Wabash County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Wabash County, seat of Mount Carmel: 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 Wabash County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Wabash County Treasurer, serving as ex officio Wabash County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late March or early April, at 10:00 a.m. in the courtroom at the Wabash County Courthouse. The Treasurer's county page states "Tax Sale is Friday, April 5, 2024 at 10:00am in the Courtroom." Local coverage of the 2026 cycle reported that "The annual Wabash County tax sale is scheduled for Friday, March 27th at 10 a.m. in the courtroom." The date moves each year with the second installment due date and the court's judgment date, so confirm the current year with the Treasurer's office at (618) 262-5262.
Registration and deposit
Wabash County does not post a bidder registration packet, deposit amount, or registration deadline online. Register with the Treasurer's office as County Collector before the sale and confirm the required forms, deposit, and cutoff by calling (618) 262-5262 or visiting 401 Market St., Mt. Carmel. The registration requirement and the sale terms appear in the pre-sale notice published in the local newspaper.
The annual tax sale runs in person in the courtroom at the Wabash County Courthouse, 401 Market Street, Mount Carmel. No online bidding platform is confirmed for this county's annual certificate sale, so verify remote bidding options with the Treasurer's office before planning to bid from out of county. The delinquent list is published in the local newspaper roughly two weeks ahead of the sale; the Treasurer reported that the 2026 real estate and mobile home list "was officially published in the newspaper on Saturday, March 14th," with Thursday, March 26 the last day to pay before the sale. Separately, Joseph E. Meyer & Associates acts as the county's delinquent tax agent and sells Wabash County trustee inventory through sealed bid tax deed auctions plus an assignable tax lien certificate list at iltaxsale.com, with bids submitted at iltaxsalebids.com. That program is the trustee resale of parcels already forfeited to the county, not the annual certificate sale. In person at the Wabash County Courthouse courtroom
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 Wabash County
- Wabash County has no standalone county government website. The Treasurer's office publishes its notices on its Illinois County Treasurers Association county page, which is the operative online source for sale dates and deadlines.
- That page was last refreshed for the 2024 cycle and still carries the April 5, 2024 sale notice, so treat any posted date as stale and call the office to confirm the current year.
- Ahead of the 2026 sale the Treasurer reported 562 delinquent real estate tax bills and 21 delinquent mobile home tax bills for the 2024 payable 2025 cycle, with just over 95 percent of the levy collected.
- Third party aggregators publish Wabash County sale dates and parcel counts, but the county releases its list through newspaper publication rather than online, so the printed notice or a call to the Treasurer is the only reliable source for the list.
- The Joseph E. Meyer & Associates sealed bid auctions listed for Wabash County, most recently January 22, 2027 with a $832.00 minimum bid, are trustee tax deed sales of parcels already forfeited to the county. Catalogs post about 30 days before each auction and the assignable tax lien certificate list is sold for $25.
- Office detail: Treasurer Angela L. Broster; fax (618) 262-4176; email [email protected]; hours Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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 Wabash County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Wabash County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Wabash County tax certificate sale?
- Late March or early April, at 10:00 a.m. in the courtroom at the Wabash County Courthouse. The Treasurer's county page states "Tax Sale is Friday, April 5, 2024 at 10:00am in the Courtroom." Local coverage of the 2026 cycle reported that "The annual Wabash County tax sale is scheduled for Friday, March 27th at 10 a.m. in the courtroom." The date moves each year with the second installment due date and the court's judgment date, so confirm the current year with the Treasurer's office at (618) 262-5262.. 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 Wabash 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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