Racine County, WI tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Racine County, WI tax sale, one of 2,862 counties in 36 states. Wisconsin sells the deed itself, so no statutory investor interest rate applies. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Sep 11, 2026.
How tax deed sales work in Racine County, seat of Racine: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Wisconsin tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Announcements
- The Sealed Bid Sale of tax-foreclosed property is "typically held once a year" and runs between a published start and end date.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- There is no bidder registration and no online auction account.
- County office
- (262) 636-3239
On this page
How Racine County sells delinquent taxes
No tax lien certificate sale
Wisconsin counties sell no tax lien certificates to investors. Under s. 74.57(1) the county treasurer issues the tax certificate to the county itself, and s. 74.57(3) states that the county may not sell, assign, or otherwise transfer it. The section carries two carve-outs, and neither admits a bidder: a county may sell its right to receive tax certificate revenues under s. 74.635, which is a payment stream rather than a lien, and the county treasurer must reissue certificates to a city acting under s. 74.87 that has paid the delinquent taxes under an agreement made under s. 74.83.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Racine County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- There is no bidder registration and no online auction account.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
There is no bidder registration and no online auction account. Submit one bid form per sealed envelope marked "Sealed Bid for In Rem Property," addressed to the finance committee in care of the county treasurer, enclosing the completed Sealed Bid Form and a deposit of 20 percent of the bid amount but not less than $30 as a money order, certified check or cashier's check payable to the Racine County Treasurer. Personal and business checks are refused. Envelopes must be physically received at the Treasurer's Office, 730 Wisconsin Ave, first floor, by 11:00 a.m. on the closing day; later arrivals are not accepted. The winning bidder pays the balance plus a $32 deed recording fee within 30 days of notice or forfeits the deposit, and title passes by quit claim deed recorded in the name given on the bid form. Racine County rejects bids from anyone who owes delinquent property taxes or carries outstanding judgments or health, building or zoning code violations, and from former owners and their beneficiaries or heirs.
Sale format and venue
Racine County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Racine 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. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.
Get the advertised list
Use Tax foreclosure sale parcel list, minimum bids and bid forms for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Racine County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Racine County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax foreclosure sale parcel list, minimum bids and bid forms. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
There is no bidder registration and no online auction account. Submit one bid form per sealed envelope marked "Sealed Bid for In Rem Property," addressed to the finance committee in care of the county treasurer, enclosing the completed Sealed Bid Form and a deposit of 20 percent of the bid amount but not less than $30 as a money order, certified check or cashier's check payable to the Racine County Treasurer. Personal and business checks are refused. Envelopes must be physically received at the Treasurer's Office, 730 Wisconsin Ave, first floor, by 11:00 a.m. on the closing day; later arrivals are not accepted. The winning bidder pays the balance plus a $32 deed recording fee within 30 days of notice or forfeits the deposit, and title passes by quit claim deed recorded in the name given on the bid form. Racine County rejects bids from anyone who owes delinquent property taxes or carries outstanding judgments or health, building or zoning code violations, and from former owners and their beneficiaries or heirs.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Wisconsin due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Wisconsin before you price the title work.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.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold properties
Wisconsin has no statewide over-the-counter program at a fixed statutory price, and no state-held certificate to assign. County inventory is what stays for sale. The county board may sell its tax-deeded lands on whatever terms it sets, may hire licensed real estate brokers on commission, and may advertise on a multiple listing service, so a county parcel can sit on the open market between sales. Once a parcel has been advertised and not sold, the county may sell it for any amount after a further class 1 notice, subject to board or committee approval below the appraised value. Ask the county treasurer or the land committee for the current list of unsold county-owned parcels and make a written offer. Approval still runs through the board or its committee, so nothing closes on the day.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Wisconsin calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
Racine County Courthouse, 730 Wisconsin Ave, 1st Floor North, Racine, WI 53403-1274
Official websiteCounty notes
- Racine County keeps the parcel list, minimum bids, legal notice, bid form and terms of sale together on the Treasurer's public sale page, alongside mapping links and interior photographs for parcels with buildings.
- The Treasurer's Office maintains an interested-buyers email list that sends notice of upcoming sales and available properties, and the sign-up link sits on the public sale page.
- Former owners and their beneficiaries or heirs cannot bid, though they may ask to repurchase under Racine County Ordinance 75.35(3). The Treasurer also declines to recommend bids from anyone who owned property Racine County took by in rem foreclosure in the preceding five years.
- Zoning and building questions on county parcels go to Racine County Public Works and Development Services at (262) 886-8440; for parcels inside the city, call the City of Racine Planning Department at (262) 636-9151.
- Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the Treasurer keeps a remote drop-off site at Burlington City Hall, 300 N Pine St, Burlington.
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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 Racine County, Wisconsin sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Racine County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Racine County tax sale list?
Verified Sep 11, 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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