Sangamon County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Sangamon County, seat of Springfield: 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 Sangamon County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Sangamon County Treasurer, serving as ex officio Sangamon County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's Annual Tax Sale page states: "Tentative date is November 6, 2026 between 10:00 am to 10:30am at the Sangamon County Complex Room 223, 200 S. Ninth St. Springfield, IL 62701." Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. on October 26, 2026, and the county labels the sale date tentative, so confirm it with the office.
Registration and deposit
Register with the Treasurer's office before the published deadline. For the 2026 sale the county lists a cutoff of 5:00 p.m. on October 26, 2026 and requires a completed and signed Tax Sale Buyer Certification and Registration Form, a Vendor Information and ACH Form, a bank verification letter, a completed and signed W-9, and a $200 check drawn on a US bank for the registration fee. An optional second $200 check buys the delinquent tax list. Registrants must comply with the Single Bidder Rule (35 ILCS 200/21-205), so only one buyer may register or attend per entity, and must agree to pay balances due at the end of the sale with a signed blank check, accept ACH for redemptions and sales in error, and not resell or share the county's delinquent tax list. A substitute buyer may be named in writing by e-mail or fax by 5:00 p.m. on November 2, 2026. Bring to the sale a signed blank check payable to "Sangamon County Collector" from a US bank, a USB drive containing the bid file, and identification.
Sangamon County holds its annual tax sale in person at the county complex, not on an online bidding platform. The real estate portion is administered by Joseph A. Meyer and Associates using the Randomized Auction Management System (RAMS-2). Registered buyers receive a bid file by e-mail, then check in and submit that file on a USB drive at the county between 10:00 am and 10:30 am on sale day, and a buyer or a named agent must be physically present to bid. Bidding starts at 9 percent, each parcel is awarded to the lowest bid, and a tie among low bids is broken by random selection. Results are sent by text and buyers pay the county the same day. Fees collected at the sale are a $20 indemnity fee, $10 advertising fee, $4 clerk fee, $10 Treasurer's automation fee, and a $60 sale in error interest fund fee. The mobile home portion is conducted verbally immediately after the RAMS-2 sale. The full delinquent property list (tax buyers list) is a paid electronic file, priced at $200 and released starting October 20, 2026, requested on the registration form as a flat computer file or PDF; printed copies are no longer offered. The free Tax Sale Search on tax.sangamonil.gov returns only parcels that already have tax sales, so it is a lookup tool rather than the upcoming sale list. Tax buyers may pay subsequent year taxes from September 28, 2026 through October 30, 2026 and are responsible for confirming those amounts are added to the redemption. The county advises inspecting properties before bidding and warns that sales in error will be contested where a prior sale in error for condition was granted. In person at the Sangamon County Complex, Room 223, with sealed bid files submitted on a USB drive through RAMS-2 (Randomized Auction Management System)
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 Sangamon County
- Bidder registration runs through the Treasurer's office, but redemption runs through the Sangamon County Clerk. The Clerk's Delinquent Taxes FAQ directs owners to call (217) 753-6701 for an estimate of redemption and states that tax sale redemptions must be paid in certified funds, a cashier's check, money order, or cash payable to the Sangamon County Clerk, with no personal or business checks and no credit cards.
- The Treasurer's office publishes [email protected] for e-mail and a separate property information line at (217) 747-5180. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Central, excluding holidays.
- Real estate tax payments go to a lockbox at County Collector, PO Box 19400, Springfield, IL 62794-9400, while general correspondence and the tax sale itself use 200 S. Ninth in Springfield.
- Questions about the RAMS-2 bid file specifications go to Joseph A. Meyer and Associates at 141 St. Andrews Avenue, Edwardsville, IL 62025, phone 618-656-5744, fax 618-656-5094, per the Treasurer's Annual Tax Sale page.
- The Clerk also publishes a Listing of Taxbuyers so owners can contact a certificate holder directly.
- No online auction platform is confirmed for this county. Bids are physical files delivered on USB at the courthouse complex, so investors should plan to attend or send a registered agent.
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 Sangamon County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Sangamon County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Sangamon County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's Annual Tax Sale page states: "Tentative date is November 6, 2026 between 10:00 am to 10:30am at the Sangamon County Complex Room 223, 200 S. Ninth St. Springfield, IL 62701." Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. on October 26, 2026, and the county labels the sale date tentative, so confirm it with the office.. 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 Sangamon 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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