McLean County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in McLean County, seat of Bloomington: 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 McLean County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- McLean County Treasurer & Tax Collector (the County Treasurer serving as ex officio County Collector)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early November, annually. The Treasurer's page states "The annual tax sale will be held on November 6, 2026. Sales begin at 10:00 am" and that "Registered tax buyer check-in begins at 9:00 am." The Treasurer's calendar lists "Newspaper publication of delinquent taxes will run between 10/19/2026 and 10/22/2026" and the judgment hearing on November 5, 2026. Posted results show the same pattern in prior years: sold 11/6/2025 for tax year 2024 and 11/1/2024 for tax year 2023.
Registration and deposit
Anyone may register. Registration forms and a $250 deposit must be received by the Collector's office at least ten business days before the sale, and each tax buyer code must have an IRS Form W-9 on file. Packets come from the office or as a PDF on the Annual Tax Sale page, and may be mailed, emailed to the Treasurer, or faxed, with the fee mailed the same day for electronic submissions. Attendance is mandatory: the $250 is applied to purchases or refunded, but forfeited if a registered bidder does not attend. Only registered bidders may bid, and only one buyer per company.
This is a lien-only sale held live in the County Board Room on the 4th floor of the McLean County Government Center, 115 E. Washington Street, Bloomington. There is no remote or online bidding: registered buyers bid from laptop terminals provided at the sale, and the county's automation contractor is RAMS Auctions, which also supplies the parcel list and a bidding tutorial shown at 9:00 am on sale day. Bidding is a reverse auction on the interest rate: parcels are offered in numeric order by township, bidding opens at 9 percent, and the lien goes to the lowest bidder. Both delinquent real estate and mobile home taxes are sold, and the county expects the automated sale to run about three hours. Purchasers pay the tax and accrued interest plus a $10 certified mail and publication charge and $104 per parcel, of which $74 is statutory (Clerk fee and certificate $14, indemnity fund $20, automation fund $10, sale in error interest fund $30). Payment is due the same day unless arrangements are made in advance for noon the next business day. The bid list is not published: it costs $50, is sold only to registered tax buyers, is emailed by RAMS about ten days before the sale, and covers the whole county rather than single townships. Delinquent parcels themselves are advertised in local newspapers and on the Treasurer's website during the publication week. If no investor bids on a parcel, McLean County takes the certificate at 9 percent as trustee for the taxing bodies, which prevents forfeitures, and those certificates are afterward bought from the McLean County Clerk. Certificates are issued by the County Clerk several weeks after the sale, and redemption runs through the County Clerk at (309) 888-5190, not the Treasurer. Payments to stop a sale must be certified funds received by 4:30 p.m. the business day before, and nothing is accepted on sale day. Verify the current cycle with the office before relying on posted dates: the registration packet linked from the sale page still carries the prior 2025 registration window (September 26 to October 23, 2025) even though the sale page lists 2026 dates. In person at the McLean County Government Center, on automated bidding terminals the county supplies (automated-sale contractor: RAMS Auctions)
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)
McLean County Treasurer & Tax Collector
115 East Washington Street, Room M101, P.O. Box 2400, Bloomington, IL 61702-2400
Official websiteNotes for McLean County
- Bidding in McLean County opens at 9 percent rather than the statutory 18 percent maximum, and the lien is awarded to the lowest bidder.
- The sale is fully in person: automated bidding terminals are supplied at the McLean County Government Center, and the county names RAMS Auctions as its automated-sale contractor. No online or remote bidding is offered.
- The parcel list costs $50, is available only to registered tax buyers roughly ten days before the sale, and is delivered by email; printed copies cost $50 plus $5 postage, with updated printouts at $15.
- When no investor bids, the county takes the certificate at 9 percent as trustee for all taxing bodies, and those certificates can later be purchased from the McLean County Clerk.
- Redemption and certificate questions go to the McLean County Clerk at (309) 888-5190; the Treasurer handles the sale itself.
- Subsequent tax payments by certificate holders were accepted from late September through November 5 in the prior cycle, and require County Clerk verification that no redemption has occurred before paying at the Treasurer's office.
- Third-party tax sale listing sites republish McLean County sale details, but the Treasurer's office is the only source for the registration packet and the official parcel list.
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 McLean County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- McLean County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the McLean County tax certificate sale?
- Early November, annually. The Treasurer's page states "The annual tax sale will be held on November 6, 2026. Sales begin at 10:00 am" and that "Registered tax buyer check-in begins at 9:00 am." The Treasurer's calendar lists "Newspaper publication of delinquent taxes will run between 10/19/2026 and 10/22/2026" and the judgment hearing on November 5, 2026. Posted results show the same pattern in prior years: sold 11/6/2025 for tax year 2024 and 11/1/2024 for tax year 2023.. 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 McLean 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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