DeKalb County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in DeKalb County, seat of Sycamore: 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 DeKalb County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- DeKalb County Treasurer / Collector (the DeKalb County Treasurer serves as both Treasurer and Collector, and the office states "A tax sale is held at the end of each tax year to sell the tax on all parcels that remain unpaid")
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Once per year in late October. The Treasurer / Collector FAQ answers "When will your next tax sale be held?" with "The delinquent tax sale will be held on Monday, October 27, 2025" and answers "Where is it held and what time does it begin?" with "It is held at the DeKalb County Administration Building-Conference Room East, 110 E. Sycamore Street, Sycamore, IL 60178 at 9:00 a.m." The same page states "The tax sale only occurs once per year" and warns "All dates listed below are subject to change."
Registration and deposit
Bidders must have the current year DeKalb County Tax Buyer Registration form on file with the Treasurer's Office 10 business days before the sale. For the sale the page describes, forms were due October 10, 2025. Request the form from the Collector's Office at [email protected] or 815-895-7112, roughly two weeks after the second installment due date. Registration must include a $500.00 deposit that is applied to purchases, refunded if you attend without buying, and forfeited if you do not attend. One buyer per registration may bid. First-time buyers must pay the deposit and the list fee in certified funds (cash, cashier's check, money order, or letter of credit with a check); repeat buyers may use personal, business, or cashier's checks. Taxes must be paid immediately after the sale closes.
The annual sale is a live, in person, open outcry auction. The county states: "The sale will be conducted in an open outcry format. You or your registered representative must be physically present at the sale to bid. You cannot bid via any other manner." There is no online auction platform for this sale, so plan to attend in Sycamore. The sale list is not posted online: "Lists are available for a $75.00 prepaid fee," sent out generally 3 to 4 weeks after the second installment due date, and the county advertises in local newspapers after all second installment payments post. Only the accrued taxes, fees, and penalties are sold, not the property, and the county reports that all liens are sold at the sale, so no unsold inventory carries over from the annual auction. Leftover county inventory instead moves through the County Trustee: J. Meyer and Associates, DeKalb County Trustee, at 618-656-5744 handles over the counter and assignment purchases of certificates, and the trustee landing page at iltaxsale.com carries the assignable certificate list plus the DeKalb County Surplus Property Sale catalog, a sealed bid catalog sale held annually each summer with quitclaim deeds. That trustee catalog is a separate sale from the October certificate auction. The sale is final and does not clear other liens, and obtaining a deed is the buyer's responsibility. For redemption amounts, contact the DeKalb County Clerk's office at 815-895-7149. The Treasurer's page lists the last day to pay 2025 real estate taxes as October 23, 2026, which brackets the following annual sale, but confirm the current year sale date directly with the office because the published FAQ date may lag the current cycle. In person open outcry at the DeKalb County Administration Building, Conference Room East. No online bidding platform is used for the annual 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)
Notes for DeKalb County
- Treasurer / Collector is Becky Springer. Office hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Treasurer's Helpline is 815-895-7337 and email is [email protected].
- Redemption is handled by the DeKalb County Clerk, phone 815-895-7149, per the Treasurer's tax sale FAQ.
- County Trustee is J. Meyer and Associates (Joseph E. Meyer and Associates), phone 618-656-5744, for over the counter and assignment certificate purchases and the annual summer surplus property catalog sale.
- The Treasurer's tax sale FAQ still displayed an October 27, 2025 date when checked on 2026-07-29 and states that all listed dates are subject to change, so the current cycle date should be confirmed with the office before publishing a year specific date.
- The county page does not state a starting bid rate or bid down mechanic, so no county specific rate was captured; the statewide rule applies.
- Third party aggregators such as hometaxsale.com publish DeKalb County sale summaries but do not run the sale and were not used as sources.
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 DeKalb County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- DeKalb County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the DeKalb County tax certificate sale?
- Once per year in late October. The Treasurer / Collector FAQ answers "When will your next tax sale be held?" with "The delinquent tax sale will be held on Monday, October 27, 2025" and answers "Where is it held and what time does it begin?" with "It is held at the DeKalb County Administration Building-Conference Room East, 110 E. Sycamore Street, Sycamore, IL 60178 at 9:00 a.m." The same page states "The tax sale only occurs once per year" and warns "All dates listed below are subject to change.". 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 DeKalb 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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