Woodbury County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Woodbury County, seat of Sioux City: 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 Woodbury County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Woodbury County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The county states: "The tax sale is an online event that is held on the 3rd Monday of June at 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m." The 2026 annual sale ran on Monday, June 15, 2026 beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Terms and Conditions then schedule adjourned tax sales on August 17, 2026, October 19, 2026, December 14, 2026, February 15, 2027 and April 19, 2027, with bidders required to register by 4:00 p.m. on the Friday before each adjourned date if parcels are available.
- 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 GovEase. For the 2026 sale it opened May 18, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. and closed June 10, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. The county accepts no mailed, emailed, or in-person registrations. Each bidder pays a non-refundable $43.00 registration fee through GovEase, completes an online W-9, completes the GovEase Payment Instructions and Disclaimer Form, and uploads a Certificate of Existence from the Iowa Secretary of State or a Trade Name Verification Statement from the Woodbury County Recorder where applicable. Bidders must be 18 or older on 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 statement of trade name on file with the county recorder. The sale is not live: pre-bids are required and were uploaded from 8:00 a.m. June 11, 2026 through 8:00 a.m. June 15, 2026, after which no bids were accepted. Bidding starts at a 100 percent undivided interest and bids down in whole percentage points from 99 percent to 1 percent, with a random selection process breaking ties at the lowest percentage. Winners pay through the GovEase link by 4:00 p.m. on sale day, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. GovEase bidder support is (769) 208-5050 or [email protected]; county questions go to Property Tax Deputy Janet Trimpe at 712-279-6495 option 2.
Woodbury County runs a fully online annual tax sale on GovEase under Iowa Code chapter 446. The Treasurer publishes the delinquent tax list in the Sergeant Bluff Advocate the week of May 25 and posts the parcel data on GovEase around June 1, updated daily through the sale date; registration is required to view the auction data. The Treasurer's tax sale page carries three separate PDF listings: the annual tax sale parcel listing, a public bidder parcel listing, and an adjourned tax sale parcel listing. Two redemption tracks matter to bidders. Parcels advertised once are regular tax sale parcels, where the 90-day notice of right of redemption may be issued one year and nine months after the sale. Parcels advertised for two years are public bidder parcels, flagged with an asterisk on the published list, where the 90-day notice may be issued nine months after the sale. Redemption pays 2 percent per month, each fraction of a month counted as a full month. Subsequent tax payments also accrue 2 percent per month and must be reported to the Treasurer at the time of payment or they are treated as voluntary and dropped from the redemption calculation. Certificate assignment carries a $100.00 assignment transaction fee, the Treasurer's deed issuance fee is $25.00 per parcel, and the certificate plus deed and recording fees must reach the Treasurer within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires. From May 18 through June 12 the office takes only certified funds for tax payments and turns off online payment. Questions on county-held public bidder parcels go to the Board of Supervisors at 712-279-6525; questions on adjourned sale parcels go to the Treasurer at 712-279-6495.
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 Woodbury County
- Woodbury County's annual tax sale is online only through GovEase. The Treasurer's Terms and Conditions state that all bids must be submitted through the auction website and that no mailed, emailed, or in-person registrations are accepted.
- The sale is a pre-bid auction rather than a live one. Pre-bids upload in the window that opens the Friday before the sale and closes at 8:00 a.m. on sale day, so a bidder who waits for the 9:00 a.m. start has already missed the deadline.
- Bidding follows Iowa's undivided-interest bid-down: the opening offer is a 100 percent interest and bids fall in whole percentage points to a 1 percent floor, with ties resolved by random selection.
- Adjourned tax sales are scheduled roughly every two months after the June sale. The Treasurer listed August 17, 2026, October 19, 2026, December 14, 2026, February 15, 2027 and April 19, 2027, each with a registration cutoff of 4:00 p.m. the preceding Friday.
- Parcels advertised for two years are public bidder parcels, marked with an asterisk on the published list. Their 90-day notice of right of redemption may be issued nine months after the sale instead of the one year and nine months that applies to regular tax sale parcels.
- Registration costs a non-refundable $43.00 and each certificate purchased carries a $20.00 certificate fee on top of the delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection fees, and publishing costs.
- Treasurer contact and address were read from the county Treasurer page; the office is in the Trosper Hoyt Building, not the courthouse listed on the county homepage.
- The Treasurer's office takes only certified funds for property tax payments from May 18 through June 12 and disables online payment during that window.
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 Woodbury County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Woodbury County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Woodbury County tax certificate sale?
- The county states: "The tax sale is an online event that is held on the 3rd Monday of June at 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m." The 2026 annual sale ran on Monday, June 15, 2026 beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Terms and Conditions then schedule adjourned tax sales on August 17, 2026, October 19, 2026, December 14, 2026, February 15, 2027 and April 19, 2027, with bidders required to register by 4:00 p.m. on the Friday before each adjourned date if parcels are 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 Woodbury 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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