Monroe County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Monroe County, seat of Waterloo: 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 Monroe County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Monroe County Treasurer and Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale held in January, after both installments of the prior year's bill come due. The Treasurer's Office page states: "Tax Sale will be scheduled for January 14, 2027 at 9:00 AM at the Monroe County Courthouse for 2025 tax bills payable in 2026." The Illinois County Treasurers Association profile for Monroe County lists the same January 14, 2027 sale date for unpaid 2025 taxes, with installments due September 18, 2026 and November 6, 2026.
Registration and deposit
Prospective buyers file a Certificate of Registration with the Monroe County Treasurer and Collector, executed under 35 ILCS 200/21-220. The form posted by the office asks for the name in which certificates of purchase are to be issued, mailing address, tax ID number, phone, fax or email, and the authorized agents or employees who may bid and receive certificates. The posted version was prepared for the 2020 tax sale held in January 2022, so confirm the current registration deadline, any registration fee, and deposit terms with the office at 618-939-8681 ext. 213 before the sale.
Monroe County holds its annual delinquent tax sale in person at the Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo, and no online bidding portal is confirmed for this county, so verify procedures with the Treasurer's Office. The county's registration form shows the sale being conducted in the West Meeting Room of the courthouse. The Treasurer's Office describes the sale as selling the taxes rather than the property: "If taxes are delinquent, the Treasurer/Collector must 'sell' the taxes, not the property, in order to collect and distribute the amount due the taxing bodies." Redemption runs through a different office: "To redeem the taxes, a property owner must pay the total amount of taxes due, including subsequent year's taxes if delinquent, interest and penalties to the Monroe County Clerk's Office." The county does not publish the delinquent parcel list on its website, so request the list from the Treasurer's Office. Caution on third-party sites: the ILTaxSale.com page for Monroe County shows no scheduled auctions and points readers to a different Illinois county's website, so it is not the county's sale portal and should not be used to track this sale. In person at the Monroe County Courthouse, Waterloo
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
Notes for Monroe County
- The sale is an in-person courthouse sale at 100 S. Main St. in Waterloo. Budget for attending or sending an authorized agent, since the registration form names the agents and employees allowed to bid.
- Registration is a Certificate of Registration filed with the Treasurer and Collector under 35 ILCS 200/21-220. The copy posted on the county site dates from the 2020 tax year sale, so call the office for the current form and cutoff.
- Timing follows the county's installment calendar. For 2025 taxes payable in 2026, installments were due September 18, 2026 and November 6, 2026, with the sale set for January 14, 2027 at 9:00 AM.
- Redemption money goes to the Monroe County Clerk's Office, not the Treasurer, so certificate holders track payoff and interest through the Clerk.
- No delinquent or sale list is posted on the county website. Contact the Treasurer's Office to obtain the list before the sale.
- Parcel and tax lookup is hosted for the county by Fike and Fike, linked from the Treasurer's Parcel Inquiry 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 Monroe County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Monroe County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Monroe County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale held in January, after both installments of the prior year's bill come due. The Treasurer's Office page states: "Tax Sale will be scheduled for January 14, 2027 at 9:00 AM at the Monroe County Courthouse for 2025 tax bills payable in 2026." The Illinois County Treasurers Association profile for Monroe County lists the same January 14, 2027 sale date for unpaid 2025 taxes, with installments due September 18, 2026 and November 6, 2026.. 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 Monroe 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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