Humboldt County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Humboldt County, seat of Dakota 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 Humboldt County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Humboldt County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The treasurer holds the annual tax sale on the third Monday in June. The county page states "THE 2026 TAX SALE WILL BE HELD ONLINE MONDAY, JUNE 15th, 2026." The terms notice adds that the sale runs "in the Supervisors' Board Room on the first floor of the Humboldt County Courthouse, 203 Main St., Dakota City, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." with bids placed online, and that the sale closes at 10:30 a.m. An adjourned tax sale is held any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain unsold.
- 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 treasurer states that no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted. For the 2026 sale, "Registration will begin Monday, May 18, 2026, at 12:01 AM and end Thursday, June 11, 2026," and "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 dollar 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 Humboldt County Recorder. Registration must be finished before the parcel data on the auction site can be viewed. The platform lists bidder support at (800) 800-9588.
Bidding is a bid-down of undivided interest. Each parcel opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and bids move in whole percentage points from 99 percent down to 1 percent, with the certificate awarded to the bidder who designates the smallest percentage for the total amount due. Ties at the smallest percentage go to a random selection process. The treasurer states Humboldt County does not use batches, and bids can be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until it opens at 9:00 a.m. The Delinquent Tax List is published the week of June 4 in the Humboldt Independent, and parcels on the published list are available for review on the auction site by Monday, June 1 for registered bidders. Winning bidders are invoiced when the sale closes and the total is drawn by ACH from the account used for the registration fee, including a 20 dollar certificate fee per certificate. Certificates take 7 to 15 days to issue. Assignment carries a 100 dollar transaction fee that cannot be added to the redemption amount, and the treasurer's tax sale deed issuance fee is 25 dollars per parcel. Subsequent taxes must be paid through the subsequent tax payment module at iowatreasurers.org at 25 cents per parcel; the treasurer warns that online payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary payments and are left out of the redemption calculation.
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 Humboldt County
- The sale is convened at the Humboldt County Courthouse in Dakota City, but every bid is placed online through Iowa Tax Auction. There is no in-person bidding in the board room.
- Iowa separates regular tax sale parcels from public bidder tax sale parcels. Public bidder parcels have been advertised for two years and are marked with an asterisk on the published list; they allow the 90 day notice of right of redemption after nine months instead of one year and nine months.
- The treasurer's phone menu routes property tax questions to option 3. Property tax counter hours are 8:00 to 4:00, Monday through Friday.
- To keep a parcel out of the sale, the treasurer's 2026 page set the deadline at 4:00 p.m. Friday, June 12, 2026 in the office or midnight Saturday, June 13, 2026 online, so late payments can pull parcels off the list right up to the sale.
- The 2026 terms notice governs sales between June 15, 2026 and June 14, 2027. Confirm the date, registration window, and fees with the treasurer before each year's sale.
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 Humboldt County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Humboldt County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Humboldt County tax certificate sale?
- The treasurer holds the annual tax sale on the third Monday in June. The county page states "THE 2026 TAX SALE WILL BE HELD ONLINE MONDAY, JUNE 15th, 2026." The terms notice adds that the sale runs "in the Supervisors' Board Room on the first floor of the Humboldt County Courthouse, 203 Main St., Dakota City, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." with bids placed online, and that the sale closes at 10:30 a.m. An adjourned tax sale is held any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain unsold.. 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 Humboldt 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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