Bartholomew County, IN tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Bartholomew County, IN tax sale, one of 3,131 counties in 51 states. Indiana sells tax lien certificates paying up to 15%, redeemable for 1 year. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Oct 12, 2026.
How tax lien sales work in Bartholomew County, seat of Columbus: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Indiana tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next certificate sale
- The annual tax sale runs in the fall.
- Format
- ZEUS
- Registration
- Bidding is online.
- County office
- (812) 379-1530
On this page
How Bartholomew County sells delinquent taxes
From 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.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Bartholomew County Treasurer and Bartholomew County Auditor, with the sale administered by SRI Incorporated
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The annual tax sale runs in the fall.
- Registration
- Bidding is online.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online. The county notice states the sale "will be conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)10, at the following web site: www.zeusauction.com," and that "in order to bid in the online public auction, you must both complete IRS Form W-9 and agree to the registration statement described at IC 6-1.1-24-5.3(c) electronically, through the auction web site." Bidders must become members of the auction site and then register for the Bartholomew County auction specifically. Registration opens and closes on fixed dates before the sale; for the 2026 sale the window runs from 12:00 PM local time on September 16, 2026 to 12:00 PM local time on October 26, 2026, and the notice warns "If you do not complete the full registration process for the sale you will not be approved to bid on the auction." Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity must also provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State to the Bartholomew County Treasurer. SRI instructs online bidders to create an account at zeusauction.com, locate the sale, and select "Click to Register" before the registration deadline.
Sale format and venue
Bartholomew County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Bartholomew County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Confirm the advertised parcel list
Use SRI Incorporated tax sale property listings for Bartholomew County as a starting reference. Check which sale or list it covers; a Lands Available or office information page is separate from an auction parcel list. Ask the sale office for the advertised parcels for the auction you plan to attend.Register to bid
Sale day
The annual tax sale runs in the fall. Bidding runs on ZEUS; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the Bartholomew County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Bartholomew County
4 checks
Confirm the parcel list before pricing
Open SRI Incorporated tax sale property listings for Bartholomew County. Confirm whether this reference contains the auction parcels or covers a different list. Get the advertised parcel list from the county before you price a bid, and recheck it before the sale.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is online. The county notice states the sale "will be conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)10, at the following web site: www.zeusauction.com," and that "in order to bid in the online public auction, you must both complete IRS Form W-9 and agree to the registration statement described at IC 6-1.1-24-5.3(c) electronically, through the auction web site." Bidders must become members of the auction site and then register for the Bartholomew County auction specifically. Registration opens and closes on fixed dates before the sale; for the 2026 sale the window runs from 12:00 PM local time on September 16, 2026 to 12:00 PM local time on October 26, 2026, and the notice warns "If you do not complete the full registration process for the sale you will not be approved to bid on the auction." Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity must also provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State to the Bartholomew County Treasurer. SRI instructs online bidders to create an account at zeusauction.com, locate the sale, and select "Click to Register" before the registration deadline.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Indiana due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold certificates
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. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Indiana calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- County seat is Columbus. The Treasurer's office sits on the first floor of the Governmental Office Building at 440 Third Street and takes payments Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm.
- The Treasurer's office is listed at (812) 379-1530 and the Auditor's office at (812) 379-1510 on the county phone directory.
- The Auditor issues the tax deed after redemption expires. The Auditor page carries no separate tax sale content, so the Treasurer's page and the published sale notice are the county-side sources.
- The Treasurer's page posts the current sale advertisement. Under the 2026 notice, the redemption period for certificates sold at the October 27, 2026 sale expires on October 27, 2027.
- The Treasurer's page links straight to the Bartholomew County tax sale listings on SRI's corporate site, sriservices.com, where the parcel lists and sale calendar are published.
- Zeus Auction is the bidding platform for the online sale. SRI's corporate site carries the parcel lists and sale calendar, so bidders normally need an account on Zeus to place bids.
Indiana 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 Bartholomew County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Bartholomew County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Bartholomew County tax sale list?
Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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 office that runs the sale before you bid.
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