Moultrie County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Moultrie County, seat of Sullivan: 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 Moultrie County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Moultrie County Treasurer and Collector (the County Treasurer serves as both Treasurer and Collector)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annually in early November at the Moultrie County Courthouse in Sullivan. The Treasurer's page states "The tax sale is held annually at the Moultrie County Courthouse in early November." The 2026 Real Estate Tax Calendar lists "Tax Sale" on "Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 9:00 AM", preceded by "Publication" on "Wednesday, October 21, 2026" and "Judgement" on "Monday, November 2, 2026 at 9:00 AM". The sale page describes the prior sale this way: "The 2024 property tax sale and 2025 mobile home tax sale is scheduled for November 4, 2025 at 1:00 PM, in the County Board Room on the 2nd floor of the Moultrie County Courthouse located at: 10 S Main St., Sullivan, IL 61951."
Registration and deposit
Register with the County Collector and pay a deposit before the sale. The sale page states "Tax buyers must register and pay a $250.00 fee 10 days prior to the tax sale." The 2026 tax calendar sets "Last Day to Register for Tax Sale" as "Wednesday, October 21, 2026 by 4:30 PM", so confirm the operative cutoff with the office. A registrant who cannot attend "may notify the collector no later than 5 business days prior to the sale, of any substitute person who will participate in the sale." If the registrant does not attend, the deposit is forfeited to the Tax Sale Automation Fund; if the registrant attends and fails to purchase any parcels, the deposit is refunded. The county posts a tax buyer registration form for the current cycle and removes it once that sale has passed, so request the form from the Treasurer if it is not on the page.
Moultrie County runs a live, in person sale at the courthouse rather than an online auction. No online bidding platform is confirmed for this county, so verify the format with the Treasurer's office before planning to bid remotely. The county names Joseph Meyer & Associates as the vendor running its automated sale software at the courthouse. Delinquent parcels are advertised by newspaper publication (2026 publication date: October 21, 2026); the county does not post the list on its website. Instead it sells the "Tax Sale Delinquent List (Judgment Book)" for $25.00 (electronic or paper request) and a "Typed Tax Sale Delinquent List" for $3.00. Four fees are added to each real estate parcel purchased at the sale: $20.00 indemnity, $10.00 automation, $20.00 sale in error, and $4.00 County Clerk. Unpaid mobile home privilege taxes go to the same sale as the delinquent real estate taxes. Redemption is handled by the County Clerk, not the Treasurer: "Real estate and mobile home taxes sold at the tax sale must be redeemed in the County Clerk's Office. Please contact the County Clerk's Office at (217)728-4389 for your redemption amount." The county describes a 2.5 year window from the sale before a tax buyer may petition the court for a deed, and states that "the property itself is not sold, just the taxes." In person at the Moultrie County Courthouse, County Board Room, 2nd floor. Bidding runs on an automated system: "Joseph Meyer & Associates will conduct our automated tax sale again this year."
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 Moultrie County
- The Treasurer's office lists Stephanie L. Helmuth as County Treasurer and Michelle Liddiard as Chief Deputy Treasurer, with hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday except holidays, and fax 217-728-9302.
- The Collector mails roughly 11,000 real estate tax bills a year, collecting about $23 million across 54 taxing districts. Bills go out mid-May to mid-June and are due in July and September, which sets up the November sale of what remains unpaid.
- Redemption questions go to the Moultrie County Clerk at (217) 728-4389; the Treasurer computes delinquent tax amounts but the Clerk issues redemption estimates and receipts.
- Sale mechanics on the county page are written for the cycle most recently completed, so timing on the Real Estate Tax Calendar page is the better forward-looking reference and should be re-checked each fall.
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 Moultrie County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Moultrie County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Moultrie County tax certificate sale?
- Annually in early November at the Moultrie County Courthouse in Sullivan. The Treasurer's page states "The tax sale is held annually at the Moultrie County Courthouse in early November." The 2026 Real Estate Tax Calendar lists "Tax Sale" on "Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 9:00 AM", preceded by "Publication" on "Wednesday, October 21, 2026" and "Judgement" on "Monday, November 2, 2026 at 9:00 AM". The sale page describes the prior sale this way: "The 2024 property tax sale and 2025 mobile home tax sale is scheduled for November 4, 2025 at 1:00 PM, in the County Board Room on the 2nd floor of the Moultrie County Courthouse located at: 10 S Main St., Sullivan, IL 61951.". 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 Moultrie 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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