Pocahontas County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Pocahontas County, seat of Pocahontas: 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 Pocahontas County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Pocahontas County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annually on the third Monday in June. The county's 2026 notice states the sale was "held by the Pocahontas County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office on the second floor of the Pocahontas County Courthouse, 99 Court Square, Pocahontas, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." and that bidding closed at 9:30 a.m. The treasurer adds that 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." The county page separately confirms taxes unpaid "as of the 3rd Monday of June" are offered at tax sale under Iowa Code 446.7.
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Registration is online only at iowataxauction.com. The county states no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and all steps had to be completed by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date, and 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 Pocahontas County Recorder. Registration and auction site help is available at 800-800-9588 or [email protected]. The treasurer reserves the right to deny registration due to dishonored payments.
Bidding is entirely online. The treasurer's homepage states plainly that "all bids must be placed online. Live bids will not be accepted," even though the sale itself is conducted from the Treasurer's office in the courthouse. Bids may be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until it opens at 9:00 a.m. Each parcel starts at a 100% undivided interest and bid downs run in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%; the certificate goes to the smallest percentage bid, and ties at the low bid are broken by random selection. Pocahontas County does not use bidding batches. Winners are invoiced when the sale closes and an ACH debit is drawn automatically 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. Allow 7 to 15 days to receive certificates. The Delinquent Tax List is published in the Record Democrat newspaper in Pocahontas the week of May 24, and parcels are viewable on the auction site by roughly May 29, though you must finish registration to see the data. Redemption pays 2% per month. Subsequent taxes must be paid online through the "Login To Pay Subsequent Tax" module at iowatreasurers.org, at $0.25 per parcel; payments made any other way online are treated as voluntary and omitted from the redemption calculation. Certificate assignments carry a $100.00 fee and a Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel. Regular sale parcels reach the 90 day notice of right of redemption after one year and nine months; public bidder parcels, marked with an asterisk on the published list, reach it after nine months.
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 Pocahontas County
- The Treasurer's office is on the second floor of the Pocahontas County Courthouse, northwest corner, with the accessible entrance on the east side of the building. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
- Amy Johnson has served as Pocahontas County Treasurer since January 2019. The tax deputy handles tax sale matters. Fax is 712-335-5047.
- The letterhead on the 2026 tax sale notice prints the phone number as 712-335-4344, while both the county website and the Iowa State County Treasurers Association county page list 712-335-4334. The 4334 number is the one carried on both office web pages.
- The county's own website has no dedicated tax sale page. Sale notices, terms, and the auction link live on the county's Iowa State County Treasurers Association page, which is the page to watch each spring.
- The published parcel list is not posted as a free public file. It runs in the Record Democrat newspaper in Pocahontas and is then loaded onto the Iowa Tax Auction site behind bidder registration.
- Second half property taxes go delinquent April 1 and first half on October 1, at 1.5% per month. Delinquent notices go out by May 1 and November 1, which sets the run-up to the June sale.
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 Pocahontas County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Pocahontas County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Pocahontas County tax certificate sale?
- Annually on the third Monday in June. The county's 2026 notice states the sale was "held by the Pocahontas County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office on the second floor of the Pocahontas County Courthouse, 99 Court Square, Pocahontas, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." and that bidding closed at 9:30 a.m. The treasurer adds that 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." The county page separately confirms taxes unpaid "as of the 3rd Monday of June" are offered at tax sale under Iowa Code 446.7.. 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 Pocahontas 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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