Allen County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Allen County, seat of Fort Wayne: 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 Indiana tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Allen County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Allen County Auditor's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual fall sale in mid-September. The Auditor's Tax Sale page states "The 2026 Tax Sale will be held September 16, 2026", and the county's 2026 tax sale notice lists "DATE OF SALE: Wednesday, September 16, 2026" with "TIME: 9:00 a.m. EST until done". The notice adds that the official tax sale list is certified in late June (June 26, 2026 for the 2026 sale).
Registration and deposit
Online only. The 2026 county notice states "Bidders must register electronically" from the auction website beginning September 2, 2026 by creating an account, with "Registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EST". Create a GovEase account, then complete the online registration documents before approval to bid. Each bidder must provide an IRS Form W-9 to the auction site, and a business must supply a Certificate of Good Standing (Certificate of Existence) from the Indiana Secretary of State. Anyone with delinquent real estate or personal property taxes, individually or through a company they own, may not register. Bidder numbers are assigned through the auction website. GovEase publishes bidder training at govease.com/bidderhelp.
Allen County sells tax liens under IC 6-1.1-24 and IC 6-1.1-25. The winning bidder receives a tax sale certificate and holds only a lien until the parcel is redeemed or a tax title deed issues, which the county puts at roughly 45 to 60 days after the one year redemption period. Parcels are offered by Tax Sale Item Number, the unique number shown on GovEase. The minimum bid is the tax sale lien amount plus $620.00 in sale costs, and any other assessment certified against a parcel before the sale is added to it. Redemption runs 110% of the delinquent taxes, special assessments, the November installment and sale costs if redeemed within six months, 115% if redeemed after six months but within one year, plus 5% per annum on the amount the purchase price exceeds the taxes and assessments and 5% per annum on subsequent taxes paid. All bids are final, with no refunds or exchanges, and refusing a winning bid carries a penalty of 25% of the purchase amount. Purchases must be paid by 12 p.m. the next business day; the Treasurer accepts cash or cashier's checks for the exact amount and no personal checks. The county warns that the IRS no longer grants blanket permission to sell properties included in a tax sale, so a federal tax lien can survive the tax title deed and the buyer may need a Certificate of Discharge (Publication 783, Form 14135). Unsold parcels may be certified to the Board of Commissioners and then assigned and deeded to the Allen County Community Development Corp for resale; the county lists 260-449-3276 for those properties. Allen County does not contract SRI for this sale; it is hosted on GovEase. Auction platform questions go to GovEase support at (769) 208-5050 ext. 2, sale process questions to the Auditor at (260) 449-7241, and payment arrangements to the Treasurer at (260) 449-7693.
Register on GovEaseFrom lien to deed
Indiana holds no general public tax deed auction. Once the redemption period runs out, the certificate holder files a verified petition in the same court that entered the judgment of sale, and the court directs the county auditor to issue the deed. That petition must be filed no later than three months after the redemption period expires, or the purchaser's lien terminates. One narrow exception exists: real property a county, city, or town executive has certified as vacant or abandoned is auctioned separately, and there the county auditor deeds fee simple title straight to the highest bidder with no right of redemption.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Parcels that draw no bid at the treasurer's tax sale pass to the county executive, which acquires a lien for the minimum sale price and receives a tax sale certificate. The county executive may then adopt a resolution and offer those certificates at a separate advertised public sale, often called the commissioners' certificate sale, priced below the minimum bid that failed at the tax sale. Notice runs once a week for three consecutive weeks with the final advertisement at least 30 days before the sale. This is a scheduled sale rather than a walk-in list, and redemption on a certificate bought this way is 120 days. Check the county auditor page for the next commissioners' certificate sale date.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Allen County
- The Auditor's Office administers the sale and issues the tax deed. The county notice still calls it the Treasurer's Tax Sale because the Treasurer collects the delinquent taxes and takes purchase payments, and the handout is issued jointly by both offices.
- Tax sale questions are routed to Scot Harber at 260-449-7917 or the main Auditor line at 260-449-7241 per the county Tax Sale page.
- The Auditor posts the current year sale list on the Tax Sale page (2026 list dated 7/23/2026) plus sold-property files for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- A separate Delinquent Property List is published by the Auditor under IC reporting requirements and is informational only. The county states those properties are not available for sale and the file is not refreshed until the following year.
- The county notice points bidders to the Treasurer's online tax information system at https://lowtaxinfo.com/allencounty/ for parcel research by Property Pin number, and stresses that tax sale property is sold as is with no warranty of the listed street address or legal description.
- Eligibility threshold from the county: a property delinquent for three or more installments is eligible for tax sale.
Indiana statewide rules
- Redemption
- The standard period is one year after the date of the treasurer's tax sale. Several tracks run 120 days instead: a certificate bought at the county executive's certificate sale, a lien the county executive holds that was never sold on, a sale to a purchasing agency qualified under IC 36-7-17 or IC 36-7-17.1, a certificate the county executive assigns to another political subdivision, and a parcel that was not offered at the tax sale at all. Property on the county auditor's vacant and abandoned list carries no right of redemption after its sale. A county treasurer may also extend redemption by agreement with the owner, in which case the extended period ends one year after the date of that agreement.
- Surplus proceeds
- The treasurer applies the payment first to the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs in the minimum bid, then to other delinquent property taxes, then deposits the remainder in a tax sale surplus fund. The owner of record at the time the parcel was certified for sale, or the purchaser on a redemption, may file a verified claim against that fund. Unclaimed surplus transfers to the county general fund three years after it was received.
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 Allen County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Allen County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Allen County tax certificate sale?
- Annual fall sale in mid-September. The Auditor's Tax Sale page states "The 2026 Tax Sale will be held September 16, 2026", and the county's 2026 tax sale notice lists "DATE OF SALE: Wednesday, September 16, 2026" with "TIME: 9:00 a.m. EST until done". The notice adds that the official tax sale list is certified in late June (June 26, 2026 for the 2026 sale).. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
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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