Keokuk County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Keokuk County, seat of Sigourney: 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 Keokuk County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Keokuk County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June. The treasurer's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Keokuk County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office on the second floor of the Keokuk County Courthouse, 101 S Main St., Sigourney, Iowa 52591, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding opens at 9:00 a.m. and the sale closes at 10:30 a.m. An adjourned tax sale is held on the business day following 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
Bidders register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The county accepts no mailed or emailed registrations. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and every step had to be completed by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Registration costs a non-refundable $36.00 fee paid by ACH debit, and each bidder completes an online W-9. All bidders must be 18 or older on 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 Keokuk County Recorder. Bidding is online only: each parcel opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and bids step down in whole percentage points from 99 percent to 1 percent, with no batches. The certificate goes to the bidder naming the smallest percentage, and ties are settled by random selection. Winners receive an invoice at the close of the sale and the total is drawn by ACH debit from the account used for the registration fee, including a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Registration support runs through (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
The sale is conducted from the treasurer's office on the second floor of the Keokuk County Courthouse, but all bids are placed online through Iowa Tax Auction. The delinquent tax list is published in The News-Review in Sigourney the week of June 1, and registered bidders could review the parcels on the auction site by Friday, May 29, 2026. Parcels advertised twice carry an asterisk on the published list and qualify as public bidder sales, where the 90-day notice of right of redemption may issue nine months after the sale instead of the one year and nine months that applies to a regular tax sale. A certificate is canceled if the holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 within three years of the sale. Keokuk County requires all subsequent tax payments to be made online at www.iowatreasurers.org through the Login option on the Tax Sale menu, at $0.25 per parcel; a payment made outside that module counts as voluntary and is left out of the redemption calculation. The linked publication list is the 2026 file, so check the treasurer page for the current year's list before the next June sale.
Register on Online auctionFrom 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)
Keokuk County Treasurer's Office
Keokuk County Courthouse, 101 S Main St, 2nd Floor, Sigourney, IA 52591
Official websiteNotes for Keokuk County
- Keokuk County runs its annual Iowa Code chapter 446 tax sale through Iowa Tax Auction (the Zeus Auction platform) with online-only bidding, even though the treasurer conducts the sale from the courthouse in Sigourney.
- The 2026 sale ran on Monday, June 15, 2026, opening at 9:00 a.m. and closing at 10:30 a.m., with an adjourned sale set for the next business day when bidders and unsold parcels remain.
- Registration for the 2026 sale ran May 18 through 11:59 p.m. on June 11, with a non-refundable $36.00 ACH registration fee and an online W-9.
- Bidding is by bid-down of the undivided interest, opening at 100 percent and stepping in whole percentage points to a 1 percent floor, with ties broken by random selection. Keokuk County does not use batches.
- Subsequent taxes on a held certificate must be paid through the online subsequent tax payment module at iowatreasurers.org, or the payment is treated as voluntary and excluded from the redemption calculation.
- The county treasurer is Christine Edmundson Long.
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 Keokuk County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Keokuk County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Keokuk County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June. The treasurer's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Keokuk County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office on the second floor of the Keokuk County Courthouse, 101 S Main St., Sigourney, Iowa 52591, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding opens at 9:00 a.m. and the sale closes at 10:30 a.m. An adjourned tax sale is held on the business day following 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 Keokuk 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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