Cumberland County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Cumberland County, seat of Toledo: 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 Cumberland County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Cumberland County Treasurer, serving as ex officio County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- One annual tax sale each fall, covering delinquent real estate and mobile home taxes together. The county's 2026 Tax Calendar lists "Tax Sale date October 30, 2026 at 1:30PM", with a judgment date of "October 26, 2026 at 8:45AM" and newspaper publication on October 8, 2026. The prior year's packet states "The tax sale will begin at 10:30 AM on November 6, 2025." Recent sales have fallen in late October or early November, so confirm the exact date and start time with the Treasurer each year.
Registration and deposit
Complete the Bidder Registration Form and return it to the Treasurer's Office. The sale packet requires it "no later than 10 business days prior to the tax sale"; the 2026 calendar sets the last day to register as October 16, 2026. Include a $250.00 tax sale registration fee with the form, which 35 ILCS 200/21-220 caps at $250.00 for counties under 50,000 population and which is applied to any purchase made at the sale. A separate non-refundable $25.00 fee buys the tax sale delinquent list. Send a separate check for each fee, payable to Cumberland County Treasurer. A registrant who cannot attend may notify the collector of a substitute participant no later than 5 business days before the sale; a registrant who does not attend forfeits the deposit to the Tax Sale Automation Fund, while a registrant who attends and bids without winning any parcel gets the deposit refunded. Cumberland County adopted the single-bidder rule under 35 ILCS 200/21-205(b-5) by Ordinance 22-01 on April 12, 2022. Certificates are issued in the company name written on the registration form, or in the buyer's name if that field is left blank.
This is a live, in-person sale held at the Cumberland County Annex Building, County Board Room, 140 Courthouse Square, Toledo, IL 62468. There is no online bidding portal for the annual tax sale. Bids run through RAMS-2, the tax sale software administered by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, Inc. as Cumberland County's tax agent, but bidders attend in person. Real estate and mobile home delinquencies are offered at the same sale. Fees added to each parcel purchased are a $20.00 indemnity fee, a $10.00 automation fee, a $10.00 publication fee, and a $4.00 County Clerk fee. Winning bids in the 2024 real estate sale ranged from 1.00% to 5.00% penalty, and unsold mobile home items were struck to the county trustee at 18.00%. The delinquent list is sold by the Treasurer for $25.00 rather than posted free online; the county website publishes the read lists after each sale. Separately, Joseph E. Meyer & Associates runs a sealed-bid sale of county trustee held certificates and tax deed property for Cumberland County at ILTaxSale.com, with bids submitted through iltaxsalebids.com. That trustee sale is a different auction from the annual tax sale and is scheduled independently, so do not use its date or its bidding site when planning for the annual sale. In person at the county annex, bid using RAMS-2 software administered by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, Inc., the county tax agent
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 Cumberland County
- Cumberland County is a small downstate county whose annual tax sale is measured in a handful of parcels: the 2024 real estate sale read list shows only a few sold parcels per township.
- The county adopted the single-bidder rule by Ordinance 22-01 on April 12, 2022, so related entities cannot register multiple bidders to gain extra chances at the same parcel.
- Registration is paper based and mailed to the Treasurer, and the $250.00 registration deposit is credited toward purchases but forfeited if the registrant fails to appear.
- The delinquent list is not free. Investors must pay the $25.00 list fee with registration, or read the newspaper publication issued about three weeks before the sale.
- Unsold parcels are struck to the county trustee and later offered through Joseph E. Meyer & Associates at ILTaxSale.com, which is the practical secondary route into Cumberland County certificates and tax deed property.
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 Cumberland County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Cumberland County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Cumberland County tax certificate sale?
- One annual tax sale each fall, covering delinquent real estate and mobile home taxes together. The county's 2026 Tax Calendar lists "Tax Sale date October 30, 2026 at 1:30PM", with a judgment date of "October 26, 2026 at 8:45AM" and newspaper publication on October 8, 2026. The prior year's packet states "The tax sale will begin at 10:30 AM on November 6, 2025." Recent sales have fallen in late October or early November, so confirm the exact date and start time with the Treasurer each year.. 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 Cumberland 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.
Explore all 102 Illinois counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.