Berrien County, MI tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Berrien County, seat of St. Joseph: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Michigan tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Re-Offer Sale: September 25, 2026.Friday · 2026
- Format
- County site
- Registration
- Bidding is fully online.
- County office
- 269-983-7111, ext. 8569
On this page
How Berrien County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Berrien County Treasurer's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Re-Offer Sale: September 25, 2026.
- Registration
- Bidding is fully online.
- Sale list
- Berrien County auction catalog
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is fully online. Create a free account at tax-sale.info using information that matches your government-issued ID, then place a $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card before you can bid. The platform states the hold "is not a charge, but rather a hold by your financial institution for up to 30 days" and that it authorizes bidding for 30 days, after which a new hold is required. Bids may be modified up to the auction start time but cannot be deleted once placed. Winning bidders have 5 business days after the sale ends to submit payment and notarized paperwork. The county also links the platform's Standard Rules document at https://www.tax-sale.info/forms/Standard-Rules.pdf.
Sale format and venue
Berrien County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Berrien County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Berrien County auction catalog for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Re-Offer Sale: September 25, 2026. Bidding runs on Michigan public land auction schedule and parcel lists; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Berrien County Treasurer's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Berrien County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Berrien County auction catalog. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is fully online. Create a free account at tax-sale.info using information that matches your government-issued ID, then place a $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card before you can bid. The platform states the hold "is not a charge, but rather a hold by your financial institution for up to 30 days" and that it authorizes bidding for 30 days, after which a new hold is required. Bids may be modified up to the auction start time but cannot be deleted once placed. Winning bidders have 5 business days after the sale ends to submit payment and notarized paperwork. The county also links the platform's Standard Rules document at https://www.tax-sale.info/forms/Standard-Rules.pdf.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Michigan due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
County notes
- Berrien County is an opted-in county: the County Treasurer, not the Michigan Department of Treasury, is the foreclosing governmental unit and runs the tax-foreclosure sale.
- All bidding is online at tax-sale.info. The county lists no live courthouse auction.
- Three chances to buy each year: the main August auction, a September reoffer auction, and an October no-reserve auction where minimum bids are dropped.
- A $1,000 credit card pre-authorization hold is required before any bid can be placed, and it authorizes bidding for only 30 days.
- Winning bidders get 5 business days after the sale closes to pay in full and return notarized paperwork.
- The Treasurer's Office lists a Tax Reversion Specialist for foreclosure questions at 269-983-7111, extension 8208.
Michigan rules
- Redemption
- Michigan has no post-sale redemption. The right to redeem runs during the forfeiture year and ends when the foreclosure judgment takes effect. Property forfeited to the county treasurer may be redeemed at any time on or before the March 31 immediately succeeding entry of a judgment foreclosing it, or within 21 days of entry in a contested case. On that date all redemption rights expire and fee simple title vests absolutely in the foreclosing governmental unit. Measured from the March 1 the taxes were returned as delinquent, that is about 25 months, and roughly three years from the year the taxes were levied. A circuit court may withhold a property from foreclosure for one year, or enter an order extending the redemption period as it finds equitable, if the owner is a minor heir, is incompetent, is without means of support, or is undergoing substantial financial hardship, so a parcel can drop off an auction list late.
- Deed deposit
- Michigan fixes no statutory deposit. The foreclosing governmental unit may adopt its own procedures governing the conduct of the sale and payment for conveyance, so registration deposits, refunds, and any bidding caps are set county by county and by the auction platform. On Tax-Sale.info, the platform most Michigan counties use, bidding requires a $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card rather than a cash deposit. Confirm the figure in the county's published auction terms before registering.
- Surplus proceeds
- A person who held a legal interest in the property immediately before the judgment of foreclosure became effective may claim the remaining proceeds. Remaining proceeds are the amount paid to the foreclosing governmental unit for the property, minus the minimum bid, minus other fees and expenses of forfeiture, foreclosure, sale, maintenance, repair, and remediation not already inside the minimum bid, minus a sale commission payable to the unit equal to 5 percent of the amount paid for the property. The claimant must submit a notice of intention on a Department of Treasury form by the July 1 immediately following the effective date of the foreclosure, then file a motion in the same circuit court proceeding in which the foreclosure judgment was effective, during the period beginning February 1 immediately after the property was sold and ending the following May 15. The court sets a hearing, decides the relative priority and value of each claimant's interest, and orders payment. Once the order enters, any further claim relating to that property is barred.
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 Berrien County, Michigan sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Berrien County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Berrien County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 7, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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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