Richland County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Richland County, seat of Olney: 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 Richland County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Richland County Treasurer and County Collector (Mike A. Hahn). The Treasurer's office lists among its duties that it "Conducts the annual sale of delinquent real estate and mobile home taxes" and "administers sales of liens on real estate parcels due to nonpayment taxes." The published notice is signed "MIKE HAHN, County Treasurer and Collector of Taxes of said County."
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late October. The county's most recent published notice set the annual tax sale for Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., after the Collector applied to the Circuit Court for judgment on October 21, 2024 at 8:45 a.m. The notice fixes the sale on "the following Tuesday succeeding the date of application for judgment." The county calendar entry titled "Annual Tax Sale" reads: "The Annual Tax Sale will be on Oct 29th at 10:00 am at the Olney VFW."
Registration and deposit
Bidders register in advance with the Treasurer's office. The county calendar entry for the 2024 sale states: "Participants must register by 10/18/24. For more information or to register, contact the Treasurers office." That put the cutoff 11 days before the sale. Call (618) 392-8341 to confirm the current year's registration deadline and forms.
Richland County runs its annual tax sale in person, not online. The 2024 sale was held in the Veterans of Foreign Wars building at 205 N Walnut Street, Olney, rather than at the courthouse. Certificates on delinquent real estate and on delinquent mobile home taxes are offered at the same sale. The county has no standing tax sale page; it publishes the sale through a newspaper notice reposted to its news feed plus a calendar entry, so confirm the current year's date, venue and registration cutoff directly with the Treasurer's office. Personal checks were not accepted after September 30, 2024 for pre-sale payoffs. A separate secondary channel exists: Joseph E. Meyer & Associates serves as delinquent tax agent for 94 of Illinois' 102 counties and sells trustee-held parcels for Richland County at iltaxsale.com by sealed bid, with online bid submission at iltaxsalebids.com, and also sells a paid list of assignable tax lien certificates. That trustee sale covers parcels that went unsold at the county sale and is not the County Collector's annual 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 Richland County
- The Treasurer's office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., per the county website.
- Treasurer email listed on the county site: [email protected].
- Property tax search and payment runs through GovTech Tax Pro, linked from the Treasurer page as https://www.govtechtaxpro.com/parceldetail.php.
- The county publishes a separate delinquent mobile home tax list; the 2024 mobile home list was noticed for the same October 29, 2024 sale at the Olney VFW building.
- Joseph E. Meyer & Associates' Richland County page shows past sealed-bid trustee auctions on 08/04/2023, 08/16/2024 and 08/15/2025, with free results PDFs, and an upcoming sale dated 08/14/2026 with a $860.00 minimum bid. Bids must be submitted online or delivered in writing to the Treasurer's office; the terms state "There will be no Verbal Bidding at this auction."
- Third-party aggregators publish Richland County tax sale pages. Only the Treasurer's own notices and the Joseph E. Meyer & Associates trustee page were verified here.
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 Richland County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Richland County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Richland County tax certificate sale?
- Late October. The county's most recent published notice set the annual tax sale for Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., after the Collector applied to the Circuit Court for judgment on October 21, 2024 at 8:45 a.m. The notice fixes the sale on "the following Tuesday succeeding the date of application for judgment." The county calendar entry titled "Annual Tax Sale" reads: "The Annual Tax Sale will be on Oct 29th at 10:00 am at the Olney VFW.". 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 Richland 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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