Edwards County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Edwards County, seat of Albion: 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 Edwards County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Edwards County Treasurer, serving as ex officio County Collector (Treasurer Jennifer L. Thomason)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, in the fall. The Edwards County Treasurer page states "EDWARDS COUNTY TAX SALE: November 12, 2025" for the 2024 tax year, next to installment due dates of "1st Installment: AUGUST 22, 2025" and "2nd Installment: SEPTEMBER 22, 2025". That page still shows the 2024 cycle, so treat November 2025 as the last published sale date and confirm the current year date with the Collector.
Registration and deposit
Edwards County does not publish annual tax sale registration instructions online. Request the registration packet, deposit amount and bidding rules directly from the Treasurer and ex officio County Collector at (618) 445-3581. The separate county trustee sealed bid auction takes a bid form pulled from the catalog, obtained at the Treasurer's office, or downloaded online, with bids mailed to the address on the catalog cover. Its FAQ states "Payment in full is required when submitting your bid" and that "Bids received after the deadline will not be accepted." Online bids for that trustee auction are placed through iltaxsalebids.com after registering an account there.
Two distinct channels operate in Edwards County. First, the annual tax sale of delinquent taxes is conducted by the Treasurer as ex officio County Collector. The county's own page gives a sale date but names no online auction site, so no platform is confirmed for the annual certificate sale; verify the format, location and start time with the office before planning a trip. Second, parcels that go unsold at the annual sale enter the county trustee program administered by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, described on its site as "the Delinquent Tax Agent for 94 of 102 counties in Illinois", which "obtains tax deeds on behalf of the taxing districts and sells the properties at public auction." That firm lists an Edwards County sealed bid auction of tax deed property and mobile homes for 12/11/2026 with a minimum bid of $838.00, staged at the Edwards County Courthouse, 50 E. Main Street, Albion, and it also sells a list of assignable tax lien certificates for $25. Catalogs post roughly 30 days before the auction. That trustee auction is a secondary channel and is not the county's annual certificate 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)
Edwards County Treasurer and ex officio County Collector
Edwards County Courthouse, 50 E. Main Street, Suite 11, Albion, IL 62806-1295
Official websiteNotes for Edwards County
- Treasurer Jennifer L. Thomason, elected 2022. Tax deputy Alaina Stopher. Office hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:00.
- Fax (618) 445-4076. The Treasurer page lists the office email as [email protected] and also carries a mailto link for [email protected].
- No standalone Edwards County government website surfaced in this research. The Treasurer's published web presence is the county page on the Illinois County Treasurers' Association site, and the auction operator's County Website field for Edwards County is blank.
- Parcel and tax lookup runs on Devnet Wedge at https://edwardsil.devnetwedge.com/ (Edwards County Property Tax Inquiry). The Treasurer page directs online payments to payments.municipay.com/il_edwards.
- Past Edwards County trustee auction results are posted as free PDFs for the 01/19/2024, 12/20/2024 and 12/12/2025 sales, all run as sealed bid.
- Investor caution: ILTaxSale.com is the trustee and delinquent tax agent channel, not the County Collector's annual sale. Anyone searching for Edwards County tax liens will land there first and can easily mistake the December sealed bid auction for the November annual tax sale.
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 Edwards County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Edwards County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Edwards County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, in the fall. The Edwards County Treasurer page states "EDWARDS COUNTY TAX SALE: November 12, 2025" for the 2024 tax year, next to installment due dates of "1st Installment: AUGUST 22, 2025" and "2nd Installment: SEPTEMBER 22, 2025". That page still shows the 2024 cycle, so treat November 2025 as the last published sale date and confirm the current year 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 Edwards 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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