St. Clair County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in St. Clair County, seat of Belleville: 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 St. Clair County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- St. Clair County Treasurer's Office (St. Clair County Collector)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's Annual Tax Sale Information page describes the sale as usually held one morning in November, with dates that fluctuate from year to year, and lists the next sale as "November 2, 2026 at 9:00 a.m." The Delinquent Real Estate Taxes page gives a final payment deadline of "Friday, October 30, 2026 at 4:30 p.m." before the "Monday, November 2, 2026" auction. The prior-year registration packet still posted on the site describes the sale window as running from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.
Registration and deposit
Register in writing with the Treasurer's Office at least ten working days before the sale. The Treasurer's page lists the registration deadline as "October 16, 2026 at 4:30pm" and a $500 registration fee. The registration packet requires a completed and signed St. Clair County Tax Sale Registration Form executed under 35 ILCS 200/21-220, a signed Single Bidder Affidavit, a signed W-9, and a $500 check payable to "St. Clair County Collector"; the delinquent parcel list is an optional separate $400 non-refundable check. No deposit beyond the $500 is due before the sale. Registered buyers bring a blank check payable to the St. Clair County Collector plus a USB drive to the sale, and the Treasurer's staff completes the check for the total purchased less the deposit. Certificates are issued a few days after the sale with complete payment then due by business check, cashier's check, or cash. A registrant who cannot attend must notify the office at least five business days ahead with the name of a substitute; a no-show forfeits the $500.
This is an in-person sale. The Treasurer's page answers "No" to whether investors may buy tax lien certificates without attending, by mail, telephone, fax, or internet, so a registered buyer or a named substitute must appear at the Treasurer's Office in the St. Clair County Building, 10 Public Square, Belleville. No online platform is used for the annual certificate sale. Bidding opens at 9 percent and bids down, the lowest bid wins, and among tied low bids the winner is drawn by the R.A.M.S. 2 program. Registration eligibility is subject to the Single Bidder Rule under 35 ILCS 200/21-205 and county board ordinance, and the Treasurer may void a purchase made in violation of it. Any parcel no registered buyer bids on defaults to "St. Clair County as Trustee" with a bid of 9 percent, and those certificates are sold afterward by the County Trustee. The Treasurer's site links that separate trustee channel to ILTaxSale.com, operated by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, which runs quarterly sealed-bid auctions of tax-deed foreclosed property and assignable tax certificates with a paid catalog. Do not confuse the trustee auction with the annual tax sale. Redemption of sold taxes is handled by the St. Clair County Clerk, not the Treasurer. Verify the current year's forms, fee, and date with the office before mailing, since the registration packet posted when this was checked was still the prior-year version. In person at the St. Clair County Treasurer's Office, using the R.A.M.S. 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
Notes for St. Clair County
- Bidding starts at 9 percent and decreases, the lowest bid is accepted, and the R.A.M.S. 2 Randomized Auction Management System selects among low bids, so the outcome is partly random rather than purely price-driven.
- The free public notice is the Delinquent Real Estate Publication List PDF on the Treasurer's site, a parcel-and-address roster running past 300 pages. The working bidder list is the paid $400 delinquent parcel file, emailed weekly starting in October by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates once registration is complete.
- Parcels that draw no bid default to St. Clair County as Trustee at 9 percent. Those certificates and tax-deed foreclosed parcels are then sold through ILTaxSale.com in quarterly sealed-bid auctions, a channel separate from the annual November sale, with a paid digital catalog available roughly 30 days before each auction.
- Redemption runs through the St. Clair County Clerk. The Treasurer's If Your Taxes Were Sold page directs owners to the Clerk for the full redemption cost including fees, penalties, and interest.
- The Treasurer's page states that obtaining a tax deed is the buyer's own responsibility, including the court petition after the redemption period, and that staff will not give legal advice.
- Checked 2026-07-30: the tax sale registration packet linked from the site was still the November 3, 2025 edition while the HTML page had been updated to the November 2, 2026 sale, so confirm current forms with the office.
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 St. Clair County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- St. Clair County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the St. Clair County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's Annual Tax Sale Information page describes the sale as usually held one morning in November, with dates that fluctuate from year to year, and lists the next sale as "November 2, 2026 at 9:00 a.m." The Delinquent Real Estate Taxes page gives a final payment deadline of "Friday, October 30, 2026 at 4:30 p.m." before the "Monday, November 2, 2026" auction. The prior-year registration packet still posted on the site describes the sale window as running from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.. 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 St. Clair 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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