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Tax Sale Atlas

Porter County, IN tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Porter 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 Porter County, seat of Valparaiso: 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.

Format
ZEUS
Registration
Bidders register through the auction site.
County office
219-465-3445
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Oct 12, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
Look up a sale detail

Porter County Auditor's Office, which holds the annual tax sale jointly with the Porter County Treasurer's Office. The sale is conducted by the county's vendor, SRI Incorporated of Indianapolis.. SRI / ZEUS. annual

Record quality: high. Last verified: 2026-10-12.

Porter County Auditor: Tax Sale/Certificate Sale (source accessed 2026-10-12)

Recorded reference information. Verify current sale conditions with the county. Read the full sale details.

Link to this detail

How Porter 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)

SRI / ZEUS
Run by
Porter County Auditor's Office, which holds the annual tax sale jointly with the Porter County Treasurer's Office. The sale is conducted by the county's vendor, SRI Incorporated of Indianapolis.
Frequency
annual
Registration
Bidders register through the auction site.
Sale list
2026 Notice of Real Property Tax Sale (certified parcel list)
When it runs
The Auditor's tax sale page states: "Porter County's 2026 Tax Sale will be held online October 21-22, 2026." The 2026 notice says the online auction begins at 9:00 a.m. local time on October 21, 2026, and that properties begin closing at 2:00 p.m. local time on October 22, 2026, each with its own posted closing time. The county's Property Tax Portal adds that "Generally, Tax Sales are held in the fall of every year," and that unsold parcels certified to the Board of Commissioners are "offered for resale to the public through a Certificate Sale which is generally held in the spring following the Tax Sale."
Registration and deposit

Bidders register through the auction site. The 2026 notice states that to participate "you must become a member of the auction web site (www.zeusauction.com)" and then register for the Porter County auction specifically. Bidders must complete IRS Form W-9 and agree to the registration statement described at IC 6-1.1-24-5.3(c) electronically through the auction site. Registration opens September 21, 2026 and closes at 12:00 p.m. local time on October 20, 2026, and a bidder who does not complete the full process will not be approved to bid. The notice does not state any pre-auction deposit. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity that seeks to register to bid must provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State to the Porter County Treasurer. The Auditor also directs bidders to the "Lien Buyer Handout" prepared by SRI for post-sale noticing requirements.

Sale format and venue
Porter County's annual tax lien sale is advertised jointly by the county auditor and treasurer and conducted by SRI Incorporated. The 2025 sale ran live in the Administration Center Commissioners' Chambers. The 2026 sale is an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)(10) at www.zeusauction.com. To pull a parcel from the 2026 sale, payment in cash or certified funds payable to the Porter County Treasurer must arrive by 12:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Per Porter County Ordinance No. 00-7, requests for tax sale results can only be made in person at the Auditor's office and cannot be distributed electronically. The 2026 notice says a complete property list may be obtained at www.sriservices.com or in an alternative form on request, and that subsequent notices are posted at www.portercountyin.gov. Bidding runs through the county's sale on zeusauction.com, so treat listings on other third-party auction sites as unofficial courtesy postings rather than the sale platform.
Register on SRI / ZEUS
Source: Porter County Auditor: Tax Sale/Certificate Sale· Verified Oct 12, 2026

Porter County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Porter 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.

  1. Confirm the advertised parcel list

    Use 2026 Notice of Real Property Tax Sale (certified parcel list) 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.

  2. Register to bid

    Bidders register through the auction site. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Bidding runs on ZEUS; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use the Porter County Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Porter County

  1. Confirm the parcel list before pricing

    Open 2026 Notice of Real Property Tax Sale (certified parcel list). 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.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidders register through the auction site. The 2026 notice states that to participate "you must become a member of the auction web site (www.zeusauction.com)" and then register for the Porter County auction specifically. Bidders must complete IRS Form W-9 and agree to the registration statement described at IC 6-1.1-24-5.3(c) electronically through the auction site. Registration opens September 21, 2026 and closes at 12:00 p.m. local time on October 20, 2026, and a bidder who does not complete the full process will not be approved to bid. The notice does not state any pre-auction deposit. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity that seeks to register to bid must provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State to the Porter County Treasurer. The Auditor also directs bidders to the "Lien Buyer Handout" prepared by SRI for post-sale noticing requirements.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

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)

Porter County Auditor's Office

219-465-3445

155 Indiana Avenue, Suite 204, Valparaiso, IN 46383

Official website

County notes

  • The tax sale page lives under the Auditor, whose duties include "Works with Treasurer to hold annual Tax Sale." Karen Martin is the Porter County Auditor and signed the 2026 tax sale notice.
  • The Porter County Treasurer's Office is at 155 Indiana Avenue, Suite 209, Valparaiso, IN 46383, phone 219-465-3470, open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Its listed functions include the "Annual Tax Sale for unpaid real property." Payments to remove a parcel from the tax sale go to the Treasurer.
  • The county's Options For Certified Properties page lists redemption windows of one year after a tax sale, 120 days if the county pursues title, and 120 days after a certificate sale, and points redemption questions to the Auditor's office at 219-465-3449.
  • The 2026 notice sets the minimum bid components and states the redemption amount is 110 percent of the minimum bid if redeemed within six months of the sale, or 115 percent if redeemed after six months, plus the surplus over the minimum bid with 5 percent annual interest. It gives a redemption expiration of October 22, 2027 for certificates sold in that sale, and February 19, 2027 for certificates struck to the county.
  • Two separate sales exist here: the fall tax sale run through SRI, and a spring certificate sale of parcels certified to the Board of Commissioners.

Indiana rules

Max interest rate
15% of the amount paid maximum, as a flat statutory penalty
Minimum return
10% statutory penalty at redemption
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.
Governing statute
IC 6-1.1-24-5

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.

See the full Indiana rules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Porter County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Indiana investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Treasurer runs the sale.

When is the Porter County tax certificate sale?

The Auditor's tax sale page states: "Porter County's 2026 Tax Sale will be held online October 21-22, 2026." The 2026 notice says the online auction begins at 9:00 a.m. local time on October 21, 2026, and that properties begin closing at 2:00 p.m. local time on October 22, 2026, each with its own posted closing time. The county's Property Tax Portal adds that "Generally, Tax Sales are held in the fall of every year," and that unsold parcels certified to the Board of Commissioners are "offered for resale to the public through a Certificate Sale which is generally held in the spring following the Tax Sale." Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Indiana's redemption rule: 1 year from the date of sale. Call the Porter County Auditor's Office as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Porter County tax sale list?

The recorded official list reference is at portercountyin.gov. Check whether it covers auction parcels, office information or Lands Available, then obtain the advertised parcel list for the sale you plan to bid on. Confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement.

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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