Clinton County, MI tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Clinton County, seat of St. Johns: 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.
- Format
- County site
- Registration
- Bidding is online only.
- County office
- 989-224-5280
On this page
How Clinton County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- State of Michigan, acting as the Foreclosing Governmental Unit for Clinton County
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Bidding is online only.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only. Create a free account on Tax-Sale.info and complete identity verification using information that matches your government issued ID. Before placing bids you must put a $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card, valid for 30 days; a credit card is recommended over a debit card because debit holds take longer to release. Bidding opens 30 days before the stated auction date and bids can be changed up to the auction start time. Winning bidders must pay within five business days by wire transfer, certified (cashier's) check, or online credit/debit card with a 2.75% processing fee. The minimum bid is set by statute and includes all back taxes, interest, penalties, and fees owed on the parcel, and buyers also pay the current summer taxes at time of purchase.
Sale format and venue
Clinton County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Clinton 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 Clinton County listings, 2026 Michigan Public Land Auction catalog for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
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 State of Michigan, acting as the Foreclosing Governmental Unit for Clinton County as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Clinton County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Clinton County listings, 2026 Michigan Public Land Auction catalog. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is online only. Create a free account on Tax-Sale.info and complete identity verification using information that matches your government issued ID. Before placing bids you must put a $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card, valid for 30 days; a credit card is recommended over a debit card because debit holds take longer to release. Bidding opens 30 days before the stated auction date and bids can be changed up to the auction start time. Winning bidders must pay within five business days by wire transfer, certified (cashier's) check, or online credit/debit card with a 2.75% processing fee. The minimum bid is set by statute and includes all back taxes, interest, penalties, and fees owed on the parcel, and buyers also pay the current summer taxes at time of purchase.
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
- Clinton County opted out of acting as its own foreclosing governmental unit, so the State of Michigan forecloses and sells Clinton parcels while the county Treasurer's Office handles delinquent tax collection and payoff questions.
- The Clinton County sale is bundled into a multi county Southern Central Lower Peninsula online session with Gratiot, Ionia, Livingston, Montcalm, and Shiawassee, and the 2026 catalog listed only 10 Clinton parcels.
- The county's published timeline shows the auction window as July or November of the year following the March 31 vesting of title in the State.
- County office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., closed noon to 1 p.m. Fax is 989-224-5258. The elected Treasurer is Steven E. Wiswasser.
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 Clinton County, Michigan sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Clinton County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Clinton 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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