Johnson County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Johnson County, seat of Vienna: 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 Johnson County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Johnson County Treasurer's Office (the Treasurer serves as ex officio County Collector and conducts the annual tax sale)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early November. The Treasurer's office page lists "Annual Tax Sale - Friday, November 8, 2024 at 9 AM" beneath the 2023 payable 2024 installment due dates. That calendar has not been refreshed for a newer cycle, so treat early November as the pattern and confirm the current year's date and time with the Treasurer's office.
Registration and deposit
The Treasurer's office publishes no bidder registration form, deadline, or deposit amount online. Request the registration packet directly from the Treasurer at (618) 658-8042 or [email protected]. Bidding on the separate delinquent tax agent auctions runs through ILTaxSale.com by sealed bid, where the FAQ states a bid "must be equal to or greater than the minimum bid", each bidder gets "one chance to bid", payment in full is due in certified funds or personal check, and results are mailed roughly 7 to 10 days after the sealed bid deadline.
No online auction platform is confirmed for Johnson County's annual tax sale, so verify the format with the Treasurer's office before planning to bid. The only sale detail the county publishes is the date and start time on the Treasurer's home page; it names no bidding site and posts no delinquent list online. A separate secondary channel does exist: Joseph E. Meyer & Associates serves as Delinquent Tax Agent for 94 of Illinois's 102 counties, including Johnson, and sells parcels that went unsold at the county tax sale plus assignable tax lien certificates. Its Johnson County page is headed "upcoming tax deed auctions" and shows a Real Estate / Mobile Home sealed bid auction dated 11/13/2026 at the Johnson County Courthouse, minimum bid $845.00, with prior sales on 10/31/2025, 11/01/2024 and 10/27/2023. That page states the "Catalog will be available approximately 30 days prior to the auction" and offers a "List of Assignable Certificates" for $25. Those dates belong to the trustee program, not to the County Collector'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)
Notes for Johnson County
- Treasurer of record on the county page is Mitch McClellan, appointed 2022. Office hours for property taxes are listed as Monday through Friday, 8:00 to noon and 1:00 to 4:00. Fax is (618) 658-4209 and the tax inquiry mailbox is [email protected].
- The county has no standalone tax sale page. Its annual sale announcement lives as a single line on the Treasurer's home page hosted by the Illinois County Treasurers' Association, which is why registration, deposit, and bidding format are unverified for this county.
- Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, County Tax Agent, 141 Saint Andrews Ave, PO Box 96, Edwardsville, IL 62025, phone (618) 656-5744, runs the trustee sales and the assignable certificate list for Johnson County. Their site describes the role as obtaining tax deeds on behalf of the taxing districts after redemption expires and selling at public auction, verbally or by sealed bid.
- Parcel level tax records are searchable at johnsonil.devnetwedge.com (Devnet Wedge). Current tax payments run through johnsoncountytax.us or by phone at 1-(618) 342-8340. Neither surface carries tax sale listings.
- The county's own web presence is thin. The johnsonco.illinois.gov domain backs county email but did not return a usable public page during research, and johnsoncountyil.net redirects offsite to an unrelated commercial domain, so it should not be linked as a county source.
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 Johnson County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Johnson County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Johnson County tax certificate sale?
- Early November. The Treasurer's office page lists "Annual Tax Sale - Friday, November 8, 2024 at 9 AM" beneath the 2023 payable 2024 installment due dates. That calendar has not been refreshed for a newer cycle, so treat early November as the pattern and confirm the current year's date and time 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 Johnson 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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