Washington County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Washington County, seat of Nashville: 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 Washington County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Washington County Treasurer, serving as ex officio County Collector. The county site lists Natalie Lynch as "Treasurer and Collector," with deputies Christine Bevil and Tammy Ryterski.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late January, after the December cutoff for check and online payments. The Treasurer's page states: "The delinquent tax sale will be Friday, January 22, 2027." The county's registration form for the prior cycle set the sale for the 2024 tax year at "January 30, 2026 @ 10:00am," and county board minutes record a January 12, 2024 sale, so a late-January date is the pattern. Confirm the current date with the Treasurer's office.
Registration and deposit
Register with the Washington County Treasurer using the county's Real Estate Tax Sale Registration form. The fee is $25.00 per purchaser due at the time of registration, plus a separate $25.00 list fee that "must be received before authorization will be given to J.E. Meyer & Assoc. to send file." Both fees are non-refundable. The form states registration "closes 10 working days prior to sale per State statute." Every purchaser must complete a W-9, with no exceptions. Return the form with a check payable to Washington County Treasurer to 101 E. St. Louis St., Nashville, IL 62263, or by email to [email protected]. Registered purchasers are then "eligible to bid and/or receive Certificates of Purchase." For bid-file format questions the county directs buyers to J.E. Meyer & Associates at 1-618-656-5744 or 1-800-248-2850.
This is a small downstate county and the annual certificate sale is not an online auction. Bidding uses R.A.M.S. 2, which the vendor describes this way: on sale day "we will collect the bids for each registered buyer by having them bring a USB Drive to the tax sale with a file that contains their percentage bids for each parcel," each parcel is awarded to the lowest bid, and ties are broken by random selection among the lowest bids. The vendor page also cites 35 ILCS 200/21-205: "All bidders are required to personally attend the sale." Only one bid file may sit on each USB drive, and the county-assigned buyer number must appear in the filename. There is no online bidding portal for this sale, so plan to appear at the Treasurer's office in Nashville. The county publishes no free delinquent list online; the tax sale file is the paid $25 list ordered through the Treasurer and sent by J.E. Meyer & Associates. A separate track exists for property the county already took to tax deed: acting as Trustee, Washington County offers those parcels through sealed bid auctions administered by its tax agent, Joseph E. Meyer & Associates (141 St. Andrews Avenue, Edwardsville, IL 62025, 1-800-248-2850 or 618-656-5744). The agent's Washington County page lists the next such auction on 02/12/2027, type "Real Estate - Sealed Bid," minimum bid $828.00, held at the Treasurer's office, with a catalog available roughly 30 days beforehand. The October 27, 2025 county press release for that year's sealed bid sale said written bids go to the Washington County Treasurer's Office and "All online bids must be submitted via www.iltaxsalebids.com." That portal covers the trustee sealed bid sale, not the annual certificate sale. The same agent page also sells a "List of Assignable Certificates" for $25, which is the route to trustee-held certificates outside the annual sale. Parcel-level tax status and bills are searchable at the county's inquiry portal. R.A.M.S. 2 (Randomized Auction Management System) electronic bid format, run in person at the Washington County Treasurer's Office in Nashville. The county's registration form states: "Tax sale will be a RAMSII electronic format. Contact J. E. Meyer & Assoc. for format details."
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 Washington County
- Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm, at the Washington County Courthouse in Nashville.
- For the 2025 payable 2026 cycle the Treasurer mailed bills on July 23, 2026, with installments due Friday, September 11, 2026 and Friday, October 16, 2026. The page states: "The last day to pay online, by personal check or by business check is Friday, December 18, 2026. After that date, only cash, bank cashier's check or money order will be accepted." That December cutoff sets up the late-January sale.
- Total taxes billed for 2025 payable 2026 were $32,673,520.80 countywide, which gives a sense of the small scale of this sale.
- Late payments carry a 1.5 percent penalty per month under the county's stated schedule.
- Parcel search, tax bill printing, and online payment run through the county's Devnet portal at http://washingtonil.devnetwedge.com/. The Treasurer's page instructs users to search by parcel or PIN number without dashes, or by name only.
- Registration paperwork for the sale is handled by deputy Christine Bevil at [email protected].
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 Washington County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Washington County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Washington County tax certificate sale?
- Late January, after the December cutoff for check and online payments. The Treasurer's page states: "The delinquent tax sale will be Friday, January 22, 2027." The county's registration form for the prior cycle set the sale for the 2024 tax year at "January 30, 2026 @ 10:00am," and county board minutes record a January 12, 2024 sale, so a late-January date is the pattern. Confirm the current date with the Treasurer's 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 Washington 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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