Winneshiek County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Winneshiek County, seat of Decorah: 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 Winneshiek County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Winneshiek County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual tax sale in mid-June. The county's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Winneshiek County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office of the Winneshiek County Courthouse, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. the same morning. An adjourned tax sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available. The prior year's sale ran Monday, June 16, 2025, so the pattern is the third Monday-ish of June.
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at iowataxauction.com. The notice states "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and ended Thursday, June 11, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete a W-9 electronically by the registration 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 (515-281-5204) or a verified statement of trade name on file with the Winneshiek County Recorder (563-382-3486). Auction site support is (800) 800-9588 or [email protected].
Bidding is bid-down ownership interest. Each parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and bids step down in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%, with the certificate awarded to the bidder designating the smallest percentage; ties at the low bid are settled by random selection. Winneshiek County does not use bidding batches. Bids can be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until it opens at 9:00 a.m. The delinquent tax list is published the week of June 1 in the Decorah Leader (110 Washington Street, Suite 4, Decorah, IA 52101, 563-382-4221), and the same parcels are posted on the auction site by that Monday; registration must be complete to view the parcel data. Winning bidders receive an invoice at close and the total is drawn by automatic ACH debit from the account used for the registration fee, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Allow 7 to 15 days for certificates to issue. Subsequent taxes must be paid through the subsequent tax payment module at iowatreasurers.org at $0.25 per parcel; online payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and are omitted from the redemption calculation. Certificate assignments carry a $100.00 transaction fee, and a Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel.
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 Winneshiek County
- The Treasurer publishes a Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers each year on the Iowa State County Treasurers Association site rather than on the county website. The 2026 edition governs certificates sold between June 15, 2026 and June 20, 2027, so expect a fresh notice each spring.
- The Treasurer's page on the county website lists contact details, hours (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) and payment options but carries no tax sale section, which makes the annual notice the operative county sale document.
- Redemption timing splits by parcel type. Regular tax sale parcels (advertised once) allow the 90 day notice of right of redemption after one year and nine months from the sale. Public bidder parcels (advertised two years, flagged with an asterisk on the published list) allow it after nine months.
- If the certificate holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 within three years of the sale, the Treasurer cancels the certificate. The certificate, the $25.00 deed issuance fee and recording fees are due within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires.
- Contact for the office is Treasurer Timothy N. Smock; email [email protected], fax 563-387-4083.
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 Winneshiek County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Winneshiek County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Winneshiek County tax certificate sale?
- Annual tax sale in mid-June. The county's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Winneshiek County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office of the Winneshiek County Courthouse, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. the same morning. An adjourned tax sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available. The prior year's sale ran Monday, June 16, 2025, so the pattern is the third Monday-ish of June.. 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 Winneshiek 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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