Lake County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Lake County, seat of Waukegan: 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 Lake County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Office of the Lake County Collector (the Lake County Treasurer serving as ex officio County Collector; Treasurer Holly Kim)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale each November. The Treasurer's Tax Sale Proceedings page states: "Tax sale date for Lake County: November 13, 2025. The Office of the Lake County Collector is proceeding with tentative plans to hold a tax sale for delinquent 2024 taxes on November 13, 2025." The Tax Sale Information page repeats "The Lake County tax sale is scheduled for November 13, 2025." The 2025 Real Estate Tax Calendar (payable in 2026) lists "November 13th Tax Sale" with "October 1st Registration begins for tax buyers" and "October 23rd Last day to register for tax sale," and adds that "Due Dates, Interest Assessment Dates, and Tax Sale date are fixed and will not change."
Registration and deposit
Register with the Lake County Treasurer / County Collector before the sale. For the TY2024 sale the Proceedings page states "The first day to register is October 1, 2025 and registration ends October 24, 2025 by 5:00 pm CST" (the 2025 calendar payable in 2026 lists October 1 to October 23). The application form states "By Illinois State Statute, all tax buyers must register with the Lake County Treasurer's office 10 business days prior to the tax sale." Deposits must be certified funds: returning buyers who participated in a sale in the last three years post $500, applied toward the first purchase; first-time buyers must post a certified check for the full amount they plan to purchase, separate from any list fee. An extra $100 buys the delinquent tax sale list, which Joseph E Meyer & Associates then emails in the requested format. All buyers and their appointed representatives must be 18 or older at registration, and each application must include a single-entity bidding verification. Mail the application to Lake County Collector, Attn: Tax Sale, 18 N. County Street, Room 102, Waukegan, IL 60085.
Lake County runs the sale IN PERSON, so no online auction platform applies. The registration packet states the sale is "held at the Lake County Administration Building, 18 N. County Street, Waukegan, IL 60085 on the tenth floor," with flash drives collected in the tenth-floor Assembly Room and bidders required to "be in line by 10:30 am for bids to be accepted." The Treasurer explains the in-person requirement: "35 ILCS 200/21-205 states 'All bidders are required to personally attend the sale.' We interpret this to mean that the tax buyer must personally drop off the drive at the time the tax sale begins." Bidding is down-the-interest-rate: the packet states "The maximum interest rate a tax buyer can bid is 9%, the lowest is 0%," citing Public Act 102-363 for the 9% cap on TY2024 taxes, with ties among identical low bids broken by random electronic selection. If no investor bids, the County of Lake as Trustee bids 9% and takes the certificate, which eliminates forfeitures. Final bids include a fee of $104 per parcel won. Because bids are prepared in advance on the drive, the county does not allow corrections for mistaken bids. Purchases above the deposit must be paid at the Treasurer's office by noon on the Tuesday after the sale (noon November 18, 2025 for the TY2024 sale). Certificates are not mailed and must be picked up at the Treasurer's office, Room 102. Redemption is handled by the Lake County Clerk's office, Redemption Department, at 847-377-2404, not by the Treasurer. The Tax Sales page notes that if taxes are not redeemed in 2 years (vacant property) or 2.5 years (house), the owner could lose the property. As of the July 2026 check, the Treasurer's tax-sale pages still displayed the TY2024 sale details while the current tax calendar lists a November sale date, so confirm the current year's sale and registration dates with the office before planning a bid. In person at the Lake County Administration Building using RAMS 2, a randomized sealed-bid system approved by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Joseph E Meyer & Associates acts as auctioneer. Bids are submitted on a USB flash drive rather than through an online bidding site.
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 Lake County
- The sale is a live in-person event at the County Administration Building in Waukegan, tenth floor, with sealed bids handed over on a USB flash drive under RAMS 2. There is no online bidding portal for this county.
- Joseph E Meyer & Associates is the auctioneer that emails registered buyers the biddable parcel file, uploads the flash drives, and emails winning-bid lists within 24 hours of the sale closing.
- Interest is bid down from a 9% maximum per six-month period to as low as 0%, and identical low bids are resolved by random electronic selection.
- Winning bidders pay $104 per parcel in fees on top of taxes, interest, and statutory costs.
- Certificates are picked up at the Treasurer's office in Room 102 and are never mailed.
- Redemption inquiries go to the Lake County Clerk's Tax Extension and Redemption division, 18 N. County Street, 6th Floor, Waukegan, IL 60085, phone 847-377-2404.
- The delinquent list is published by township in Tribune Publishing and Shaw Media Group papers, and the township PDFs are posted on the Treasurer's Publications page.
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 Lake County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Lake County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Lake County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale each November. The Treasurer's Tax Sale Proceedings page states: "Tax sale date for Lake County: November 13, 2025. The Office of the Lake County Collector is proceeding with tentative plans to hold a tax sale for delinquent 2024 taxes on November 13, 2025." The Tax Sale Information page repeats "The Lake County tax sale is scheduled for November 13, 2025." The 2025 Real Estate Tax Calendar (payable in 2026) lists "November 13th Tax Sale" with "October 1st Registration begins for tax buyers" and "October 23rd Last day to register for tax sale," and adds that "Due Dates, Interest Assessment Dates, and Tax Sale date are fixed and will not 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 Lake 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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