Owen County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Owen County, seat of Spencer: 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 Owen County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Owen County Treasurer's Office, acting with the Owen County Auditor
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's office lists the next sale as "Tax Sale: October 7, 2026 (Online only)" and directs bidders to "Visit: www.sriservices.com". The prior sale ran "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, September 09, 2025" in the "Commissioners' Room 2nd Floor Courthouse". SRI, the county's sale administrator, states that "Indiana tax sales are typically held in late August through October" and that property listings appear on its site about a month before the auction.
Registration and deposit
Register online 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." Print the registration form and W9 from the registration site and bring both completed. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1 a business entity that seeks to register must provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State to the Owen County Treasurer. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale, and the notice asks bidders to arrive at least 30 minutes before the start time to be assured of a bid number.
Owen County sells tax sale certificates on delinquent real property under I.C. 6-1.1-24-1 et seq., and contracts SRI to administer the sale. The Auditor signs and publishes the notice, and the Auditor and Treasurer jointly apply to the Owen County Circuit Court for the judgment and order of sale. Format has varied by year, so confirm it before bidding: the 2025 notice set a live auction in the Commissioners' Room on the 2nd floor of the courthouse and reserved discretion to switch, stating that if that happens "the public auction will be conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2 (b) 10 at www.zeusauction.com commencing on the same date/time listed above. All location updates will be posted at www.sriservices.com prior to the tax sale." The Treasurer's office now lists the 2026 sale as online only. Property will not be sold below the sum of the delinquent taxes and special assessments, the taxes and assessments due and payable in the year of sale, all penalties, a $25 postage and publication charge plus other tax sale costs set by the Auditor, and any unpaid costs from a prior tax sale. Minimum bids are set by law and can change before the auction date. Redemption is 110% of the minimum bid within six months of the sale or 115% after six months, plus the amount by which the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid with 5% annual interest on that excess, plus any post-sale taxes and assessments the purchaser paid with 5% annual interest. The 2025 notice set the redemption expiry at September 9, 2026 for certificates sold at the sale, and possibly January 7, 2026 for certificates struck to the county. Property descriptions may be omitted under IC 6-1.1-24-3(e) for parcels on the certified list in consecutive years, so pull the complete list from SRI rather than relying on the newspaper text. The county does not warrant street addresses or common descriptions. Because of a change in law the notice runs only once in newspapers, with later notices posted at www.owencounty.in.gov.
Register on SRI / ZEUSFrom 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)
60 S Main St, Room 102B, Spencer, IN 47460 (mailed payments: PO Box 600, Spencer, IN 47460)
Official websiteNotes for Owen County
- Treasurer: Shelly Townsend, 60 S Main St Room 102B, Spencer, IN 47460, 812-829-5011, [email protected].
- Auditor: Sheila Reeves, Owen County Courthouse Room 201, 60 S. Main Street, Spencer, IN 47460, (812) 829-5000. The Auditor signed the 2025 tax sale notice and issues the tax deed after redemption expires.
- The 2025 notice was dated 07/30/2025 and set 08/20/2025 as the date on or after which the Auditor and Treasurer would apply for judgment, with any defense filed in the Owen County Circuit Court before that date.
- If a parcel sells for more than the minimum bid and is not redeemed, the notice says the owner of record divested of ownership when the tax deed issues may have a right to the tax sale surplus.
- The Auditor and Treasurer reserve the right to withhold any parcel listed in error or that becomes ineligible before or during the sale.
- The county property tax page lists a separate Treasurer line, (812) 829-5018 at 60 S Main St Room 101, for current bill questions. The Treasurer department page number 812-829-5011 is the one to use for tax sale questions.
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 Owen County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Owen County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Owen County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's office lists the next sale as "Tax Sale: October 7, 2026 (Online only)" and directs bidders to "Visit: www.sriservices.com". The prior sale ran "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, September 09, 2025" in the "Commissioners' Room 2nd Floor Courthouse". SRI, the county's sale administrator, states that "Indiana tax sales are typically held in late August through October" and that property listings appear on its site about a month before the auction.. 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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