Whitley County, IN tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Whitley County, seat of Columbia City: 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 Whitley County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Whitley County Treasurer, acting jointly with the Whitley County Auditor. SRI Incorporated administers the sale, and the Whitley County Commissioners conduct the separate Commissioners' Certificate Sale.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The annual tax sale runs in the fall. The most recent county notice reads "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 02, 2025" and "Such sale will be held on 10/02/2025 at the Commissioners' Room - 1st Floor and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale." The Auditor and Treasurer applied for the court judgment "on or after 09/15/2025." The follow-on Commissioners' Certificate Sale notice reads "Beginning 09:00 AM Local Time, April 08, 2026," with properties that "commence closing at 03:00 PM local time on 04/08/2026." The Treasurer's Tax Sale page states that "Properties that are eligible for TAX SALE will be certified on July 1, 2026," and as of July 30, 2026 the county had not yet posted a notice for the 2026 annual sale.
Registration and deposit
Register online with SRI at https://sriservices.com/. Per the county notice, "This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties." Bring the completed registration form and a W9 form to the sale, both printable from the registration site, and arrive at least 30 minutes before the start time to be assured of a bid number before bidding begins. Bidders without computer access may register the morning of the sale. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity that seeks to register to bid at the Whitley County Tax Sale must provide the Whitley County Treasurer a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Secretary of State. For the online Commissioners' Certificate Sale, the notice directs bidders to registration information and bidding procedures at https://www.zeusauction.com.
The annual county tax sale has been a live in person auction. The 2025 notice sets it in the "Commissioners' Room - 1st Floor" of the County Government Center in Columbia City, and adds that "At the discretion of local officials, the tax sale may switch to an online format. If those measures are taking place, 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." Confirm the venue with the Treasurer before travelling. The separate Commissioners' Certificate Sale did move online: the 2026 notice is headed "Online - www.zeusauction.com" for April 8, 2026, while the 2025 edition was held in person in the Commissioners' Room on February 27, 2025. Winning bidders at the annual sale receive a tax sale certificate rather than a deed. The 2025 notice sets redemption at 110% of the minimum bid if redeemed not more than six months after the sale, or 115% if redeemed more than six months after the sale, plus the amount by which the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid with 5% per annum interest on that excess, plus 5% per annum on any taxes and special assessments the purchaser pays after the sale. The notice states the redemption period expires Friday, October 02, 2026 for certificates sold at that sale, and that for certificates struck to the county the period may expire Friday, January 30, 2026. Under IC 6-1.1-24-3(e) property descriptions may be omitted for parcels appearing on the certified list in consecutive years, and "A complete property list may be obtained at www.sriservices.com or in an alternative form upon request."
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)
Notes for Whitley County
- Treasurer's office hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. Kay Gatton is the elected Treasurer and Amy Cook is Chief Deputy.
- Whitley County Auditor: 220 W Van Buren St, Columbia City, IN 46725, phone (260) 248-3100, fax (260) 248-3187, hours 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. The Auditor's own Tax Sale page simply directs readers to the SRI tax sale site.
- Both the Treasurer and the Auditor direct taxpayers to https://lowtaxinfo.com/whitleycounty for property tax information, and the Treasurer's Tax Sale page points investors to www.sriservices.com for parcel status and the tax sale process.
- The Treasurer's Tax Sale page states that all parcels with a balance due from spring of the prior year or before are eligible for tax sale, that delinquent tax bills can be paid up to the day before the sale to remove a parcel from the listing, and that an owner has a year to redeem after a tax sale.
- The 2026 Commissioners' Certificate Sale notice lists minimum bids of $250.00 on many parcels, and states that redemption after a certificate sale requires the minimum bid under Section 5 of IC 6-1.1-24 for which the parcel was last offered, plus ten percent of the amount the certificate sold for, plus notice, title search, and sale costs, plus ten percent per annum on taxes and special assessments the purchaser pays after the certificate sale.
- Sale notices are published only once in newspapers under current Indiana law. The county states that subsequent notices can be found at www.whitleycounty.in.gov, so the Treasurer's Tax Sale page and its News and Notices list are the places to watch for the current year's list and venue.
- The county's public GIS parcel viewer is Beacon (Schneider Corporation), linked from the Treasurer's Tax Sale page as "Tax information available on GIS site."
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 Whitley County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Whitley County follows Indiana's tax lien state system.
When is the Whitley County tax certificate sale?
- The annual tax sale runs in the fall. The most recent county notice reads "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 02, 2025" and "Such sale will be held on 10/02/2025 at the Commissioners' Room - 1st Floor and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale." The Auditor and Treasurer applied for the court judgment "on or after 09/15/2025." The follow-on Commissioners' Certificate Sale notice reads "Beginning 09:00 AM Local Time, April 08, 2026," with properties that "commence closing at 03:00 PM local time on 04/08/2026." The Treasurer's Tax Sale page states that "Properties that are eligible for TAX SALE will be certified on July 1, 2026," and as of July 30, 2026 the county had not yet posted a notice for the 2026 annual sale.. 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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