Lee County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Lee County, seat of Fort Madison: 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 Lee County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Lee County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annually on the third Monday in June, opening at 9:00 a.m. and closing at 10:30 a.m. The county's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Lee County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Supervisor's Board Room at 933 Avenue H, Fort Madison, IA beginning at 9:00 a.m." Adjourned sales follow: "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."
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at iowataxauction.com. The county states that no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and ended Thursday, June 11, 2026, with every step completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11. 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 Lee County Recorder. Platform registration support is (800) 800-9588 or [email protected]. Confirm the current year's window with the Treasurer before relying on these dates.
Bidding is online only. The sale is conducted at the Lee County offices in Fort Madison and a limited number of computers is available there on a first come, first served basis, but the county says all bids must be placed online and live bids will not be accepted. Parcels open at a 100 percent undivided interest and bid downs run in whole percentage points from 99 percent to 1 percent, with ties settled by random selection. Lee County does not use batches. Bids may be uploaded before the sale opens but are not applied until 9:00 a.m. Winners are invoiced at close and an ACH debit for the total pulls automatically from the account used for the registration fee, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee for each certificate. Returned payments carry a $45.00 service fee and a three business day cure window. Certificates take roughly 7 to 15 days to issue. The delinquent tax list is published the week of May 26 in the Daily Democrat, Daily Gate City, and Pen City Current, and parcels are viewable on the auction site by May 29 once registration is complete. Subsequent taxes must be paid online through iowatreasurers.org at $0.25 per parcel. Assigning a certificate carries a $100.00 assignment transaction fee, and the Treasurer's tax sale deed fee is $25.00 per parcel. Lee County has two county seats, Fort Madison and Keokuk, but the tax sale and the Treasurer's tax sale mailing address are in Fort Madison.
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)
Notes for Lee County
- Lee County runs its annual Iowa Code chapter 446 certificate sale through the Iowa Tax Auction platform, using a bid-down-ownership-percentage format from 100 percent to 1 percent.
- Bidders may attend in Fort Madison, but every bid must be entered online. The county states that live bids will not be accepted.
- The current Treasurer is Becky Gaylord. Tax counters in Fort Madison and Keokuk are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- The county's own domain, leecountyiowa.gov, blocked automated retrieval during this check, so these facts come from the Treasurer's page on the Iowa State County Treasurers Association site and from the county's own 2026 Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers hosted there.
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 Lee County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Lee County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Lee County tax certificate sale?
- Annually on the third Monday in June, opening at 9:00 a.m. and closing at 10:30 a.m. The county's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Lee County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Supervisor's Board Room at 933 Avenue H, Fort Madison, IA beginning at 9:00 a.m." Adjourned sales follow: "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.". 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 Lee 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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