Howard County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Howard County, seat of Kokomo: 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 Howard County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Howard County Treasurer and Howard County Auditor
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, in October. The most recent published county notice sets the sale for October 17, 2025, reading "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 17, 2025" and "Such sale will be held on 10/17/2025 at the Commissioners' Meeting Room 338." That notice is dated August 28, 2025, and states the Auditor and Treasurer apply for judgment on or after September 30, 2025. As of July 29, 2026 the county had not yet posted a notice for the next cycle, so confirm the current date with the Treasurer.
Registration and deposit
Register online with SRI at sriservices.com ahead of the sale. The county notice states the registration "is good for all counties that SRI services" and that you "need to register only once for all counties." Print the registration form and the W-9 from the registration site and bring both on the morning of the sale. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. Arrive at least 30 minutes before the 10:00 AM start to be assured of a bid number before bidding opens. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity that seeks to register must provide the Howard County Treasurer with a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Indiana Secretary of State.
Howard County sells tax lien certificates under IC 6-1.1-24. The most recent advertised sale ran as a live, in person auction in Commissioners' Meeting Room 338 at the Howard County Administration Center, 220 N Main St, Kokomo. The county notice adds that "at the discretion of local officials, the tax sale may switch to an online format," in which case the public auction is conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)(10) at www.zeusauction.com, the SRI bidding platform, starting on the same date and time, with all location updates posted at sriservices.com before the sale. No online platform is confirmed as the standing format for this county, so verify with the Treasurer before planning to bid remotely. Separately, both the Treasurer and Auditor pages link a "Tax Sale Information" page at properties.sriservices.com, but that host did not resolve when checked on July 29, 2026; use sriservices.com or call the Treasurer for the current list. In person, live auction at the Howard County Administration Center
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)
Howard County Administration Center, 220 North Main Street, Room 226, Kokomo, IN 46901
Official websiteNotes for Howard County
- The 2025 sale was held in Commissioners' Meeting Room 338 at the Howard County Administration Center, 220 N Main St, Kokomo, and the notice states the sale continues until all tracts and real property have been offered.
- Redemption pricing from the county notice: 110 percent of the minimum bid if redeemed not more than six months after the sale date, or 115 percent of the minimum bid if redeemed more than six months after the sale date, plus the amount by which the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid with 5 percent per annum interest on that overbid. Taxes and special assessments the purchaser pays after the sale are also repaid with 5 percent per annum interest.
- The 2025 notice sets the redemption deadline at Monday, October 19, 2026 for certificates sold at the tax sale. For certificates struck to the county, the notice says the redemption period may expire Monday, February 16, 2026.
- The minimum bid covers delinquent taxes and special assessments on the parcel, taxes and special assessments due and payable in the year of the sale, all penalties on the delinquencies, 25 dollars for postage and publication costs, other county costs directly attributable to the tax sale, and any unpaid costs due under IC 6-1.1-24-2(c) from a prior tax sale.
- Under a change in Indiana law the notice appears only once in newspapers, and the county directs bidders to the county website for subsequent notices.
- The Auditor and Treasurer reserve the right to withhold from the sale any parcel listed in error or that otherwise becomes ineligible before or during the sale, and minimum bid amounts can change before the auction date.
- Howard County Auditor: 220 North Main Street, Kokomo, IN 46901, main (765) 456-2215, tax line (765) 456-2216. The Auditor signs the sale notice and handles the tax deed side after redemption expires.
- To remove a parcel from the certified tax sale list, the Treasurer accepts cash, cashier's check, and credit cards.
- If a parcel sells for more than the minimum bid and is not redeemed, the owner of record who is divested of ownership when the tax deed issues may have a right to the tax sale surplus.
- The 2025 certified list ran to nine pages and included several hundred parcels, most of them in and around Kokomo, with minimum amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to over 250,000 dollars.
- Howard County's own domains (howardcountyin.gov, co.howard.in.us) redirect to the state-hosted county site at in.gov/counties/howard.
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 Howard County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Howard County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Howard County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, in October. The most recent published county notice sets the sale for October 17, 2025, reading "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 17, 2025" and "Such sale will be held on 10/17/2025 at the Commissioners' Meeting Room 338." That notice is dated August 28, 2025, and states the Auditor and Treasurer apply for judgment on or after September 30, 2025. As of July 29, 2026 the county had not yet posted a notice for the next cycle, so confirm the current 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.
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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