Lyon County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Lyon County, seat of Rock Rapids: 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 Lyon County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Lyon County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's page headlines the sale as "TAX SALE - MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2026", matching Iowa's third Monday in June. The published notice states the sale is held in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Lyon County Courthouse "beginning at 9:00 a.m." with bids placed online, organized into one batch "closing at 10:00 a.m." The same page lists the 2026 payoff cutoffs: delinquent taxes paid by 4:30 pm on May 28, 2026 avoided newspaper publication, payment by 4:30 pm on June 12, 2026 kept a parcel out of the sale, and online payment ran through June 11, 2026. Parcels left unsold roll into an adjourned tax sale that the Treasurer runs in the office, not online, each business day after the annual sale until everything is sold.
- 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's notice states that no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted, and that every step must be finished by 11:59 p.m. on the registration deadline (the published window ran from mid May to the Thursday before the sale). Registration requires a non-refundable registration fee paid by e-check, set at $40.00 in the published notice, plus an electronically completed W-9. 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 Lyon County Recorder. Bidding is Iowa's percentage bid down: each parcel opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and bids move in whole percentage points from 99 percent down to 1 percent, with ties broken by a random selection process. Registered bidders get access to the parcel data on the auction site once the published list posts. Auction site support is listed at (877) 243-9997 or [email protected]. Bidding at the in-office adjourned sale is separate: the notice requires a registration form with a $25.00 fee plus a W-9, and the Treasurer's page tells anyone not already registered for the online sale to contact the office first.
Lyon County runs its annual certificate sale online through Iowa Tax Auction, the Zeus Auction platform, while the Treasurer conducts it from the courthouse office. The delinquent list is published in the Lyon County Reporter the week of the first Monday in June and posts to the Treasurer's page and the auction site in early June; the county page notes the current year's list is not online until that date. Winning bidders are invoiced at close and an ACH debit pulls the total from the account used for the registration fee. The amount due covers delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee for each certificate purchased. A returned payment gives the bidder three business days to repay with guaranteed funds or the certificate is canceled, plus a $30.00 service fee. Certificates take roughly 7 to 15 days to arrive. Assignment of a certificate carries a $100.00 assignment transaction fee that cannot be added to the redemption amount. On timing to deed, the notice separates a regular tax sale parcel, where the 90 day notice of right of redemption may issue after one year and nine months, from a public bidder parcel advertised two years and flagged with an asterisk on the list, where the 90 day notice may issue after nine months. If the holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 within three years of the sale, the Treasurer cancels the certificate. One caution: the link the county labels for the current year's terms serves the prior year's notice PDF, so the fee amounts and registration window dates in it are the prior year's figures. Confirm the current fee, window, and sale date with the Treasurer's office before registering.
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)
Lyon County Courthouse, 206 S. 2nd Ave., Ste. 106 and Ste. 107, Rock Rapids, IA 51246
Official websiteNotes for Lyon County
- Lyon County's Treasurer does not maintain a working standalone county website. The office's official web presence is its county homepage on the statewide Iowa County Treasurers portal, which carries the tax sale dates, the sale terms PDF, and the parcel lists.
- Two ways to buy exist here. The annual June sale is online only through Iowa Tax Auction. The adjourned sale that follows is in person at the Treasurer's office and runs each business day until every remaining parcel sells, and the county posts a separate adjourned tax sale listing for it.
- The Treasurer's page links Beacon (Schneider Geospatial) for Lyon County parcel and assessor detail, which is the practical way to check a parcel before bidding.
- Office detail from the Treasurer's page: tax line (712) 472-8500, fax (712) 472-2829, Treasurer Stacy Knobloch, tax office hours 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.
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 Lyon County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Lyon County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Lyon County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's page headlines the sale as "TAX SALE - MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2026", matching Iowa's third Monday in June. The published notice states the sale is held in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Lyon County Courthouse "beginning at 9:00 a.m." with bids placed online, organized into one batch "closing at 10:00 a.m." The same page lists the 2026 payoff cutoffs: delinquent taxes paid by 4:30 pm on May 28, 2026 avoided newspaper publication, payment by 4:30 pm on June 12, 2026 kept a parcel out of the sale, and online payment ran through June 11, 2026. Parcels left unsold roll into an adjourned tax sale that the Treasurer runs in the office, not online, each business day after the annual sale until everything is sold.. 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 Lyon 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.
Explore all 99 Iowa counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.