McLean County, IL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the McLean County, IL tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Illinois sells tax lien certificates paying up to 9%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Oct 12, 2026.
How tax lien 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.
New to tax sales? Read how Illinois tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next tax deed sale
- Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (309) 888-5180
On this page
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.
- Registration
- Anyone may register, and only registered buyers may bid.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Anyone may register, and only registered buyers may bid. The 2026 packet covers the delinquent mobile home sale only and accepts registrations from September 23 to October 23, 2026, which is ten business days before the sale. The $250 registration fee is applied to purchases or returned if nothing is bought, but forfeited if a registered bidder does not attend. Forms may be mailed, emailed to the Treasurer or faxed to (309) 888-5176; with an emailed or faxed registration, the fee must be postmarked by October 23, 2026. The delinquent mobile home parcel list is available October 27, 2026 for $50, payable in advance with the registration; printed lists cost $50 plus $5 postage if mailed, and updated printouts cost $15. Buyers sign an agreement to pay immediately by cash, money order or check, not to buy taxes on property in which they hold an interest, and to send only one bidder per company.
Sale format and venue
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.
When it 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.
Sale format and venue
McLean County tax sale list and auction calendar
For McLean County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.
Confirm the advertised parcel list
Use Delinquent tax publication, McLean County Treasurer as a starting reference. Check which sale or list it covers; a Lands Available or office information page is separate from an auction parcel list. Ask the sale office for the advertised parcels for the auction you plan to attend.Register to bid
Ask the McLean County Treasurer & Tax Collector how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the McLean County Treasurer & Tax Collector before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the McLean County Treasurer & Tax Collector as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in McLean County
4 checks
Confirm the parcel list before pricing
Open Delinquent tax publication, McLean County Treasurer. Confirm whether this reference contains the auction parcels or covers a different list. Get the advertised parcel list from the county before you price a bid, and recheck it before the sale.Confirm 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.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Illinois due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Illinois before you price the title work.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold liens and deeds
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. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Illinois calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
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 websiteCounty notes
- Starting with the 2025 payable 2026 sale, the McLean County Board acquires all delinquent real estate taxes as trustee for the taxing districts under Public Act 104-0553, so private buyers can bid only on delinquent mobile home taxes at the November 6, 2026 sale.
- The sale is in person: the county supplies automated bidding terminals at the McLean County Government Center and names RAMS as its automated sale contractor. No online or remote bidding is offered.
- The delinquent mobile home parcel list costs $50, is payable in advance with registration and is available October 27, 2026; printed copies cost $50 plus $5 postage if mailed, with updated printouts at $15.
- Redemption of delinquent real property and mobile home taxes is handled by the McLean County Clerk, 115 E. Washington St., Room 102, (309) 888-5190; the Treasurer handles the sale itself.
- Subsequent mobile home tax payments are accepted from about October 1 through November 5, 2026, and subsequent payments on prior year real estate certificates are also taken. Certificate holders must get County Clerk verification that no redemption has occurred before paying at the Treasurer's office.
- The Treasurer's 2026 calendar set October 9 as the last day to pay in the office by personal check or to avoid publication, and sets October 30 as the last day to pay by credit card online or by phone.
- 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 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. Once 30 days have passed 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?
When is the McLean County tax certificate sale?
How often does McLean County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the McLean County tax sale list?
Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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 office that runs the sale before you bid.
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