Hancock County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Hancock County, seat of Carthage: 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 Hancock County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Hancock County Treasurer and ex officio County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer posts a Certificate of Registration each year that names the sale date. The 2025 form states: "The date of the Tax Sale will be October 27, 2025 at 9:00 am in the County Board Room, 3rd floor, of the Hancock County Courthouse." The 2024 form states: "The date of the Tax Sale will be November 12, 2024 at 11:00 am in the County Board Room, 3rd floor, of the Hancock County Courthouse." Plan on late October or November, and read the current year form for the exact date and hour. As of July 29, 2026 the Treasurer's documents page still showed the 2025 form as the most recent one, so the 2026 date was not yet published.
Registration and deposit
Bidders register with the Hancock County Treasurer and Collector on the county's Certificate of Registration form, executed under 35 ILCS 200/21-220. The form states that registration is required ten business days in advance of the sale (for the October 27, 2025 sale the last day to register was October 10, 2025), that a $250 registration fee is required and is refunded if the buyer attends the tax sale, and that the tax sale list costs $75.00. The form collects the name the certificates of purchase will be issued in, a DBA, address, phone, Social Security or FEIN number, email, fax, and signature. Download the current year form from the Treasurer's Documents and Forms page.
The annual tax sale runs in person at the Hancock County Courthouse in Carthage, in the County Board Room on the 3rd floor. The registration form calls it an automated sale, meaning bids are collected through bidding software in the room rather than on a public website, so there is nothing to register for online. The tax sale list is not posted for free; the Treasurer sells it for $75.00. The sale covers the prior year delinquent real estate taxes plus the current year delinquent mobile home taxes, so the 2025 sale offered 2024 delinquent real estate and 2025 delinquent mobile home taxes. Separately, the county's delinquent tax agent, Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, runs sealed bid auctions of county trustee surplus property and sells a list of assignable tax lien certificates at iltaxsale.com. Those sealed bid rounds ran 07/12/2024, 08/01/2025 and 07/24/2026, and the Treasurer's page lists a $841 minimum bid. That agent program is a separate route from the annual tax sale and should not be mistaken for an online platform for it. Confirm the current sale date, fee and list price with the Treasurer before you plan a trip. In person at the Hancock County Courthouse, County Board Room, 3rd floor, run as an automated sale. No online bidding site is used.
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)
Hancock County Treasurer and ex officio County Collector
Hancock County Treasurer, P.O. Box 248, Carthage, IL 62321. Counter at the Hancock County Courthouse, 500 Main Street, Carthage, Illinois, open Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Official websiteNotes for Hancock County
- The Treasurer runs the annual tax sale, but the County Clerk handles what happens afterward. The Clerk's page tells taxpayers to contact the County Clerk if taxes were unpaid and sold at the tax sale. County Clerk and Recorder Holly Wilde-Tillman, 217-357-3911.
- The sale date moves year to year. It fell on November 12 in 2024 and October 27 in 2025, so check the current year Certificate of Registration rather than assuming a fixed month.
- The $250 registration fee is refundable, but only if the registered buyer actually attends the sale.
- Budget $75.00 for the tax sale list. Hancock County does not publish the annual sale list for free online.
- The county's delinquent tax agent, Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, publishes Hancock County trustee sealed bid auctions and a $25 list of assignable tax lien certificates at iltaxsale.com. That is the over the counter route, not the annual 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 Hancock County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Hancock County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Hancock County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer posts a Certificate of Registration each year that names the sale date. The 2025 form states: "The date of the Tax Sale will be October 27, 2025 at 9:00 am in the County Board Room, 3rd floor, of the Hancock County Courthouse." The 2024 form states: "The date of the Tax Sale will be November 12, 2024 at 11:00 am in the County Board Room, 3rd floor, of the Hancock County Courthouse." Plan on late October or November, and read the current year form for the exact date and hour. As of July 29, 2026 the Treasurer's documents page still showed the 2025 form as the most recent one, so the 2026 date was not yet published.. 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 Hancock 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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