Madison County, IN tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Madison 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 Madison County, seat of Anderson: 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
- Once a year in the fall.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Register with SRI before the sale.
- County office
- (765) 641-9645
On this page
How Madison 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
- Madison County Treasurer's Office, with the Madison County Auditor's Office publishing the notices and fielding tax sale questions
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Once a year in the fall.
- Registration
- Register with SRI before the sale.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register with SRI before the sale. The county notice states: "If you are interested in bidding on the tax sale for an Indiana county, you may register online at https://sriservices.com/. This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties. Make sure to bring the completed form with you to each sale." Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. The notice also says to "arrive the morning of the tax sale at least 30 minutes before the beginning time to be assured you will receive your bid number before the start of the sale" and to bring both the registration form and a W-9, which print from the registration site. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity bidding at the Madison County tax sale must give the Madison County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Indiana Secretary of State.
Sale format and venue
Madison County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Madison 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 Madison County tax sale legal advertisements and property lists 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
Once a year in the fall. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the Madison County Treasurer's Office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the Madison County Treasurer's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Madison County
4 checks
Confirm the parcel list before pricing
Open Madison County tax sale legal advertisements and property lists. 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
Register with SRI before the sale. The county notice states: "If you are interested in bidding on the tax sale for an Indiana county, you may register online at https://sriservices.com/. This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties. Make sure to bring the completed form with you to each sale." Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. The notice also says to "arrive the morning of the tax sale at least 30 minutes before the beginning time to be assured you will receive your bid number before the start of the sale" and to bring both the registration form and a W-9, which print from the registration site. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity bidding at the Madison County tax sale must give the Madison County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Indiana Secretary of State.
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
- The Treasurer's Office collects the delinquent taxes and holds the annual tax sale. The Auditor's Office publishes the legal notices, answers tax sale questions, and handles redemptions. The county page names Tiffany Stafford, tax sale lead in the Auditor's Office, at 765-641-9422 or tstafford@madisoncounty.in.gov. The Auditor's main line is (765) 641-9419.
- Both the annual tax sale and the Commissioners' Certificate Sale have been held at the Millcreek Civic Center, 403 W. Main St., Chesterfield, IN 46017, not at the Government Center in Anderson. Check the notice for the current venue before you go.
- The SRI Tax Sale link on the county tax sale page points to a properties.sriservices.com address that may not load. Use sriservices.com or call the Auditor's Office for the current property list.
- The Treasurer's online portal carries a page titled Madison County Commissioners Certificate Sale Listing 2026 plus a judgments list, separate from the Auditor's legal advertisements.
- Redemption after a Commissioners' Certificate Sale purchase is priced differently from the annual sale. The March 9, 2026 notice sets it at the minimum bid under Section 5 of IC 6-1.1-24, plus 10 percent of the amount the certificate sold for, plus attorney fees and notice costs, title search costs, and any taxes the buyer paid after the sale with 10 percent annual interest.
- The Madison County Government Center, which houses the Treasurer's Office, is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Property tax due dates listed for 2026 are May 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026.
- Parcels certified to the tax sale cannot be paid online. The Treasurer's portal states that owners must pay in person or by mail with a cashier's check, money order, or cash.
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 Madison County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Madison County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Madison 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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