Washburn County, WI tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Wisconsin issues no tax lien certificates to investors. Washburn County takes tax deed to delinquent parcels itself and then resells them, so the event to watch is the county land sale run by the County Clerk, not a certificate auction.
• •Call the County Clerk at (715) 468-4600 about county-owned land for sale. Property tax payments, payoff amounts and delinquent balances go through the County Treasurer at (715) 468-4650, P.O. Box 340, 10 4th Avenue, Shell Lake.
• •Washburn County property taxes are payable in two installments: the first to the town treasurer by January 31, the second to the county treasurer at the courthouse by July 31. Parcels that miss those deadlines start the county's tax certificate and tax deed clock.
• •The county board's Public Property Committee takes up public property and land sale business, and its agendas and minutes post with the county's meeting records. That is the earliest warning a parcel is heading to sale.

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.

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