The short answer
1 year 9 months from the sale before the notice of expiration can be served, then 90 days after service is complete
How the clock works
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.
Who can redeem
Before the notice of expiration is filed, the owner or another party may pay the county treasurer to redeem. Once the notice of expiration is filed, only the persons entitled to be served that notice, and anyone who acquires an interest in or possession of the parcel after the notice is filed, are eligible to redeem. A county may also redeem an owner-occupied residential parcel on behalf of an owner unable to contribute to the public revenue, if the board of supervisors grants the owner's sworn petition.
What the owner pays to redeem
The amount the parcel sold for including the certificate of purchase fee, plus 2 percent per month from the month of sale counting each fraction of a month as an entire month, plus every subsequent-year tax payment the holder made with the same 2 percent per month from the month of that payment. The interest is rounded to the nearest whole dollar and is never less than one dollar. The cost of serving the notice, certified mail, any publication, and a record search are added to the redemption amount; when the certificate holder is not a county, the record search must be done by an Iowa title guaranty participant or an Iowa-licensed attorney and the search cost added cannot exceed 300 dollars. The assignment transaction fee is never added to the redemption amount.
How your interest accrues
The statutory rate is 2 percent per month, which annualizes to 24 percent. Interest runs from the month of sale on the amount the parcel sold for including the certificate fee, and from the month of payment on any subsequent-year taxes the holder pays. Each fraction of a month counts as an entire month, so a redemption early in a month still costs a full month of interest and the effective annualized return on a short hold can exceed 24 percent. The interest amount is rounded to the nearest whole dollar and must be at least one dollar. Because the rate is fixed by statute and never bid, there is no rate below 24 percent per year.
What bidders actually bid down
Iowa bidders do not bid the interest rate down. They bid down the percentage of undivided ownership in the parcel they will accept if a treasurer's deed later issues, and the smallest percentage offered wins. The percentage cannot be less than 1 percent, so a competitive parcel typically sells at a 1 percent bid. When two or more bidders offer the same smallest percentage, the treasurer picks the winner by a random selection process. A parcel offered at a public nuisance tax sale under section 446.19B cannot be bid below 100 percent.
What happens when it ends
Iowa holds no separate tax deed auction. The county treasurer makes out a deed for each parcel sold and unredeemed immediately after 90 days have expired from the date of completed service of the notice of expiration of the right of redemption, once the holder returns the certificate of purchase and pays the deed and recording fees.
A redeemed certificate, plus your accrued interest, is what makes the wait profitable; see how redemption periods work across states. An unredeemed certificate is instead your path to the property through a tax deed sale, which still does not convey marketable title on its own, so budget for a quiet title action.
Verified Jul 29, 2026 against Iowa statutes.
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.