Monona County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Monona County, seat of Onawa: 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 Monona County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Monona County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Treasurer's tax sale page states: "The tax sale is an online event that is held on the 3rd Monday in June at 9:00 a.m." The 2026 annual sale ran Monday, June 15, 2026 beginning at 9:00 a.m., administered from the Treasurer's office on the first floor of the Monona County Courthouse at 610 Iowa Ave, Onawa, with all bids placed online. An adjourned tax sale is held on any 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
Registration is online at GovEase only; the Treasurer accepts no mailed or emailed registrations. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. and every step had to be finished by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40 registration fee by ACH debit or domestic wire, complete an online W-9, complete the GovEase payment instructions and disclaimer form, upload an Iowa Certificate of Existence or trade name where applicable, and fax or email the Tax Sale Authorization Agreement for automatic credits and debits to the Treasurer at 712-433-2225 or [email protected] by the same 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 statement of trade name on file with the Monona County Recorder. Bidding opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and bids down in whole percentage points from 99 to 1, ties are broken by random selection, and the county does not use batches. Winning bidders pay manually by 1:00 p.m. on sale day, and each certificate carries a $20 certificate fee. GovEase bidder support is (769) 208-5050, option 2.
Monona County runs its annual certificate sale online through GovEase under Iowa Code chapter 446, and the Treasurer does not accept live bids. Bidders may attend at the courthouse but must bring their own laptop; wireless access is provided for them. The delinquent tax list is published one to three weeks before the third Monday in June in the Onawa Democrat and the Mapleton Press, and the official parcel list posts on GovEase around June 1 and updates daily until the sale. You must finish registration before the auction site will show the parcel data. The 2026 publication covered 234 parcels. Parcels advertised twice without sale are marked with an asterisk as public bidder parcels, and their 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 regular sale parcels; if no bid comes in, the county takes the certificate itself. The Treasurer charges a $100 assignment transaction fee per certificate assignment and $25 per parcel for a Treasurer's deed. Confirm the current year's sale date, registration window, and fees with the Treasurer's office before bidding.
Register on GovEaseFrom 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 Monona County
- Verified against the Monona County Treasurer's own tax sale page and the 2026 terms and conditions notice issued over Treasurer Abby Riesberg's name.
- The sale is online only. In person bids are not accepted at the courthouse, and anyone attending in person must supply their own computer.
- The county's published terms list a $100 certificate assignment transaction fee, above the figure carried in the Iowa statewide default record. Use the Monona County figure for this county.
- The Treasurer's office phone is 712-433-2347 with extension 1 for property tax, extension 2 for driver's license, and extension 3 for motor vehicle. Fax is 712-433-2225.
- The Iowa State County Treasurers Association county directory at iowatreasurers.org returned a phone number that does not match Monona County's own published number, so the county site was treated as authoritative for contacts.
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 Monona County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Monona County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Monona County tax certificate sale?
- The Treasurer's tax sale page states: "The tax sale is an online event that is held on the 3rd Monday in June at 9:00 a.m." The 2026 annual sale ran Monday, June 15, 2026 beginning at 9:00 a.m., administered from the Treasurer's office on the first floor of the Monona County Courthouse at 610 Iowa Ave, Onawa, with all bids placed online. An adjourned tax sale is held on any 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 Monona 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.