Hardin County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Hardin County, seat of Eldora: 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 Hardin County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Hardin County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual tax sale on the third Monday of June at 9:00 a.m. The Treasurer's office states: "The 2026 Hardin County Tax Sale will be held on line at www.govease.com June 15, 2026. Registration begins May 18, 2026." The 2026 terms document adds: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Hardin County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, at the Hardin County Treasurer's Office beginning at 9:00 a.m." An adjourned sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available.
- 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.govease.com. The county states no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted. For 2026 the terms document set registration opening Monday, May 18, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on the closing date. Requirements: a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee paid by ACH debit or e-check, a completed online W-9, acknowledgment of GovEase payment instructions and disclaimer, and, where applicable, a Certificate of Existence or designation of agent for service of process from the Iowa Secretary of State or a Verified Statement of Trade Name filed with the Hardin County Recorder. Bidders must be at least 18 years old as of the sale date. Foreign investors are not permitted to bid, and a certificate issued to one is voided and re-offered at the adjourned sale. GovEase bidder support is listed at (769) 208-5050 and [email protected].
Hardin County runs a fully online bid-down-ownership certificate sale on GovEase. Bidding starts at a 100% undivided interest and bids move down in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%; the certificate goes to the bidder naming the smallest percentage, with ties broken by random selection. The county states it does not use batches, and all parcels are offered in published order. Bids may be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until the auction opens at 9:00 a.m. Winning bidders must pay by 4:30 p.m. on sale day; the amount due covers delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Certificates are emailed roughly 7 to 15 days after the sale. Assignment of a certificate carries a $100.00 transaction fee that cannot be added to the redemption amount. Attending in person is permitted at the Treasurer's office on the first floor of the courthouse, where wireless internet is available, but bidders must bring their own computer and live floor bids are not accepted. Parcels advertised twice are flagged with an asterisk on the published list and qualify as public bidder sale parcels, where the 90-day notice of right of redemption may issue nine months after the sale instead of one year and nine months. A separate Public Nuisance Tax Sale is held at the Hardin County Courthouse on the third Monday of June at 10:30 a.m. for city-certified abandoned or nuisance property. The county's 2026 documents give slightly different registration closing dates, so confirm the deadline with the Treasurer's office before the sale.
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)
(641) 939-8230 (property tax and tax sale); (641) 939-8232 (Treasurer)
1215 Edgington Avenue, P.O. Box 391, Eldora, IA 50627-0391
Official websiteNotes for Hardin County
- The Treasurer is Machel Eichmeier, listed at [email protected].
- The Treasurer's office is on the first floor of the Hardin County Courthouse, 1215 Edgington Ave, Eldora.
- The delinquent tax list is published in the Ackley World Journal, 701 Park Ave., Ackley, IA 50601, (641) 847-2592, and the county states the list is also posted on the auction site, at hardincountyia.gov, and at iowatreasurers.org.
- Taxpayers can stop a parcel from going to sale by paying the Treasurer by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday before the sale.
- The county cites Iowa Code Chapter 446 for the sale, Chapter 447 for redemption, and states a treasurer's deed may issue two years after the sale date for regular tax sale parcels.
- 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 and no refund is issued.
- The county's own website (hardincountyia.gov) blocks automated fetching, so all facts here were taken from the Treasurer's pages and documents hosted on the Iowa County Treasurers Association portal at iowatreasurers.org.
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 Hardin County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Hardin County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Hardin County tax certificate sale?
- Annual tax sale on the third Monday of June at 9:00 a.m. The Treasurer's office states: "The 2026 Hardin County Tax Sale will be held on line at www.govease.com June 15, 2026. Registration begins May 18, 2026." The 2026 terms document adds: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Hardin County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, at the Hardin County Treasurer's Office beginning at 9:00 a.m." An adjourned sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available.. 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 Hardin 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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