Vermilion County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Vermilion County, seat of Danville: 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 Vermilion County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Vermilion County Treasurer's Office, acting as the Vermilion County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual tax sale each year in early November, starting at 1:30 p.m. The Treasurer's page states "The property tax sale will be Wednesday, November 4th 2026." The prior sale was held "November 5th, 2025 - 1:30 p.m." Related 2026 cutoffs on the same page: "To avoid the publication of your name as being a delinquent taxpayer, pay before Friday, October 9th, 2026" and "No tax payments can be accepted after Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026."
Registration and deposit
Register with the County Treasurer at least ten business days before the sale under 35 ILCS 200/21-220. Complete the Certificate of Registration in the Tax Sale Buyer Package and return it with a $500 refundable deposit plus $100 for the electronic parcel list in Excel format, both required and paid by separate checks drawn on a US bank. Send to Vermilion County Collector's Office, 201 N Vermilion St., Danville, IL 61832. For the November 2025 sale the county accepted registrations until 4:30 p.m. on October 22, 2025, and substitute buyer names until 4:30 p.m. on October 29, 2025. Only pre-registered buyers may participate and the buyer or a named agent must be present to bid. Check in at the County Board Chambers, 2nd Floor, between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. with a signed check payable to "Vermilion County Collector" and the amount left blank. The deposit is refunded only if the registrant attends and attempts but fails to purchase any parcels.
This is an in-person sale held at the Joseph G. Cannon Building, 201 N Vermilion St., Danville, in the County Board Chambers Meeting Room on the 2nd Floor. There is no online bidding platform. Bidding is done on Real Time Auction Management Systems (R.A.M.S.) hardware supplied by the county at the sale, and use of any other hardware is prohibited. The county's buyer package points to www.iltax.com for R.A.M.S. details, but that domain currently loads only a parked "coming soon" page, so treat it as a dead reference and ask the Treasurer's office for bidding-system questions. Bidding on delinquent taxes starts at 9% for real estate and 18% for mobile homes, and the certificate is issued to the lowest penalty bidder under 35 ILCS 200/21-215. Ties go to the first bid submitted. Real estate parcels sell first, then mobile home taxes. Buyers must pay for purchases the day of the sale. No free online sale list exists: the delinquent property list is advertised in local newspapers roughly three weeks before the sale, and the electronic Excel list is available in late October for $100 with updates emailed the night before the sale. Per-parcel fees added at sale are $20 indemnity, $10 tax sale automation, $60 sale in error/tax sale fee, and $4 county clerk fee, with the sale in error/tax sale fee reduced to $10 for mobile homes. Subsequent tax payments start mid-September and the buyer must be present when sub-taxes are processed, with posting handled at the County Clerk. Redemption runs 2 years from the sale date, extended to 2 years 6 months where the property was improved with one to six dwelling units, and the Vermilion County Clerk handles redemption of delinquent taxes at 217-554-1900. After the redemption period the certificate holder may petition the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court for a tax deed; the county does not handle the foreclosure process. The posted buyer package covers tax year 2024 sold in November 2025, so confirm the exact 2026 registration deadline and fees with the Treasurer's office before relying on those dates. In person (R.A.M.S. electronic bidding terminals provided by the county)
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 Vermilion County
- Darren E. Duncan is the Vermilion County Treasurer. Clarissa (Clary) O'Neal is the Chief Deputy Treasurer and is the named contact for tax sale registration.
- The sale venue, the Joseph G. Cannon Building at 201 N Vermilion St. in Danville, is the same address as the Treasurer's office, but bidders check in on the 2nd Floor in the County Board Chambers rather than the first-floor office.
- Redemption is handled by a different office than the sale. The Vermilion County Clerk (Robyn Heffern, 201 N. Vermilion St., First Floor, Danville, IL 61832, 217-554-1900) computes tax rates and handles redemption of delinquent taxes, while the Treasurer as County Collector runs the sale.
- For tax year 2025 the county lists installment due dates of June 18, 2026 and September 4, 2026, with mobile home taxes also due September 4, 2026. These feed the delinquency that becomes the November 2026 sale.
- Parcel research is available through the county's tax inquiry system at vermilionil.devnetwedge.com and online tax payment at govtechtaxpro.com, but neither publishes the annual tax sale list.
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 Vermilion County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Vermilion County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Vermilion County tax certificate sale?
- Annual tax sale each year in early November, starting at 1:30 p.m. The Treasurer's page states "The property tax sale will be Wednesday, November 4th 2026." The prior sale was held "November 5th, 2025 - 1:30 p.m." Related 2026 cutoffs on the same page: "To avoid the publication of your name as being a delinquent taxpayer, pay before Friday, October 9th, 2026" and "No tax payments can be accepted after Tuesday, November 3rd, 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 Vermilion 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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