Boone County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Boone County, seat of Lebanon: 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 Boone County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Boone County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale in mid-October. The GUTS tax sale page lists the Boone County sale as "Wednesday, October 14, 2026" and states "Sale starts at 10 a.m. (local time)"; the prior year is listed as "Wednesday, October 15, 2025". The county procedures document describes the same pattern: "The Tax Sale in Boone County is to begin as a public auction at 10:00 AM Boone County Time", with check-in instructions starting at 9:30 AM.
Registration and deposit
Every bidder needs a bidder number to bid. GUTS posts a fillable Bidder Registration Form on its tax sale page and states "Bidders are requested to fill out and submit their Bidder Registration form by Noon the day before each county's sale." Bidder paddles are picked up the morning of the sale and must be displayed to the auctioneer on each parcel bid. Payment must be cash, cashier's check, certified check, or official check made payable to the Boone County Treasurer; no personal or business checks are accepted. A person who owes taxes, penalties, special assessments, or prior tax sale costs in the county, or who is a judgment defendant in a building code or ordinance enforcement action, is not eligible to bid, and a business or its agent must be registered and in good standing with the Indiana Secretary of State.
This is an in-person courthouse-style auction, not an online sale, so there is no online bidding platform to register on. Parcels are called in Tax Sale ID order and a call for a specific item number counts as a minimum bid; after every item has been offered once, unsold items are reopened on a first-asked, first-offered basis. The minimum bid includes all taxes, penalties, and special assessments due plus a $115.00 tax sale cost stated in the county procedures. Winning bidders pay at the Treasurer's office on the second floor of the courthouse, and the Boone County Auditor issues the tax sale certificate after payment. Redemption runs one year from the sale: 110% of the minimum bid if redeemed within six months, 115% if redeemed after six months but within one year, plus 5% per annum on the overbid and on later taxes reported on Form 137B. The county advertises the list in the Lebanon Reporter and posts it on the GUTS site, where the current-year advertising list report is live but shows no parcels until the county certifies the list. Caution on lookalike sites: boonecountytreasurer.us belongs to Boone County, Illinois and its October sale date and $250 registration fee do not apply here. Bidder-facing figures such as the tax sale cost come from the GUTS Information and Procedures document, so confirm current-year amounts with the Treasurer before bidding. In-person public auction at the Connie Lamar Meeting Room, Boone County Annex Building, Lebanon. The sale is administered for the county by Government Utilities Technology Service (GUTS), which publishes the sale documents and reports.
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.
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 Boone County
- The county treasurer of record is Nicole K. Baldwin, listed on the county site as Nikki Baldwin, at 765-482-2880. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm.
- The Boone County Auditor, Debbie Crum, is at 201 Courthouse Square, Lebanon, IN 46052, phone 765-482-2940. The Auditor issues the tax sale certificate, handles redemption payoff calculations, records Form 137B reimbursement claims, and issues the tax deed.
- Government Utilities Technology Service (GUTS) is the county's contracted tax sale vendor. The 2026 Agreement for Tax Sale Services is between the Board of Commissioners of Boone County, on behalf of the Auditor and Treasurer, and GUTS, at a per-parcel fee of $110.00 for certified parcels, with a term ending December 31, 2026.
- GUTS publishes per-county reports for Boone under site id 6, including the advertising list, county lien items, sold items, and status list, reachable from the GUTS tax sale information page.
- Reimbursable purchaser costs set by Boone County Superior Court I under IC 6-1.1-25-2.5 are capped at $350.00 for attorney fees and notice costs and $200.00 for title search or abstract work, per the county procedures document.
- Certificate assignment is allowed by completing the back of the certificate and registering the assignment with the Auditor. A purchaser must give the IC 6-1.1-25-4.5 notice within six months of the sale and petition for a deed within three months after the redemption period expires, or the lien terminates.
- The Information and Procedures PDF linked from the GUTS site is the 2023 edition; GUTS also serves a year-specific procedures report for the current sale year from its report viewer.
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 Boone County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Boone County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Boone County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale in mid-October. The GUTS tax sale page lists the Boone County sale as "Wednesday, October 14, 2026" and states "Sale starts at 10 a.m. (local time)"; the prior year is listed as "Wednesday, October 15, 2025". The county procedures document describes the same pattern: "The Tax Sale in Boone County is to begin as a public auction at 10:00 AM Boone County Time", with check-in instructions starting at 9:30 AM.. 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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