Saline County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Saline County, seat of Harrisburg: 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 Saline County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Saline County Treasurer (the Illinois County Treasurer serves as ex officio County Collector)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The county states: "The tax sale in Saline County is held annually in January (month may vary slightly)." The Treasurer mails bills once a year with two installments "that are usually in October and November," and taxes unpaid after the second installment are "considered DELINQUENT and are subject to publication and tax sale."
Registration and deposit
Saline County does not publish bidder registration forms, deposit rules, or registration deadlines online. The county directs bidders to the office: "Any questions on Tax Sale procedures and delinquent property lists should be addressed to the Saline County Treasurer." Call the Treasurer at 618-252-6915 to confirm the current sale date, registration paperwork, and funding requirements before the sale.
Bidding is bid-down interest: "The 'tax buyer' who bids the lowest rate of interest (from 9% down to 0%) pays the County Treasurer's office the total taxes that were due plus costs associated with the sale and fees." No online auction platform is confirmed for this county. The Treasurer's page and the county sitemap show no dedicated tax sale page or online bidding portal, so verify the format (in person at the Saline County Courthouse versus online) directly with the Treasurer's office. Caution on outside sources: web searches for "Saline County tax sale" surface tax sale rules, investor information sheets, and registration dates published by Saline County, Nebraska (salinecountyne.gov), which do not apply to Saline County, Illinois. Commercial aggregators also publish Saline County sale dates and bidder details that the county itself does not confirm; treat only the county's own page and the Treasurer's office as authoritative.
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)
Saline County Courthouse, 10 E. Poplar Street, Suite 21, Harrisburg, IL 62946
Official websiteNotes for Saline County
- Jeremy Maloney is listed as Saline County Treasurer. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm.
- The Treasurer's street address on the county site is 10 E. Poplar Street, Harrisburg, IL 62946; the county's property tax inquiry portal adds Suite 21 for the tax office.
- After the sale, certificate records move to the County Clerk: "Following the tax sale, all records are turned over to the County Clerk for redemption." County Clerk & Recorder Jimi Williams-Cox, 10 East Poplar Street, Suite 17, Harrisburg, IL 62946, phone 618-253-8197. Clerk staff handle tax redemption.
- Redemption periods per the county: minimum two years from the sale date, and 2.5 years for residential properties of one to six units. The tax buyer may extend the final redemption date up to a maximum of three years from the sale.
- Within 4.5 months of the sale the buyer must mail a "Take Notice" to the party in whose name the taxes were assessed; the mailing comes from the County Clerk's office and its certified mail cost is added to the redemption total.
- Subsequent taxes paid by the certificate holder are added to the redemption total with a 12% per year penalty. If the buyer has petitioned for a tax deed, the buyer may pay the current year taxes as soon as the bill is issued rather than waiting for the second installment to go delinquent.
- Late payment penalty is 1.5% per month. Tax deed petitions go to the Circuit Court of Saline County, which orders the County Clerk to issue the deed once statutory obligations are met.
- Delinquent property lists are not posted on the county website; the county routes list requests to the Treasurer's office. Delinquent taxes are also "subject to publication" ahead of the sale.
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 Saline County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Saline County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Saline County tax certificate sale?
- The county states: "The tax sale in Saline County is held annually in January (month may vary slightly)." The Treasurer mails bills once a year with two installments "that are usually in October and November," and taxes unpaid after the second installment are "considered DELINQUENT and are subject to publication and tax sale.". 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 Saline 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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