Wayne County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Wayne County, seat of Fairfield: 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 Wayne County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Wayne County Treasurer and Collector (the County Treasurer serving as ex officio County Collector). The office lists "Overseeing the annual tax sale of unpaid parcels" among its duties. Treasurer: Yvette Anderson.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early January, the day after the judgment date. The county's most recently published calendar, for "Real Estate Taxes 2024, paid in 2025", lists "Delinquent List Published: December 22, 2025", "Last Day Payments are Accepted: January 2, 2026", "Judgement: January 5, 2026", and "Tax Sale: January 6, 2026, 11 AM". The county posts one cycle at a time, so confirm the next sale date with the Treasurer.
Registration and deposit
The county publishes no online bidder registration portal, form, deposit amount, or registration deadline. It directs prospective buyers to the office: "To inquire about becoming a tax buyer, contact Treasurer's Office at 618-842-5087." Email [email protected]. Request the registration packet, deposit terms, and cutoff date from the Treasurer well before the January sale.
Wayne County runs a traditional Illinois annual tax sale of delinquent taxes, not of the property itself. The county states: "The tax sale does not auction off the actual property. At this auction, tax buyers bid on an interest rate (between 0-9%) and unpaid property taxes." If the owner redeems, "the tax buyer will be paid back the amount of the taxes paid, plus the interest bid." The county page adds that after 30 months without redemption a buyer may petition the court for a tax deed. No online auction platform is confirmed for this county, and the sale is scheduled at a fixed clock time (11 AM) the day after the judgment date, the pattern of a live sale at the courthouse in Fairfield, so verify the exact location and format with the Treasurer before travelling. Redemption of sold taxes runs through the County Clerk rather than the Treasurer: "If eligible, back taxes can be redeemed in the County Clerk's Office. Please call 618-842-5182 for amounts due and how to pay back taxes." The delinquent list is published in late December but the county does not post it as a downloadable file, so request it from the Treasurer or check the local newspaper of record. Separately from the annual sale, Joseph E. Meyer and Associates serves as delinquent tax agent and trustee for Wayne County and sells tax deed foreclosed real estate and mobile homes by sealed bid at iltaxsale.com, along with a paid list of assignable tax lien certificates. The trustee's Wayne County page shows the next sealed bid auction dated 12/11/2026 with a $820.00 minimum bid, catalog available roughly 30 days ahead, and bids received at the Treasurer's office, 301 E. Main Street, Suite 201, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Treat that trustee auction as a separate path from the annual certificate sale. One caution: the trustee page lists Wayne County's "County Website" as wayneclerk.com, which is the Wayne County Circuit Clerk site, not the county government site or the Treasurer. In person (no online bidding platform named 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
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Wayne County Treasurer and Collector
Wayne County Courthouse, 301 E. Main St., Suite 201, Fairfield, IL 62837
Official websiteNotes for Wayne County
- The sale date and time appear only on the Treasurer's tax calendar. The county has no standalone tax sale page and no posted sale notice or bidder packet.
- Redemption contact: Wayne County Clerk and Recorder Elizabeth (Liz Ann) Woodrow, Wayne County Courthouse, 301 E. Main St. Suite 203, Fairfield, IL 62837, 618-842-5182, [email protected]. Hours Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 4:30 PM.
- Pre-sale penalty accrual: the Treasurer's page states interest is added at 1.5% per month effective the first day following each installment due date, with any part of a month counted as a whole month.
- Parcel and tax history research runs through the Wayne County ITAS Web Portal at il1358.cichosting.com, which covers tax years back to 2008.
- Online property tax payment is available only September through December at www.waynecountyiltax.com. Outside that window, payment is by mail, at designated banks, at the courthouse dropbox on the west side, or in the Treasurer's office on the main floor.
- Assessment questions go to Chief County Assessment Officer Jodi Poole, 301 E Main St. Suite 101, Fairfield, IL 62837, 618-842-2582.
- Joseph E. Meyer and Associates describes itself as delinquent tax agent for 94 of Illinois's 102 counties. Parcels not sold at the county tax sale are enrolled in its trustee program, which then obtains tax deeds and resells the property by verbal or sealed bid auction.
- Prior Wayne County trustee sealed bid auctions with published results: 01/19/2024, 12/20/2024, and 12/12/2025, indicating a December cadence for that separate trustee sale.
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 Wayne County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Wayne County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Wayne County tax certificate sale?
- Early January, the day after the judgment date. The county's most recently published calendar, for "Real Estate Taxes 2024, paid in 2025", lists "Delinquent List Published: December 22, 2025", "Last Day Payments are Accepted: January 2, 2026", "Judgement: January 5, 2026", and "Tax Sale: January 6, 2026, 11 AM". The county posts one cycle at a time, so confirm the next sale date with the Treasurer.. 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 Wayne 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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