Crawford County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Crawford County, seat of Denison: 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 Crawford County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Crawford County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, in June. The county's Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers states the 2026 annual tax sale "will be held by the Crawford County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's Office on the second floor of the Crawford County Courthouse, 1202 Broadway #7, Denison, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. the same 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."
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Registration is online only at govease.com. The county notice states "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the 2026 sale, registration ran Monday, May 18, 2026 through Thursday, June 11, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on the closing date. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9. Entity bidders need 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 Crawford County Recorder. All bidders must be 18 or older on the sale date. GovEase registration and platform support is listed at (769) 208-5050 or [email protected].
Crawford County runs a hybrid sale: the auction is conducted at the Crawford County Courthouse but all bids are placed online through GovEase, and the Treasurer's page states "Bidders need not be present at the courthouse." The delinquent tax list is not posted as a standalone file on the county site. Per the notice, it is published in The Denison Free Press, The Observer, and The Manilla Times no more than three weeks and no less than one week before the sale, and the published parcels also become viewable on the GovEase auction site (for 2026, by Friday, May 29). Registration must be completed to access the parcel data. Bidding is bid-down-interest: each parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and bid downs range in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%, with the certificate awarded to the smallest percentage bid. Ties are broken by a random selection process. The notice states Crawford County does not use bidding batches. Winning bidders are charged automatically by ACH debit from the account used for the registration fee, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20 certificate fee per certificate. Redemption interest is 2% per month, counting each fraction of a month as a whole month. Certificate assignments carry a $100 transaction fee, a Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25 per parcel, and a duplicate certificate costs $20. Subsequent taxes must be paid through the online subsequent tax payment module at iowatreasurers.org ($0.25 per parcel); payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and omitted from redemption calculations. The office does not accept online tax sale redemptions and requires cash, cashier's check, or money order. Investors should confirm the current year's date, registration window, and list publication with the Treasurer before bidding.
Register on GovEaseFrom 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 Crawford County
- The operative tax sale page is the Treasurer's page on the Iowa County Treasurers eGovernment portal (iowatreasurers.org/treshome.php?idCounty=24), not the Treasurer page on the county's own crawfordcounty.iowa.gov site, which carries contact and hours information but no sale details.
- Treasurer of record at the time of research: Sheri K. Neddermeyer. Property tax and tax sale line (712) 263-2648; fax (712) 263-3131. Main courthouse line is (712) 263-1280. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for lunch.
- Two tax sale email addresses appear on official pages: [email protected] on the county and eGov pages, and [email protected] in the letterhead of the tax sale notice. Confirm the preferred address with the office.
- The eGov Treasurer page links to www.crawfordcounty.org as the county website; that domain no longer resolves. The live county site is crawfordcounty.iowa.gov.
- The notice distinguishes regular tax sale parcels (90 day notice of right of redemption may be issued after one year and nine months) from public bidder tax sale parcels (90 day notice may be issued after nine months), the latter marked with an asterisk on the published list. Certificates are canceled if no affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 is filed within three years of the sale.
- The Treasurer also links a prior year notice on the same page (25 Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers), so check the file year before relying on any figure.
- Because Iowa Code 446.7 sets the annual sale on the third Monday in June, the June 15, 2026 date matches that pattern; the county has not yet posted the following year's notice, so the next date should be verified with the office.
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 Crawford County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Crawford County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Crawford County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, in June. The county's Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers states the 2026 annual tax sale "will be held by the Crawford County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's Office on the second floor of the Crawford County Courthouse, 1202 Broadway #7, Denison, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. the same 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.". 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 Crawford 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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