Iroquois County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Iroquois County, seat of Watseka: 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 Iroquois County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Iroquois County Treasurer, who serves as ex officio Iroquois County Collector. The buyer packet states the Treasurer establishes the rules of the sale, registration forms go to the Iroquois County Collector's Office, and check-in checks are made payable to Iroquois County Collector.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, held in late October or November on a date the Treasurer sets each year. The 2025 buyer packet cover page and its Certificate of Registration both read "TAX YEAR 2024 PAYABLE 2025 IROQUOIS COUNTY TAX SALE, Monday, October 27, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., County Board Room, Iroquois County Administration Building," and the sale rules confirm check-in on October 27, 2025. The Treasurer's 2023 news release stated "THE TAX SALE WILL BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 21, 2023 AT 9:00 A.M. AT THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER." Confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer's office.
Registration and deposit
Register with the County Treasurer's office at least ten business days before the sale. Every buyer must complete the Certificate of Registration required by 35 ILCS 200/21-220; the 2025 packet set the cutoff at 4:30 p.m. on October 10, 2025 and directed signed forms to the Iroquois County Collector's Office, 1001 E Grant, Watseka, IL 60970. Only pre-registered buyers may participate, and the buyer or the agent named on the Certificate of Registration must be present in the room to bid. Buyers check in at the Treasurer's Office in Room 105 between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. on sale day and leave a signed check payable to Iroquois County Collector with the amount blank, drawn on a US bank in US dollars; personal and business checks are accepted, but first-time buyers must pay by cash, cashier's check or money order. Winning buyers pay the county for taxes purchased on the day of the sale plus penalties and costs. The delinquent property list is optional and costs $50.00 including updates, ordered by checking the box on the Certificate of Registration.
Iroquois County runs its annual tax sale as a live, in-person auction, not online. The sale rules state plainly, "This is a live auction," and set the location as the Iroquois County Administrative Center, 1001 E Grant, Watseka, IL, in the County Board room, starting promptly at 9:00 a.m. No online bidding platform is used for this sale, so there is no auction website to register on; all registration and bidding runs through the Treasurer's office. Bidding is a bid-down-the-penalty format: bidding on all delinquent taxes starts at 9% and the certificate is issued to the bidder offering the lowest interest or penalty bid. If two or more bidders bid the same rate they must break the tie, otherwise the Treasurer awards the bid. Real property taxes sell first and mobile home taxes second if offered. The Treasurer sets the bidding time for each item and calls breaks. Certificates are mailed to each bidder after the county reconciles the sale records. Redemption runs 2.5 years, after which the certificate holder may petition the Circuit Court for a tax deed. One caution on the 2025 packet: the cover page, the Certificate of Registration and the sale rules all give Monday, October 27, 2025, while one interior paragraph carrying a stale "2023 Tax Sale Information" heading gives October 28, 2025. Treat the October 27 date as the operative one and confirm with the office. Separately from the annual sale, the county buys taxes left unbid through its agent Joseph E. Meyer and Associates, takes tax deeds after the redemption period, and resells those parcels at a surplus property auction; the packet says the next surplus auction has not been scheduled and that the trustee sets the date, with the catalog and bidding instructions available roughly 30 days ahead from the trustee's website at iltaxsale.com or from the Treasurer's office. That surplus auction is a separate county-trustee deed sale and is not the 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)
Notes for Iroquois County
- Kurt Albers is listed as the Iroquois County Treasurer. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- The Certificate of Registration lists a fax number of 815-432-5462 and directs tax buyer correspondence to the Iroquois County Collector's Office at 1001 E Grant, Watseka, IL 60970.
- The delinquent property list is advertised in local newspapers two to three weeks before the sale under 35 ILCS 200/21-110 and 21-115, and the county also sells it in electronic or paper format from the middle of October for $50.00 including updates. The county does not post a free delinquent list online.
- The 2023 Treasurer news release set that year's last day to pay before the tax sale at end of day November 17, 2023, with the tax buyer registration deadline at end of day November 6, 2023, showing the pattern of a registration cutoff roughly two weeks before the sale.
- Property tax records are searchable through the county's Devnet Wedge portal linked from the Treasurer page.
- As of this check the most recent buyer packet posted by the county is the September 2025 edition; the county had not yet posted a packet for the following sale year.
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 Iroquois County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Iroquois County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Iroquois County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, held in late October or November on a date the Treasurer sets each year. The 2025 buyer packet cover page and its Certificate of Registration both read "TAX YEAR 2024 PAYABLE 2025 IROQUOIS COUNTY TAX SALE, Monday, October 27, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., County Board Room, Iroquois County Administration Building," and the sale rules confirm check-in on October 27, 2025. The Treasurer's 2023 news release stated "THE TAX SALE WILL BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 21, 2023 AT 9:00 A.M. AT THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER." Confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer's office.. 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 Iroquois 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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