Does Lucas County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Lucas County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.

When is the Lucas County tax certificate sale?

Annual tax sale in mid June. The 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Lucas County Treasurer on Monday, June 15th, 2026, in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Lucas County Courthouse, 916 Braden Ave, Chariton, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." The county treasurer page adds: "The 2026 Lucas County Tax Sale will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15th, 2026." The sale closes at 10:30 a.m., and an adjourned sale may be held any business day afterward 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 Lucas 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.

County-verified

Lucas County, IA tax sales

How tax lien certificate sales work in Lucas County, seat of Chariton: 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 Lucas County sells delinquent taxes

Tax certificate sale (lien)

SRI / ZEUS

Run by: Lucas County Treasurer
Frequency: annual
Typical timing: Annual tax sale in mid June. The 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Lucas County Treasurer on Monday, June 15th, 2026, in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Lucas County Courthouse, 916 Braden Ave, Chariton, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." The county treasurer page adds: "The 2026 Lucas County Tax Sale will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15th, 2026." The sale closes at 10:30 a.m., and an adjourned sale may be held any business day afterward 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)
Sale list: Lucas County, IA Delinquent Tax List (2026 publication list)

Registration and deposit

Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The 2026 notice states "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted" and that registration ran from Monday, May 18, 2026 through Thursday, June 11, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11, 2026. Bidders pay a non-refundable $36.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9 by the registration deadline. All 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 trade name on file with the Lucas County Recorder. Registration and auction site support: (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].

Hybrid format: the sale is conducted at the Lucas County Courthouse but "bidders shall place their bids online" and "Bidders need not be present at the courthouse." Bidding is bid-down undivided interest: each parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and bid downs run in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%, with the certificate awarded to the smallest percentage bid. Ties at the lowest percentage are broken by random selection. Lucas 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. Winning bidders receive an invoice at close and an ACH debit for the total due is initiated automatically from the account designated for the registration fee; the total includes delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection and publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. The delinquent tax list was published May 29, 2026 in the Chariton Leader, and parcels on the published list were available for review on the auction site by that date, though registration is required to access the data. Subsequent taxes can be paid online through the tax sale module at www.iowatreasurers.org for a non-refundable $0.25 per parcel fee. On redemption timing the notice separates a regular tax sale (90-day notice of right of redemption may issue after one year and nine months) from a public bidder tax sale (90-day notice may issue after nine months; those parcels are advertised twice and flagged with an asterisk on the published list). A Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel, and a certificate is cancelled if no affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 is filed within three years of the sale.

Source: Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers of the Terms and Conditions Governing the Annual Tax Sale of June 15th, 2026, Lucas County Treasurer· Verified Jul 29, 2026

From 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.

Source: Iowa Code 448.1 - Return of certificate of purchase, execution of deed, feesIowa Code 448.1· Verified Jul 29, 2026

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)

Lucas County Treasurer

641-774-5213 option 5

916 Braden Ave, First Floor, Lucas County Courthouse, Chariton, IA 50049

Official website

Notes for Lucas County

Treasurer of record is Hanna Gwinn; the office is on the first floor of the Lucas County Courthouse and is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The county treasurer page lists a fax line of 641-774-0428 alongside the main number, per the 2026 notice letterhead.
The county's own department page links to the sale only as a 'Tax Sale' link pointing at www.iowataxauction.com; the detailed terms, sale date, and delinquent list live on the treasurer's online office at iowatreasurers.org under county id 59.
The auction platform requires an approved registration to view parcel data, so the published delinquent list PDF is the only pre-registration view of the offering.

Iowa statewide rules

Max interest rate: 24% per year, fixed by statute (not bid down)
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.
Governing statute: Iowa Code Chapter 446

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.

See the full Iowarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Lucas County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?: Lucas County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Lucas County tax certificate sale?: Annual tax sale in mid June. The 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Lucas County Treasurer on Monday, June 15th, 2026, in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Lucas County Courthouse, 916 Braden Ave, Chariton, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." The county treasurer page adds: "The 2026 Lucas County Tax Sale will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15th, 2026." The sale closes at 10:30 a.m., and an adjourned sale may be held any business day afterward 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 Lucas 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.