Lee County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Lee County, seat of Dixon: 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 Lee County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Lee County Treasurer's Office, which serves as the Lee County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late October, at 9 a.m. The Treasurer's posted tax due dates for 2025 taxes payable in 2026 list "October 27th at 9a.m." as the "Tax Sale" and state that "All unpaid taxes will be sold at tax sale 9 a.m. October 27, 2026". The prior cycle's county registration form lists "TAX SALE DATE: October 28, 2025 at 9AM", so the sale lands in the last week of October each year.
Registration and deposit
Register in advance with the Lee County Treasurer using the county's tax buyer registration form, filed at 112 E Second Street, P.O. Box 328, Dixon, IL 61021, phone 815-288-4477. The form for the 2024 tax year sale set a registration deadline of October 10, 2025 for the October 28, 2025 sale and required a $100 deposit applied to purchases at the sale plus a $75 delinquent list fee. It collects the firm name the certificate will be issued in, EIN or SSN, contact details, the names of the people bidding, and the preferred delinquent list format (Excel, PDF, or hard copy). The form states that a registered buyer who does not attend the sale forfeits the deposit. Confirm the current year's deadline and fees with the office before relying on those figures.
Lee County runs a traditional in person annual tax sale under the Illinois Property Tax Code. The Treasurer's Office states that "A tax sale is held at the end of each tax year to sell the tax on all parcels that remain unpaid". Bidders attend in person at the Treasurer's Office in Dixon; no online auction platform appears anywhere on the county site, so no platform link is available for this county and bidders should confirm sale logistics with the office. The county does not publish the delinquent parcel list on its website. The list is supplied to registered tax buyers for a $75 fee in Excel, PDF, or hard copy, ordered on the registration form. Payment cutoffs tighten ahead of the sale: the county accepts only online payments, cash, cashier's check, or money order after September 30, 2026, only cash, cashier's check, or money order after October 13, 2026, and rejects anything not physically received by 4:30 p.m. on October 26, 2026. Redemption is handled by the Tax Redemption Department of the Lee County Clerk's Office, not the Treasurer. Separately, ILTaxSale.com, operated by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, the appointed delinquent tax agent for most Illinois counties, advertises a Lee County "Real Estate, Sealed Bid" auction dated August 21, 2026 with bids delivered to the Treasurer's office. That is the trustee's sealed bid sale of tax deeded parcels left over from earlier county sales, not the annual certificate sale, and Meyer's own company page states the firm does not conduct the county annual tax sales. Meyer also sells a list of assignable certificates for $25. Treat the two sales as separate opportunities with separate terms. In person through the Lee County Treasurer's Office. No online bidding platform is listed by the county.
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 Lee County
- The annual tax sale is held in person at the Treasurer's Office in Dixon. Lee County lists no online bidding platform, so plan to attend or send a representative named on the registration form.
- The delinquent parcel list is not posted online. Registered tax buyers order it from the Treasurer for a $75 fee and can choose Excel, PDF, or hard copy.
- Registration closes roughly two and a half weeks before the sale. The 2024 tax year form set an October 10, 2025 deadline for the October 28, 2025 sale, and required a $100 deposit credited toward purchases.
- A registered buyer who does not show up at the sale forfeits the $100 deposit, per the county's registration form.
- Redemption runs through the Tax Redemption Department of the Lee County Clerk's Office, so certificate holders track payoff there rather than at the Treasurer.
- ILTaxSale.com's August sealed bid "Real Estate" auction for Lee County is the delinquent tax agent's trustee deed sale of leftover parcels, not the county's annual certificate sale. Joseph E. Meyer & Associates states it does not run the county annual sales.
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 Lee County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Lee County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Lee County tax certificate sale?
- Late October, at 9 a.m. The Treasurer's posted tax due dates for 2025 taxes payable in 2026 list "October 27th at 9a.m." as the "Tax Sale" and state that "All unpaid taxes will be sold at tax sale 9 a.m. October 27, 2026". The prior cycle's county registration form lists "TAX SALE DATE: October 28, 2025 at 9AM", so the sale lands in the last week of October each year.. 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 Lee 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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