Cherokee County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Cherokee County, seat of Cherokee: 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 Cherokee County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Cherokee County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, on the third Monday in June. The treasurer's tax sale page states that unpaid taxes are "offered a Public Tax Sale which is held annually on the third Monday in June online at www.iowataxauction.com" and that "Tax Sale is Monday, June 15, 2026 at 10am." The 2026 terms notice adds that the sale begins at 10:00 a.m. and closes at 11:30 a.m., and 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."
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The 2026 terms notice states that "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted" and that "Registration will begin Monday, May 18, 2026 and end Thursday, June 11, 2026. All steps in the registration process must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11, 2026." Bidders pay a non-refundable $60.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9 by the registration deadline. All bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. A bidder that is an entity rather than an individual 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 Cherokee County Recorder. Registration and auction site help is available from the platform at (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
Cherokee County runs a hybrid setup: treasurer staff conduct the sale from the Supervisors' Board Room at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 520 W Main St, but bidding itself is online only. The 2026 notice reads: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Cherokee County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026 in the Supervisors' Board Room at the Cherokee County Courthouse located at 520 W Main St, Cherokee, Iowa, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Bidders will place their bids online." Bidding is the Iowa bid-down-ownership method. Each parcel opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and "Bid downs will range in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%." The certificate goes to the bidder naming the smallest percentage, and ties are settled by random selection. Cherokee County does not use bid batches. Bids may be uploaded before the sale opens but are not applied until bidding starts. Winning bidders receive an invoice at the close of the sale, and an ACH debit for the total amount due is initiated automatically from the account used for the registration fee. The total covers delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. A dishonored payment gives the bidder three business days to repay with guaranteed funds or the certificates are canceled, and a $30.00 service fee applies to returned payments. Certificates arrive roughly 7 to 15 days after the sale. Assigning a certificate costs a $100.00 assignment transaction fee, which cannot be added to the redemption amount. Redemption carries 2 percent interest per month, with any fraction of a month counted as a whole month. On a regular tax sale parcel the 90-day notice of right of redemption may be issued after one year and nine months from the sale date; on a public bidder parcel, advertised for two years and flagged with an asterisk on the published list, it may be issued after nine months. A Treasurer's Tax Sale Deed costs $25.00 per parcel, and the certificate plus deed and recording fees must be submitted within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires. If the holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 within three years of the sale, the treasurer cancels the certificate. Parcels that draw no investor bid are struck to the county at the 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 Cherokee County
- The treasurer is Jodi B. Mongan. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., fax (712) 225-6753, email [email protected].
- The delinquent tax list is published once in the Chronicle Times, 111 S 2nd St., Cherokee, IA 51012, (712) 225-5111. For 2026 the notice says publication runs the week of May 26th. The treasurer page phrases it as publishing "all qualifying unpaid parcels one time only in the Chronicle Times during the last week in May each year."
- Parcels from the published list post to the auction site by Friday, May 29, 2026, but the notice states "You must complete the registration process in order to access the data." There is no free public parcel list on the auction platform before registration.
- The 2026 terms notice is internally inconsistent on one line: the heading, opening paragraph, and effective-date clause all give Monday, June 15, 2026, while item 3 refers to bidding opening at 10:00 a.m. on "Monday, June 16th, 2026." June 15 is the Monday and the third Monday in June 2026, so treat June 15 as the sale date and confirm with the treasurer before funding.
- The auction platform is the Iowa Tax Auction Program at iowataxauction.com, which runs on the Zeus Auction system. The county tax sale page also mentions "www.iowaauction.com" when describing nightly list updates for registered bidders; the address given everywhere else, including in the terms notice and the county's own hyperlink, is www.iowataxauction.com.
- Redemption payments must be made in guaranteed funds, and the treasurer notes that interest keeps accruing unless payment is received by month end.
- Iowa's statewide payment portal at iowatreasurers.org shows parcel-level balances but does not publish a tax sale list. Use it to check whether a specific parcel has been paid, not as a substitute for the published sale list.
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 Cherokee County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Cherokee County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Cherokee County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, on the third Monday in June. The treasurer's tax sale page states that unpaid taxes are "offered a Public Tax Sale which is held annually on the third Monday in June online at www.iowataxauction.com" and that "Tax Sale is Monday, June 15, 2026 at 10am." The 2026 terms notice adds that the sale begins at 10:00 a.m. and closes at 11:30 a.m., and 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.". 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 Cherokee 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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