The statutory ceiling
This is the maximum. Bidders compete by bidding the rate down at the sale, so the rate you actually earn is set at the auction and is often lower. It never falls below 6% on redemption.
The minimum you can earn
On redemption the certificate pays the rate bid or 6% of the face amount, whichever is greater. A certificate bid down to 0% is the exception. It is carved out of the minimum by statute and earns nothing, which is why bidders accept 0%: they are buying the path to a deed, not a yield.
How interest accrues
Interest under the tax certificate sections is simple, never compounded. The monthly charge is one twelfth of the annual bid rate on the principal, accruing on the first day of the month following the start of the interest period and on the first day of each month after that. For a certificate bought at public auction the redemption price is the purchase price plus the greater of the interest accrued at the bid rate or a flat 6 percent of the purchase price, and that 6 percent applies even when the parcel is redeemed before the first monthly accrual date. A certificate bid at 0 percent has no floor, and a certificate bought in a negotiated sale has no 6 percent floor either. Interest stops accruing at the bid rate on the day the holder files for foreclosure and submits the required payment, or the day the parcel is redeemed. Once the holder pays to start foreclosure, the rate on the certificate purchase price becomes 18 percent per year until the parcel is redeemed or the sale proceeds are paid out.
Why some certificates are bid to zero
At a public auction the treasurer or a designee opens the bidding at 18 percent per year simple interest and takes lower bids in even quarter-percent steps all the way to 0 percent, awarding the certificate to the lowest rate bid. Ties are decided by the treasurer, and that decision is not appealable. A certificate bid at 0 percent is the one case where the 6 percent minimum return does not apply: its redemption price is only the certificate purchase price plus the treasurer's fee, so the investor is buying the foreclosure right rather than a yield. Ohio also allows a second route entirely. Under R.C. 5721.33 a treasurer may negotiate a sale or transfer of a block of certificates to an eligible purchaser, setting the rate, any premium or discount, and the foreclosure timetable by agreement instead of by auction, so a county that uses the negotiated route holds no public certificate auction at all. Certificates are never sold to the owner of the parcel, and no bidder may contact the owner to demand payment during the first month after purchase.
When the certificates sell
Ohio fixes no statutory month. The treasurer selects parcels from the delinquent land list, advertises the auction in a county newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks, and may then hold the sale at any time after the advertising is complete, on the date, time, and place named in the advertisement. Several counties may also combine their parcels into one regional sale held at a single location. Confirm the current date on the county treasurer page, and confirm whether the county sells by auction at all rather than by negotiated sale.
The headline figure is a ceiling, not a forecast. To see what a certificate actually pays after the rate is bid down, run the numbers in the yield calculator, and compare Ohio against other states on interest rates by state.
Verified Aug 6, 2026 against Ohio statutes.
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.