Ogle County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Ogle County, seat of Oregon: 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 Ogle County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Ogle County Treasurer, serving as ex officio Ogle County Collector (Treasurer Tiffany S. O'Brien)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- November. The Treasurer's important dates table lists "Tax Sale - Real Estate & Mobile Home / Thursday, November 5, 2026" and "Last Day to Pay / Wednesday, November 4, 2026." The County Clerk's delinquent tax guide states "The tax sale is usually held in November."
Registration and deposit
The county does not publish tax buyer registration terms, forms, or deadlines on its website. Request the registration requirements and sale packet from the Treasurer and Collector's office at 815-732-1100 or [email protected]. Bidding is by lowest interest rate: the County Clerk's guide states "The tax buyer who bids the lowest rate of interest pays the County Treasurer/Collector's office the total taxes that were due, plus costs of the sale and fees."
Ogle County holds one annual tax sale covering both real estate and mobile homes. Per the County Clerk's "A Guide to the Delinquent Tax Process," the Collector sends one certified notice and publishes the delinquent list in a local newspaper before the sale, records pass to the County Clerk for redemption after the sale, and redemption estimates come from the Clerk at 815-732-1110. The guide also states the owner or any party with a financial interest has a minimum of two years from the sale date to redeem, the buyer may extend redemption up to three years, and the rate bid at the sale is a six month penalty that repeats each May and November while unpaid, with subsequent taxes carrying 12% per year. No online bidding platform is posted for the annual sale, so expect an in person sale run by the Collector and confirm the format and deposit with the office before you travel. RAMS Auctions, whose Real-Time Auction Management System has purchasers attend in person and bid from networked laptops, notes on its home page that Ogle County used RAMS for its tax sale, in an item dated September 3, 2019; the vendor's current tax sale schedule page does not list Ogle. Keep the annual certificate sale separate from the county trustee sale: Joseph E. Meyer & Associates acts as the Ogle County Tax Agent and runs a sealed bid auction of roughly 71 real estate items the county already obtained through tax deed proceedings, with bids due at the Treasurer's office or online through iltaxsalebids.com by the close of business on August 21, 2026 and a minimum bid of $823.00 per item. Meyer's Ogle County page also sells a list of assignable tax lien certificates for $25, which is the over the counter route for certificates the county already holds. In person, conducted by the County Collector
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)
Ogle County Treasurer and County Collector
105 S. 5th Street, Suite 114, Oregon, IL 61061 (mailing address: Ogle County Collector, P.O. Box 40, Oregon, IL 61061)
Official websiteNotes for Ogle County
- Treasurer's office is in the old Courthouse at 105 S. 5th Street in Oregon; hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday excluding holidays, and email is [email protected] (source: ogle-treasurer).
- 2025 tax bills were mailed May 1, 2026, with the first installment due Monday, June 8, 2026 and the second due Tuesday, September 8, 2026; late payments incur 1.5% per month (source: ogle-treasurer).
- From Thursday, October 1, 2026 the Collector takes certified funds only (cashier's check, money order, or cash) and no online payments, with the last day to pay before the sale on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 (source: ogle-treasurer).
- The County Clerk posts tax sale judgment books for real estate back to 2018 taxes and for mobile homes back to 2019, which is the practical way to see what sold in prior years (source: ogle-clerk-redemptions).
- Caution for investors searching online: iltaxsale.com and iltaxsalebids.com, operated by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates as the Ogle County Tax Agent, cover the trustee's sealed bid sale of already deeded property and assignable certificates, not the Collector's annual tax sale (sources: iltaxsale-ogle, ogle-trustee-press-release).
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 Ogle County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Ogle County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Ogle County tax certificate sale?
- November. The Treasurer's important dates table lists "Tax Sale - Real Estate & Mobile Home / Thursday, November 5, 2026" and "Last Day to Pay / Wednesday, November 4, 2026." The County Clerk's delinquent tax guide states "The tax sale is usually held in November.". 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 Ogle 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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