Hamilton County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Hamilton County, seat of Webster City: 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 Hamilton County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Hamilton County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annually in June. The Treasurer states "The Annual Tax Sale takes place in June of each year." The most recent sale was held Monday, June 15, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Supervisors' Board Room on the first floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse, 2300 Superior St., Webster City, with bidding closing at 10:30 a.m. An adjourned tax sale is 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 www.iowataxauction.com. The county states "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 all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40.00 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. An entity bidder must have 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 Hamilton County Recorder. Registration and auction-site support is (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
Bidding runs online even though the sale is convened at the courthouse. Bids may be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until the sale opens at 9:00 a.m. Parcels are listed in the order they were published, and Hamilton County does not use batches. Each parcel is offered starting at a 100% undivided interest, with bid-downs in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%. The certificate goes to the bidder designating the smallest percentage; ties at the smallest percentage are broken by a random selection process. Successful bidders receive an invoice at close and an ACH debit for the total automatically initiates from the account used for the registration fee. The total includes delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee for each certificate purchased. A $30.00 service fee applies to payments returned for insufficient funds, and a bidder whose payment is not honored has three business days to repay with guaranteed funds or the certificates are canceled. Certificates typically arrive 7 to 15 days after the sale. The Delinquent Tax List is published the week of May 25 in the Daily Freeman Journal (Webster City) and the South Hamilton Record-News (Jewell), and published parcels are also viewable on the auction site by Friday, May 29, though registration is required to access the data. Redemption interest is 2% per month on the sale amount and on subsequent taxes, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month. Regular tax sale certificates can trigger the 90 day Notice of Right of Redemption after one year and nine months; public bidder parcels, marked with an asterisk on the published list because they were advertised for two years, allow the notice after nine months. The Treasurer requires all subsequent tax payments through the online tax sale module at www.iowatreasurers.org, with a $0.25 per parcel fee; payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and omitted from the redemption calculation. Certificate assignment costs $100.00 per transaction and a Treasurer's Tax Sale Deed costs $25.00 per parcel. The Treasurer cancels a certificate if no affidavit of service under Iowa Code Section 447.12 is filed within three years of the sale.
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)
(515) 832-9542 (property tax); (515) 832-9540 (Treasurer's office)
Hamilton County Courthouse, 2300 Superior Street, Suite 7, Webster City, IA 50595
Official websiteNotes for Hamilton County
- The Treasurer is Matt Matteson, listed on the 2026 Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers with email [email protected] and fax (515) 832-9544.
- Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- The county describes the sale as "an open competitive bidding process" under Iowa Code Chapter 446 and notes its published information is "provided for reference purposes only," leaving parcel research to the bidder.
- The county hosts no standalone downloadable parcel list. The list reaches investors through the two newspapers and through the registered-bidder view on the auction site.
- Bids are placed through the Iowa Tax Auction platform rather than by calling out at the courthouse, but the sale is convened in the Supervisors' Board Room and adjourned sales depend on bidders being present.
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 Hamilton County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Hamilton County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Hamilton County tax certificate sale?
- Annually in June. The Treasurer states "The Annual Tax Sale takes place in June of each year." The most recent sale was held Monday, June 15, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Supervisors' Board Room on the first floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse, 2300 Superior St., Webster City, with bidding closing at 10:30 a.m. An adjourned tax sale is 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 Hamilton 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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