County, seat of Mount Carroll: 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 Carroll County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Carroll County Treasurer's Office, the County Treasurer serving as ex officio County Collector (Lydia Hutchcraft, County Treasurer)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early November, at the close of the collection year for the prior year's taxes. The Treasurer's published schedule for 2025 taxes payable in 2026 lists "Thursday, November 5, 2026 TAX SALE" and shows the start time as not yet set. The run-up dates on the same schedule are "Monday, September 21, 2026 Publication list send to paper for Publication", "Wednesday, September 30, 2026 Publication in paper per State Statute 35 ILCS 200/21-110", "Thursday, October 1, 2026 Certified Delinquent Notices mailed per State Statute 35ILCS 200/21-135", "Friday, October 16, 2026 Application for Judgement of Tax Sale", "Friday, October 23, 2026 Tax Sale Registrations due", and "Wednesday, November 4, 2026 LAST DAY TO PAY TAXES". From September 26 through the sale the county accepts certified funds only.
Registration and deposit
Registration runs through the Treasurer's Office. The published schedule sets "Friday, October 23, 2026 Tax Sale Registrations due", roughly two weeks ahead of the November 5 sale, and "Friday, October 16, 2026 Application for Judgement of Tax Sale". The county posts no registration form, deposit amount, or bidder terms on its website, and its Treasurer Documents & Forms page carries only address-change, hotel/motel tax, and settlement-sheet files. Request the registration packet, deposit requirement, and sale terms directly from the Treasurer at 815-244-0246 or 815-244-0245 before the October deadline.
Carroll County runs its annual tax sale in person at the courthouse. No online bidding platform is confirmed for this county, so verify the format and location with the Treasurer's Office before the sale. The delinquent list for the annual sale is not posted online; it is published in a local newspaper under 35 ILCS 200/21-110, on September 30 in the 2026 cycle, and certified notices go out to owners the following day. A second and separate track exists: the county trustee's surplus sale of previously forfeited parcels, handled by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates through ILTaxSale.com by sealed bid. The Treasurer's own schedule confirms it with "Tuesday, July 21, 2026 Surplus Sealed Bid books available" and "Friday, August 21, 2026 Sealed bids due for Trustee's Surplus Sale", and the ILTaxSale.com Carroll County page shows an 08/21/2026 Real Estate Sealed Bid sale with an $825.00 minimum bid, downloadable sale notices, terms and conditions, and a sealed bid form, plus an assignable tax lien certificate list. Do not confuse that August sealed-bid trustee sale with the November annual tax sale. Redemption is not handled by the Treasurer: the Treasurer's page directs questions about back taxes or taxes sold at the tax sale to the County Clerk & Recorder, whose office lists "Tax extender for computing tax rates and the redemption of delinquent taxes" among its functions. In person at the Carroll County Courthouse in Mt. Carroll. The county names no online auction platform for its annual tax sale.
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)
Carroll County Treasurer / County Collector
815-244-0246 or 815-244-0245 (fax 815-244-9181)
Carroll County Courthouse, P.O. Box 198, Mt. Carroll, IL 61053
Official websiteNotes for Carroll County
- County seat is Mount Carroll. The Treasurer's page uses the abbreviation "Mt. Carroll" in its mailing address.
- The ILTaxSale.com Carroll County page lists the Treasurer's street address as 301 N. Main Street, Mt. Carroll, IL 61053, with office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The county's own Treasurer page publishes only the P.O. Box 198 mailing address.
- Redemption contact: Amy Buss, County Clerk & Recorder, Carroll County Courthouse, P.O. Box 152, Mt. Carroll, IL 61053, clerk's office (815) 244-0221, office hours 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.
- Penalty accrual published by the Treasurer for the 2026 cycle: 1.5 percent per month per installment, reaching 6 percent on the first installment and 3 percent on the second by the October 2 to November 4 window, plus a $10 publication cost added once the list goes to print.
- Installment due dates for 2025 taxes payable 2026 were July 1, 2026 and September 1, 2026, with bills mailed May 18 to May 23, 2026.
- The Treasurer's Documents & Forms page holds no tax sale registration form or bidder terms, so those materials appear to be distributed by the office on request.
- Property lookup for the county runs on a Devnet Wedge portal at https://carrollil.devnetwedge.com/, linked from the county site. That link was seen in the county page source but was not separately fetched, so treat it as unverified.
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 Carroll County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Carroll County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Carroll County tax certificate sale?
- Early November, at the close of the collection year for the prior year's taxes. The Treasurer's published schedule for 2025 taxes payable in 2026 lists "Thursday, November 5, 2026 TAX SALE" and shows the start time as not yet set. The run-up dates on the same schedule are "Monday, September 21, 2026 Publication list send to paper for Publication", "Wednesday, September 30, 2026 Publication in paper per State Statute 35 ILCS 200/21-110", "Thursday, October 1, 2026 Certified Delinquent Notices mailed per State Statute 35ILCS 200/21-135", "Friday, October 16, 2026 Application for Judgement of Tax Sale", "Friday, October 23, 2026 Tax Sale Registrations due", and "Wednesday, November 4, 2026 LAST DAY TO PAY TAXES". From September 26 through the sale the county accepts certified funds only.. 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 Carroll 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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