Henry County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Henry County, seat of Mount Pleasant: 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 Henry County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Henry County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June, conducted from the Treasurer's Office at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant with all bidding online. The county notice states: "This tax sale will be held Monday, June 15, 2026 at 9:00 am." Bidding closes the same morning at 10:00 a.m. The bidder instructions 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." Owners can stop a parcel from being offered by paying the treasurer by 4:30 pm the Friday before the sale.
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The county instructions state "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted" and set the window: "Registration will begin Monday, May 18, 2026 and end Thursday, June 11, 2026. All steps in the registration process must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11, 2026." Each bidder pays a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and completes an online W-9. 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 statement of trade name on file with the Henry County Recorder. The county lists auction site support at (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
The sale is administered from the Treasurer's Office at the courthouse, but bidders never appear in person: all bids are placed on the Iowa Tax Auction site. The delinquent tax list is published the week of June 1 in the Southeast Iowa Union, 119 W Monroe St, Mount Pleasant, and the same parcels are posted for review on the auction site by the Friday before publication, though the county requires a completed registration to view the data. Bidding is Iowa's bid-down-the-undivided-interest format: each parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and bids move in whole percentage points from 99% down to 1%, with ties broken by random selection. Henry County does not use batches, and bids may be uploaded before the sale opens but are not applied until 9:00 a.m. Winning bidders receive an invoice at close and the total is debited by ACH from the account used for the registration fee; the total covers delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Certificates take 7 to 15 days to arrive. Redemption pays 2% per month on the amount for which the parcel sold, counting each fraction of a month as a whole month. Parcels advertised only once are regular tax sale parcels whose 90 day notice of right of redemption may issue after one year and nine months; parcels advertised for two years are public bidder parcels, flagged with an asterisk on the list, whose notice may issue after nine months. Subsequent taxes must be paid through the online subsequent tax payment module at www.iowatreasurers.org, at $0.25 per parcel, or they are treated as voluntary payments and left out of the redemption calculation. Certificate assignment costs $100.00 per transaction and a treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel.
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)
Henry County Courthouse, P.O. Box 146, 100 E. Washington Street, Mount Pleasant, IA 52641
Official websiteNotes for Henry County
- Henry County posts both the Public Notice of Tax Sale and a five page bidder terms and conditions document on the Treasurer page each spring, so the current year's date, registration window, and fees are verifiable from the county itself rather than from the platform.
- The treasurer's office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, and processes no transactions after 4:15 pm. Motor vehicle matters use a separate line at (319) 385-0764 and the office fax is (319) 385-1178.
- Certificate holders check for redemptions by emailing [email protected] with their certificate numbers. A duplicate certificate costs $20.00 if the original is lost.
- The county warns that a certificate or treasurer's deed can be set aside if the purchaser was ineligible to bid, and that a purchaser should not hold an existing interest or lien in the parcel offered.
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 Henry County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Henry County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Henry County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June, conducted from the Treasurer's Office at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant with all bidding online. The county notice states: "This tax sale will be held Monday, June 15, 2026 at 9:00 am." Bidding closes the same morning at 10:00 a.m. The bidder instructions 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." Owners can stop a parcel from being offered by paying the treasurer by 4:30 pm the Friday before the 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 Henry 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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