Mason County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Mason County, seat of Havana: 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 Mason County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Mason County Treasurer and Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's property tax calendar for 2025 taxes payable in 2026 lists the sale only as "Tax Sale: (date not set yet)", so no 2026 date was posted as of late July 2026. The same calendar sets the second installment due date at September 8, 2026, and the annual sale follows the second installment under the collector's application for judgment and order of sale. An archived Illinois tax sale schedule from the county's sale software vendor lists Mason County on October 29, 2020 at 1:00 PM, which points to a fall sale. Confirm the current date with the Treasurer's office at 309-543-3359, option 3.
Registration and deposit
Mason County does not post a tax sale registration packet, deposit amount, or bidder deadline online. Tax buyers register with the County Collector ahead of the annual sale, and the vendor page for the county's sale software quotes 35 ILCS 200/21-205: "All bidders are required to personally attend the sale." Mason County appears on that vendor's list of Illinois counties using the R.A.M.S. bid collection system, under which each registered buyer brings a file of penalty percentage bids to the sale on a USB drive and every parcel is awarded to the lowest bid, with ties broken at random. Request the current registration form, deposit, and deadline from the Treasurer's office at 309-543-3359, option 3 or [email protected].
The annual tax sale is run by the Mason County Treasurer and Collector at the courthouse in Havana. The county website carries a tax sale line inside its property tax calendar but publishes no sale date, no registration packet, and no delinquent list, so the statutory newspaper notice and a call to the Treasurer are the practical sources. No online bidding platform is confirmed for this county, verify with the office before planning a remote bid. Joseph E. Meyer & Associates serves as delinquent tax agent, or county trustee, for 94 of 102 Illinois counties, and its ILTaxSale.com Mason County page covers the separate trustee program for parcels no tax buyer purchased at the county sale, sold verbally or by sealed bid. Mason County trustee sealed-bid sales ran July 12, 2024, July 18, 2025, and July 17, 2026, and that mid-July trustee event is a different sale from the county's annual tax sale. The trustee also offers a Mason County list of assignable tax lien certificates for a $25 fee. Parcel level tax and payment research is free at masonil.devnetwedge.com. In person, no online bidding platform confirmed
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 Mason County
- Heather Wilcoxen holds the office of Mason County Treasurer and Collector; checks are made payable to Mason County Collector at 125 N. Plum St., Havana IL 62644.
- 2025 taxes payable in 2026: bills mailed May 14, 2026, first installment and mobile home tax due July 8, 2026, second installment due September 8, 2026, online and phone payments accepted through September 21, 2026.
- The county has left the tax sale line on its Treasurer page unfilled in every archived version reviewed back to 2025, so treat the sale date as available only by phone.
- Treasurer email [email protected]; office hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM except holidays.
- Annual settlement sheets on the Treasurer site show separate County Trustee and Forfeited Tax lines, confirming an active trustee program for parcels that go unsold at the county sale.
- No county board minutes from 2022 through 2025 reviewed on the county site mention the tax sale, so the Treasurer is the only 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 Mason County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Mason County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Mason County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's property tax calendar for 2025 taxes payable in 2026 lists the sale only as "Tax Sale: (date not set yet)", so no 2026 date was posted as of late July 2026. The same calendar sets the second installment due date at September 8, 2026, and the annual sale follows the second installment under the collector's application for judgment and order of sale. An archived Illinois tax sale schedule from the county's sale software vendor lists Mason County on October 29, 2020 at 1:00 PM, which points to a fall sale. Confirm the current date with the Treasurer's office at 309-543-3359, option 3.. 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 Mason 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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