Putnam County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Putnam County, seat of Hennepin: 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 Putnam County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Putnam County Treasurer's Office (the Treasurer serving as ex officio Putnam County Collector)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Not published by the county. The Treasurer's Office page lists only a property tax calendar, a property tax search, FOIA and a document library, and the county sitemap contains no tax sale page, so no annual tax sale date is posted online. Confirm the date with the Treasurer's Office at 815-925-7226. For contrast, the county's separate trustee sealed-bid sale of deeded property has run each September, listed by the county tax agent as 09/29/2023, 09/20/2024, 09/19/2025 and 09/04/2026.
Registration and deposit
Not published by the county. Contact the Putnam County Treasurer's Office at 815-925-7226 for annual tax sale registration requirements and deadlines. For the separate trustee sealed-bid sale, the county tax agent's terms require either an online bid placed through an account at iltaxsalebids.com or a completed "BINDING PURCHASE CONTRACT / SEALED BID" form with full payment made payable to COUNTY TRUSTEE, delivered to the Treasurer's office no later than the last day to bid. The terms state "There will be no Verbal Bidding at this auction."
Putnam County publishes no annual tax sale page. The Treasurer's Office page carries only payment and property tax search tools, and the full county sitemap lists no tax sale, delinquent list or auction page, so the annual certificate sale date, bidder registration process and terms are not available online. No online platform is confirmed for Putnam County's annual certificate sale; verify with the Treasurer's Office at 815-925-7226 before planning a bid. Caution on the separate trustee track: iltaxsale.com, operated by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates as County Tax Agent (Post Office Box 96, Edwardsville, Illinois 62025, telephone 618-656-5744), lists a Putnam County "Real Estate - Sealed Bid" auction dated 09/04/2026 with a $829.00 minimum bid, hours of "9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.", location "Kevin Kunkel, Treasurer, Putnam County Courthouse, 120 N. 4th Street - P.O. Box 235, Hennepin, IL 61327", and online bidding at iltaxsalebids.com. That auction's binding purchase contract names "PUTNAM County, as Trustee" as seller and conveys a quitclaim deed roughly 90 days after full payment, so it disposes of trustee-held property by deed and is not the annual sale of tax certificates. The same page also offers a "List of Assignable Certificates - $25", which is the trustee's over-the-counter certificate assignment route. Every auction on the tax agent's statewide calendar is labeled a sealed-bid real estate or real estate and mobile home sale; none is labeled an annual tax sale or certificate sale.
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 Putnam County
- Treasurer of record is Kevin Kunkel. The office email is [email protected] and the fax is 815-925-9275.
- The Illinois County Treasurers Association listing for Putnam County gives property tax installment due dates of June 6 and September 9, so delinquency and the annual tax sale follow the second installment.
- Every page of putnamil.gov, including the Treasurer's page, shows a site-wide footer with the County Clerk's contact details ([email protected], 815-925-7129). Use 815-925-7226 for the Treasurer's Office.
- The county's property tax search runs on DEVNET at putnamil.devnetwedge.com. It offers parcel and mobile home lookups only, with no tax sale, delinquent list or redemption content, and its outbound county link still points at the older co.putnam.il.us domain rather than the current putnamil.gov.
- Third-party aggregators publish Putnam County tax sale pages (for example taxsaleresources.com and countyoffice.org). None is a county source and none was relied on here.
- The county tax agent posts free prior-year trustee sale results for Putnam at iltaxsale.com, and states that most parcels that do not sell can afterward be purchased at the catalog minimum through iltaxsalebids.com.
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 Putnam County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Putnam County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Putnam County tax certificate sale?
- Not published by the county. The Treasurer's Office page lists only a property tax calendar, a property tax search, FOIA and a document library, and the county sitemap contains no tax sale page, so no annual tax sale date is posted online. Confirm the date with the Treasurer's Office at 815-925-7226. For contrast, the county's separate trustee sealed-bid sale of deeded property has run each September, listed by the county tax agent as 09/29/2023, 09/20/2024, 09/19/2025 and 09/04/2026.. 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 Putnam 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.
Explore all 102 Illinois counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.