Mitchell County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Mitchell County, seat of Osage: 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 Mitchell County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Mitchell County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's office page states: "Tax Sale held the third Monday of June each year at 10:00am." The Treasurer's 2026 terms and conditions are more specific: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Mitchell County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Supervisors' Board Room on the first floor of the Mitchell County Courthouse, 212 S. 5th Street Osage, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. that same morning. An adjourned tax sale is 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
Bidders must register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The Treasurer states: "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and closed Thursday, June 11, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11. Registration requires a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee paid by ACH debit and an electronically completed 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 Mitchell County Recorder. Registration and auction site support: (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
Mitchell County holds a bid-down-ownership-interest certificate sale under Iowa Code Chapter 446. Delinquent taxes on each parcel open at a 100% undivided interest and "bid downs" run in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%; the certificate goes to the bidder designating the smallest percentage, with ties broken by random selection. The county states it "will not be utilizing batches." The sale is anchored at the courthouse Supervisors' Board Room, but bidding itself is online: "Bidders will place their bids online. The auction site can be accessed by going to www.iowataxauction.com." Bids may be uploaded before the sale opens but are not applied until 9:00 a.m. on sale day. The Delinquent Tax List is published the week of June 1 in the St. Ansgar Enterprise Journal and the Osage Oracle; the same parcels were posted for review on the auction site by Friday, May 29, 2026, though registration is required to access the data, so there is no free, county-hosted parcel list. Winners receive an invoice at close and an ACH debit automatically pulls the total due from the account used for the registration fee, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Certificates take roughly 7 to 15 days to arrive. Subsequent taxes must be paid through the "Login To Pay Subsequent Tax" module at www.iowatreasurers.org at $0.25 per parcel; payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and omitted from the redemption calculation. Redemption carries 2% per month interest on the sale amount and on subsequent payments, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month. A regular tax sale certificate holder may issue the 90-day Notice of Right of Redemption after one year and nine months; parcels flagged with an asterisk on the published list are public bidder parcels where the notice may be issued after nine months. Certificates are canceled if no affidavit of service is filed within three years. Certificate assignment costs $100.00 per transaction and that fee cannot be added to the redemption amount. The Treasurer's Tax Sale Deed issuance fee is $25.00 per parcel. One conflict to note: the Treasurer's department page still lists a $10 registration fee and a deadline of "the Friday before," while the 2026 terms and conditions set a $40.00 fee and a June 11 online deadline. Treat the annual terms and conditions document as controlling and confirm current-year figures with the office.
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 Mitchell County
- Mitchell County runs its annual tax sale on the Iowa Tax Auction Program at www.iowataxauction.com, the same statewide Zeus platform linked from the Iowa State County Treasurers Association site as "Register And Bid For Tax Sales."
- The sale is scheduled in the courthouse Supervisors' Board Room, but all bids are placed online, so out-of-area investors do not need to attend in person.
- The bidding window is short. The 2026 sale opened at 9:00 a.m. and closed at 10:30 a.m. on the third Monday of June, so registration and funding must be complete well in advance.
- The parcel list is published in the St. Ansgar Enterprise Journal and the Osage Oracle the week of June 1 and posted on the auction site behind registration. The county does not host a free public parcel list on its own website.
- Payment is automatic. An ACH debit pulls from the account used for the registration fee once the sale closes, so bidders should have funds available on sale day.
- The Treasurer's department page carries older registration figures than the annual terms and conditions document. Verify the current-year fee and deadline with the office at (641) 832-3940 before registering.
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 Mitchell County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Mitchell County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Mitchell County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's office page states: "Tax Sale held the third Monday of June each year at 10:00am." The Treasurer's 2026 terms and conditions are more specific: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Mitchell County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Supervisors' Board Room on the first floor of the Mitchell County Courthouse, 212 S. 5th Street Osage, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. that same morning. An adjourned tax sale is 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 Mitchell 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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