Does Dubuque County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Dubuque County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.

When is the Dubuque County tax certificate sale?

Annually in June. The county states "The Dubuque County tax sale happens the 3rd Monday of June annually, per Iowa Code Chapter 446." The 2026 notice reads "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Dubuque County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Dubuque County Courthouse, 720 Central Avenue, Dubuque, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 11:00 a.m., and an adjourned sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain.. 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 Dubuque 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.

County-verified

Dubuque County, IA tax sales

How tax lien certificate sales work in Dubuque County, seat of Dubuque: 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 Dubuque County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

SRI / ZEUS

Run by: Dubuque County Treasurer
Frequency: annual
Typical timing: Annually in June. The county states "The Dubuque County tax sale happens the 3rd Monday of June annually, per Iowa Code Chapter 446." The 2026 notice reads "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Dubuque County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Dubuque County Courthouse, 720 Central Avenue, Dubuque, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 11:00 a.m., and an adjourned sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain.
Next expected: on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list: Dubuque County Delinquent Tax List, real estate and mobile home (annual publication report)

Registration and deposit

Registration is online only at iowataxauction.com. The 2026 notice states "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the June 15, 2026 sale the registration window ran Monday, May 18, 2026 (12:01 a.m.) through Thursday, June 11, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11, 2026. Bidders pay a non-refundable $51.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older; an entity bidder needs a federal identification number plus a designation of agent for service of process on file with the Iowa Secretary of State or a verified trade-name statement on file with the Dubuque County Recorder. Auction-site and registration support is listed at (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].

Bidding is fully online even though the sale is convened at the Dubuque County Courthouse. The 2026 notice says bids "can be uploaded prior to the start of the sale but will not be applied until the sale opens at 9:00 a.m." Bidding follows the standard Iowa bid-down of undivided interest: parcels open at a 100% undivided interest and bid downs run in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%, with the certificate awarded to the smallest percentage bid and ties broken by random selection. Winning bidders are invoiced at the close of the sale and an ACH debit pulls the total 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. Certificates take roughly 7 to 15 days to issue. Redemption interest is 2% per month under Iowa Code Chapter 447, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month. Subsequent taxes must be paid online through the Tax Sale module at iowatreasurers.org; payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and are omitted from the redemption calculation. Parcels marked with an asterisk on the published list are public bidder parcels advertised two years without sale. The delinquent list is published in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald the week before the sale and posted to the auction site at the same time, and the county replaces the publication PDF each spring, so check the Treasurer page for the current year's file.

Source: Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers, Annual Tax Sale of June 15, 2026 (Dubuque County Treasurer)· Verified Jul 29, 2026

From 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.

Source: Iowa Code 448.1 - Return of certificate of purchase, execution of deed, feesIowa Code 448.1· Verified Jul 29, 2026

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)

Dubuque County Treasurer

563-589-4450

720 Central Ave., Dubuque, IA 52001 (mailing: PO Box 5001, Dubuque, IA 52004-5001)

Official website

Notes for Dubuque County

Treasurer of record on the 2026 tax sale notice is Michael Clasen; the office email is [email protected].
Office hours listed by the county: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month. A Dyersville satellite office operates Tuesday through Thursday by appointment.
Certificate assignment carries a $100.00 assignment transaction fee, and that fee is not added to the redemption amount.
A Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel, and the certificate, deed fee, and recording fees must reach the Treasurer within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires or the certificate is cancelled.
The Treasurer cancels a certificate if no affidavit of service under Iowa Code section 447.12 is filed within three years of the sale.
For regular tax sale parcels the 90-day notice of right of redemption may issue after one year and nine months from the sale date; for public bidder parcels it may issue nine months from the sale date.

Iowa statewide rules

Max interest rate: 24% per year, fixed by statute (not bid down)
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.
Governing statute: Iowa Code Chapter 446

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.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Dubuque County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?: Dubuque County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Dubuque County tax certificate sale?: Annually in June. The county states "The Dubuque County tax sale happens the 3rd Monday of June annually, per Iowa Code Chapter 446." The 2026 notice reads "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Dubuque County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Dubuque County Courthouse, 720 Central Avenue, Dubuque, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 11:00 a.m., and an adjourned sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain.. 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 Dubuque 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.