Delta County, MI tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Delta County, seat of Escanaba: 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
- One annual online tax foreclosure auction, held in mid August.
- Format
- County site
- Registration
- Bidding is online only.
- County office
- (906) 789-5117
On this page
How Delta County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Delta County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- One annual online tax foreclosure auction, held in mid August.
- Registration
- Bidding is online only.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only. Create a free user account at Tax-Sale.info with information matching a government-issued ID. The salebook rules state you should open the account no less than 48 hours before the auction, and that before any bid is accepted you must post a $1,000 deposit, either as a pre-authorization hold on a Visa, MasterCard or Discover credit card or as $1,000 in certified funds tendered to the auctioneer. The card is not charged unless you win, and failure to complete a purchase forfeits the $1,000. Bidders without internet access can place absentee bids by calling 1-800-259-7470, subject to the same deposit. Winners have 5 business days after the sale to submit payment and notarized paperwork by wire transfer, certified check, or credit or debit card with a 2.75% processing fee. The amount due is the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, current summer taxes, and a $30 deed recording fee. Title transfers by quitclaim deed.
Sale format and venue
Delta County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Delta 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 Michigan Public Land Auction listings (Tax-Sale.info) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
One annual online tax foreclosure auction, held in mid August. 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 Delta County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Delta County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Michigan Public Land Auction listings (Tax-Sale.info). 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 user account at Tax-Sale.info with information matching a government-issued ID. The salebook rules state you should open the account no less than 48 hours before the auction, and that before any bid is accepted you must post a $1,000 deposit, either as a pre-authorization hold on a Visa, MasterCard or Discover credit card or as $1,000 in certified funds tendered to the auctioneer. The card is not charged unless you win, and failure to complete a purchase forfeits the $1,000. Bidders without internet access can place absentee bids by calling 1-800-259-7470, subject to the same deposit. Winners have 5 business days after the sale to submit payment and notarized paperwork by wire transfer, certified check, or credit or debit card with a 2.75% processing fee. The amount due is the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, current summer taxes, and a $30 deed recording fee. Title transfers by quitclaim deed.
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
- Delta County parcels are auctioned in the multi-county Eastern Upper Peninsula sale on Tax-Sale.info, alongside Alger, Chippewa, Luce, Mackinac and Schoolcraft counties.
- The 2026 sale ran Friday, August 14, 2026, from 10:00am to 7:00pm EDT, entirely online.
- A $1,000 deposit, as a credit card pre-authorization or certified funds, is required before any bid is accepted, and accounts should be opened at least 48 hours ahead.
- Winning bidders pay the bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, current summer taxes, and a $30 deed recording fee within 5 business days. Deeds are quitclaim.
- The Treasurer's property tax page states delinquent taxes sit at the county for two years before foreclosure, and that once the county foreclosure deadline passes there is no redemption period.
- The Delta County Treasurer's office also posts excess proceeds claim forms for former owners of foreclosed property.
- Delta DNR lots appear in the same auction catalog. Those are Michigan Department of Natural Resources surplus land sales with the DNR as seller, not tax-foreclosed parcels, so check the seller on each lot before bidding.
- The county's main switchboard is (906) 789-5100 and the Treasurer's office fax is (906) 789-5171. The Treasurer's property tax page gives (906) 789-5117 as the office number for delinquent tax questions.
- The county website is served from deltacountymi.gov, with deltacountymi.org redirecting to it. Both hosts return 403 to some automated fetchers, so a normal browser may be needed.
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 Delta County, Michigan sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Delta County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Delta 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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