Boone County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Boone County, seat of Boone: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Iowa tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Boone County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Boone County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Boone County Treasurer's tax sale page states: "The Annual Tax Sale takes place in June of each year." The most recent published terms cover the sale held Monday, June 16, 2025: "The 2025 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Boone County Treasurer on Monday, June 16, 2025, in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Boone County Courthouse, 201 State Street Room 100 Boone, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closed at 10:30 a.m. that morning. The notice adds that "An adjourned tax sale will be held any business day following the annual tax sale in which there are bidders present and there are parcels still available for sale." Confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer's Office before planning around it.
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Registration is online at iowataxauction.com. The Treasurer's notice states that "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the 2025 sale, registration opened Monday, May 19, 2025 and closed Thursday, June 12, 2025, with every step finished by 11:59 p.m. on the closing date. Bidders paid a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and completed an online W-9. All bidders must be 18 years of age or older as of the sale date. An entity bidder needs a federal tax identification number plus either a designation of agent for service of process on file with the Iowa Secretary of State or a verified statement of trade name on file with the Boone County Recorder. The notice lists auction site and registration help at (877) 243-9997 or [email protected].
Bidding is a bid-down of the undivided interest in the parcel. The Treasurer's notice says each parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and "Bid downs" run in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%, with the certificate awarded to the bidder who designates the smallest percentage and ties broken by a random selection process. The notice states that Boone County does not use batches, and that bids can be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until bidding opens. The sale is administered from the Treasurer's Office at the courthouse, but all bidding is online: the Iowa Treasurers listing for Boone County says all bids must be placed online, live bids are not accepted, a limited number of computers are available on a first come, first served basis for anyone attending in person, and wireless internet is available for bidders using their own laptops. The Delinquent Tax List is published in the Boone News Republican, the Ogden Reporter, and The Madrid Register-News; in 2025 it ran the week of May 26 and parcels were viewable on the auction site by Friday, May 30, though registration must be completed to access that data. Winning bidders are invoiced after the sale and the total is drawn automatically by ACH debit from the account designated for the registration fee, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Certificate assignments carry a $100.00 assignment transaction fee, and a Treasurer's Tax Sale Deed costs $25.00 per parcel. Subsequent tax payments must be made online through iowatreasurers.org using the "Login To Pay Subsequent Tax" module; payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and left out of the redemption calculation. Under the county's posted terms, the 90 day notice of right of redemption may be issued one year and nine months after a regular tax sale, or nine months after a public bidder sale.
Register on Online auctionFrom lien to deed
- Run by
- County Treasurer
- Frequency
- none
- Typical timing
- Iowa holds no tax deed auction. The treasurer makes out a treasurer's deed to the certificate holder immediately after 90 days have expired from completed service of the notice of expiration of the right of redemption, once the holder returns the certificate and pays the deed and recording fees.
There is nothing for an investor to bid on at the deed stage in Iowa. The only auction is the June certificate sale. The certificate holder must return the certificate of purchase and remit the deed and recording fees within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires, or the treasurer cancels the certificate.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Two routes reach parcels after the June sale. Parcels that remain unsold for want of bidders are carried to adjourned sales, which the treasurer sets at intervals of not more than two months until the next annual sale. Separately, certificates struck to the county at the public bidder sale may be assigned by the county for the total amount due on the date of assignment, or for a compromised amount, under a written agreement filed with the treasurer and a 10 dollar assignment transaction fee. Ask the county treasurer which county-held certificates are available for assignment.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Boone County
- County seat is Boone; the Treasurer's Office is on the first floor of the Boone County Courthouse at 201 State Street, Room 100, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Lauren J. Novak signs the tax sale terms as Boone County Treasurer; the office lists [email protected] for tax sale questions and a fax line at (515) 433-0511.
- The 2025 terms document states it is effective for taxes sold between June 16, 2025 and June 14, 2026, so a newer notice should be posted on the county tax sale page for each following sale year.
- The Treasurer cites Iowa Code Chapters 446, 447, and 448 as the governing chapters and links Chapter 446 directly from the tax sale page.
- Redemption under the county's terms accrues interest at 2% per month against the amount for which the parcel sold, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month; subsequent taxes paid by the certificate holder accrue at the same rate.
- The county states the investor is responsible for all research on parcels available for auction.
Iowa statewide rules
- Minimum return
- No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the share of ownership taken at the sale
- Redemption
- A parcel may be redeemed at any time before the right of redemption expires. After one year and nine months from the date of sale, the certificate holder may serve a notice of expiration of the right of redemption on the person in possession, the person in whose name the parcel is taxed, and every mortgagee, contract vendor, recorded lessor, and other party of record. The right of redemption then ends 90 days after that service is complete, which means the affidavit of service has been filed with the county treasurer. Three shortened tracks exist: nine months from a public bidder sale under section 446.18, and three months from an abandoned-property or public nuisance sale under section 446.19A or 446.19B. After the treasurer delivers the deed, redemption is possible only through an equitable action in district court, and only by a person who could have redeemed during the 90-day window.
- Surplus proceeds
- No surplus arises. The deed conveys the parcel to the certificate holder rather than selling it to the highest bidder, so there are no excess proceeds to distribute. Where the winning bid was less than 100 percent, the deed conveys only that undivided percentage interest in the parcel.
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 Boone County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Boone County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Boone County tax certificate sale?
- The Boone County Treasurer's tax sale page states: "The Annual Tax Sale takes place in June of each year." The most recent published terms cover the sale held Monday, June 16, 2025: "The 2025 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Boone County Treasurer on Monday, June 16, 2025, in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Boone County Courthouse, 201 State Street Room 100 Boone, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closed at 10:30 a.m. that morning. The notice adds that "An adjourned tax sale will be held any business day following the annual tax sale in which there are bidders present and there are parcels still available for sale." Confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer's Office before planning around it.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does Boone County hold tax deed sales?
- none. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
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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