Douglas County, WI tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Douglas County sells land it already owns by tax deed, and the County Clerk's Office runs that sale. The Land and Development Committee sets each parcel's minimum bid and reviews the results after bidding closes, then the Douglas County Board approves the sale by resolution, so a high bid binds the bidder well before it binds the county.
• •Bids are not awarded on price alone. The advertisement lists the criteria the Land and Development Committee weighs: dollar value, prospective use of the property, prior ownership, adjacent property ownership, taxability of the property after transfer, buildability under present zoning, access, any delinquent real estate taxes the bidder already owes, and anything else the committee decides to consider.
• •Title comes by quit claim deed, which passes whatever interest the county has and warrants nothing, and Douglas County reserves all mineral rights on every parcel. The county states that parcels may be land-locked, under water, not buildable or otherwise inaccessible, and that it does not guarantee access. Wis. Stat. 80.13 governs land shut out from a public highway, and getting access into a landlocked parcel is the buyer's problem.
• •Budget past the hammer price. The buyer owes the high bid plus the buyer's fee and the deed transfer fee to Wisconsin Surplus, plus any current year real estate taxes or special assessments left unpaid against the parcel. Certain City of Superior parcels also carry unpaid stormwater utility or sewage fees that pass to the new owner, and the Douglas County Treasurer can tell you whether a parcel you are bidding on is one of them.
• •Check zoning and wetland status before you bid, because the county does not guarantee a proposed use will be allowed. For parcels inside the City of Superior the City Planner takes parcel questions at 715-395-7335; for parcels elsewhere in the county, Planning and Zoning answers at 715-395-1380; the DNR handles wetland questions at 715-392-0803.
• •A parcel that did not sell in an earlier round stays available. Under the county's adopted procedure, a request to bid on any tax deeded land Douglas County owns, advertised or not, goes to the County Clerk's Office, and a property published for sale within the last two years with a minimum bid and reserve already set can be re-advertised without fresh committee approval.
• •Bids are final once submitted. Withdrawing one requires a request to the Land and Development Committee with sufficient reason, and the county keeps a cash penalty out of the bid amount, so read the conditions printed on the current advertisement before you place a bid you are not certain of.

Wisconsin rules

Redemption

The redemption right in Wisconsin runs against the county, and it is over before an investor sees the parcel. Issuance of the tax certificate on September 1 starts the clock. Two years later the county may take its deed or start a foreclosure, but the right to redeem does not end on that anniversary: under s. 75.01(1)(b) any person may redeem at any time before the tax deed is presented to the register of deeds and accepted for record, and a redemption before recording makes the deed void as to the land redeemed. On the in rem route under s. 75.521 the county publishes a notice fixing the last day for redemption at least 8 weeks after first publication, and an interested party may instead serve a verified answer within 30 days after that date on the three grounds the section allows. Once the deed is recorded or judgment is entered, redemption is finished. Between the two, at least 6 and not more than 10 months before the redemption period expires, the county treasurer must publish a class 2 notice listing every unredeemed parcel with its amount due and the last day of redemption, which is the public list an investor can watch. Two things can still pull a parcel off a sale list afterward: the minor and incompetency extension in s. 75.03, and the former owner repurchase right in s. 75.35(3).Wisconsin Statutes 75.01 - RedemptionWis. Stat. 75.01Verified Sep 10, 2026

Deed deposit

Wisconsin fixes no statutory deposit. Section 75.35(2)(am) lets the county board sell its tax-deeded lands in whatever manner and on whatever terms it sets by ordinance or resolution, and s. 75.35(2)(d) lets the board delegate that power to a committee, an officer or a department, or hire licensed real estate brokers on commission. Deposits are county rules, not state law. St. Croix County requires a 10 percent deposit by cashier's check or money order with each sealed bid and rejects personal checks. Counties selling through the statewide online auctioneer instead take payment by certified check or wire transfer under the platform's terms. Read the county's own bid packet before you bid.Wisconsin Statutes 75.69 - Sale of tax delinquent real estate (the investor-facing county land sale)Wis. Stat. 75.69Verified Sep 10, 2026

Homestead deeds

Owner-occupied homes are treated differently, and the difference can pull a parcel off the list. For single-family, owner-occupied properties the county board must by ordinance give the former owner who lost title, or that person's heirs or beneficiaries, the right to buy the land back before it is sold, on paying the costs and expenses under s. 75.36(3)(a), the property taxes that would have been owed for the year of the purchase, and enough to satisfy any other liens at the time of foreclosure plus the county's repurchase costs. The board may extend the same right to other property types at its option. A sale under that ordinance is exempt from s. 75.69 altogether, so it never reaches a public bid. Counties set their own window. Dane County gives the former owner 60 days from delivery of the treasurer's certified-mail notice. Treat an owner-occupied house on a Wisconsin land sale list as provisional until the repurchase window has closed.Wisconsin Statutes 75.35 - Sale of tax-deeded lands; purchase of adjacent landsWis. Stat. 75.35Verified Sep 10, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Wisconsin returns the surplus to the former owner, and the county treasurer has to go find them. On taking the tax deed the treasurer must notify the former owner by registered or certified mail, at the mailing address on the tax bill, that the former owner may be entitled to a share of the proceeds of a future sale. When the county sells, the treasurer computes net proceeds by subtracting foreclosure, record-keeping, legal, advertising and title insurance costs, the actual maintenance, board-up, clean-up and demolition costs reasonably needed to sell, real estate agent or broker fees, and all unpaid general property taxes, interest, penalties, special assessments, special charges and special taxes. From the net proceeds the treasurer pays any managed forest withdrawal tax and fee, then the taxing jurisdictions' special assessments and special charges, prorated if the money runs short. Anything still remaining goes to the former owner, less any delinquent taxes, interest and penalties that person owes the county on other property. A payment unclaimed one year after mailing becomes unclaimed funds under s. 59.66(2), and no interest is paid on any of it.Wisconsin Statutes 75.36 - County acquisition and sale of property (net proceeds and the former owner's share)Wis. Stat. 75.36Verified Sep 10, 2026

Governing statute

Wis. Stat. ch. 74Wisconsin Statutes chapter 74 - Property Tax Collection (chapter table of contents)Wis. Stat. ch. 74Verified Sep 10, 2026

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.

See the full Wisconsinrules and every county →