Guthrie County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Guthrie County, seat of Guthrie Center: 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 Guthrie County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Guthrie County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June. The county's terms state: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Guthrie County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. that same morning. The terms add 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 iowataxauction.com. The county's terms state that "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and closed Thursday, June 11, 2026, with every step completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11. Bidders pay a non-refundable $36.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9. All bidders must be 18 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 trade name statement on file with the Guthrie County Recorder. Registration and auction site help is available at (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
Bidding uses the Iowa bid-down-ownership method: each parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and the certificate goes to the bidder designating the smallest percentage for the total amount due, with ties broken by random selection. Guthrie County does not use bidding batches. Bids can be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until the sale opens. Winning bidders receive an invoice at the close of the sale, and an ACH debit for the total due initiates automatically from the account used for registration fees. The total includes 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 accrues interest at 2% per month, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month. Assigning a certificate costs $100.00 per assignment transaction. Subsequent taxes must be paid online through the subsequent tax payment module at iowatreasurers.org; payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and are left out of the redemption calculation. The delinquent tax list is published the week of June 1 in The News Gazette (Bayard) and the Stuart Herald, and the published parcels are posted to the auction site for review by the Friday before the sale, viewable only after registration is complete.
Register on SRI / ZEUSFrom 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 Guthrie County
- Guthrie County sells tax lien certificates, not deeds. A certificate conveys no title; the record titleholder or another interested party may redeem, and only after the redemption window closes can the holder start the tax deed process.
- Regular tax sale certificates allow the 90-day Notice of Right of Redemption to be issued after one year and nine months from the sale date. Parcels advertised for two consecutive years qualify as public bidder tax sale parcels, are flagged with an asterisk on the published list, and allow the 90-day notice after nine months.
- If a certificate holder has not filed the affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 within three years of the sale, the Treasurer cancels the certificate.
- The Treasurer's office is at 200 N 5th St in Guthrie Center and is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with money transactions processed until 4:00 p.m.
- The county's own website blocked automated retrieval during this research, so every fact here comes from the Guthrie County Treasurer's page and the county's own 2026 tax sale terms document hosted on the official Iowa county treasurer portal. Confirm current-year dates with the office before bidding.
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 Guthrie County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Guthrie County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Guthrie County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June. The county's terms state: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Guthrie County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. that same morning. The terms add 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 Guthrie 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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