Marion County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Marion County, seat of Indianapolis: 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 Marion County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Marion County Treasurer's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual online tax lien sale in October. The county page states the "2026 Online Tax Lien sale is scheduled to take place Tuesday, October 13 through Friday, October 16 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm." The procedures document sets the "Nonprofit Sale Portion: Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 9AM" with the regular sale portion "Immediately following the Nonprofit Sale, beginning Tuesday, October 13, 2026, and continuing through Friday, October 16, 2026." The auction "will run daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) and will continue until all tracts of real property have been offered for sale." Unsold parcels are reoffered immediately after the regular portion. The 2025 sale ran October 6 through October 10, so plan on an early-to-mid October week.
- Sale list
- Tax sale parcel lists and procedures
Registration and deposit
Bidders register on GovEase. The county states: "Registration will open July 22, 2026. Every bidder must register to participate. You may obtain a bidder number by registering at Govease.com. Registration will close Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 3 PM (Eastern Time)." A $2,500 deposit is required for every bidder in the regular portion; nonprofits bidding only in the nonprofit portion are exempt, but must post the deposit if they also bid in the regular portion. Deposits are accepted through October 8, 2026, in person at the Treasurer's Office in the City-County Building or by mail to the Treasurer, and must be cash, wire, money order, certified check, or cashier's check payable to the Marion County Treasurer. Personal and business checks are refused. Registration requires name, address, phone, the name and address for the tax sale certificate, a Social Security or Federal ID number, a completed W-9, and the attestation under IC 6-1.1-24-5.3. Business entities must supply a certificate of good standing or proof of registration from the Indiana Secretary of State. Bidders new to the platform are approved at their requested amount only with acceptable evidence of credit from a bank; without it the approval cap is $100,000 for individuals and $250,000 for a company. Winning bids must be paid in full by the end of the day on October 16, 2026, or the buyer owes a 25% penalty on the bid amount and the parcel goes to the alternate bidder.
Marion County runs a fully online tax lien certificate sale. The procedures document states "The sale will be conducted virtually via web-based auction platform (GovEase)," so there is no in-person courthouse auction. The Treasurer conducts the sale and the Auditor handles the back end: by written agreement the Auditor performs notification and the title search under IC 6-1.1-25-4.5 and petitions the court for the tax deed under IC 6-1.1-25-4.6. Tax sale certificates are issued through the buyer's GovEase account once payment clears to the Treasurer. Several Indiana counties contract SRI Incorporated to run their sales, but Marion County does not; its auction is on GovEase. Bidding runs in continuous flow in item number order, grouped by township with no break between townships, with 90 seconds per parcel or 45 seconds if no bidder makes a call. Item numbers all begin with "49A." The minimum bid equals all delinquent taxes, penalties, and special assessments due plus administrative costs. All sales are final and no refunds are given. Marion County also runs a nonprofit-only segment first under SEA 62 (2022), open to nonprofits approved by the Marion County Commissioners, with its own eligible list and status list on GovEase. Four lists are published and updated nightly: the Advertising List (parcels currently available), the Combination List (parcels sold and redeemed together), the Status List (all certified parcels including withdrawn ones), and the nonprofit equivalents. The full parcel list is also advertised in The Indianapolis Star and the Court & Commercial Record on three dates each in late July and early August, and a printed list can be bought for $5 at the Treasurer's Office. The GovEase Public Access Portal at liveauctions.govease.com/in/inmarion/1282/PublicPortalRecords carries sale results and redemption data. Parcels are identified by seven-digit parcel number, not address; the county warns that advertised addresses may be incomplete or misleading and directs bidders to the Tax Sale Viewer at maps.indy.gov/TaxSaleViewer and to Assessor records for boundaries. For redemption amounts and tax deed questions, the Auditor's tax sale desk is 317-327-4646 or [email protected].
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)
Marion County Treasurer's Office
City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St., Suite 1001, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Official websiteNotes for Marion County
- Marion County is Indiana's largest county and is consolidated with the City of Indianapolis, so all county offices publish through indy.gov rather than a standalone county domain.
- The sale is a tax lien certificate sale under IC 6-1.1-24. A buyer holds only a lien during redemption and is trespassing if they enter the property before the tax deed issues, though the Indiana Good Samaritan Law (IC 34-30-26) lets them secure a vacant property, remove trash, mow, and remove graffiti at their own risk.
- Redemption on sold parcels runs one year from the date of sale. The certificate holder's lien expires three months after the redemption period ends, and the buyer must present the certificate to the Auditor inside that window or the lien is void.
- On redemption the lien buyer receives 10% of the minimum bid if redeemed within 6 months, or 15% if redeemed after 6 months but within one year, plus 5% per year on any overbid and on subsequent taxes paid, provided those payments were recorded with the Auditor.
- The county Treasurer's office phone (317) 327-4444 is the general property tax line. The Auditor's tax sale desk at 317-327-4646 handles certificates, redemption amounts, and tax deeds.
- The 2026 procedures document gives the in-person deposit location as Room 1001 of the City-County Building but the deposit mailing address as 200 E. Washington St., Suite 1022. Confirm with the office before mailing funds.
- The county's published township auction schedule lists the parcel counts and finish times as not yet set until closer to the 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 Marion County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Marion County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Marion County tax certificate sale?
- Annual online tax lien sale in October. The county page states the "2026 Online Tax Lien sale is scheduled to take place Tuesday, October 13 through Friday, October 16 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm." The procedures document sets the "Nonprofit Sale Portion: Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 9AM" with the regular sale portion "Immediately following the Nonprofit Sale, beginning Tuesday, October 13, 2026, and continuing through Friday, October 16, 2026." The auction "will run daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) and will continue until all tracts of real property have been offered for sale." Unsold parcels are reoffered immediately after the regular portion. The 2025 sale ran October 6 through October 10, so plan on an early-to-mid October week.. 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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