What is a “tax sale”? What does it mean that my taxes have been sold or that my property has been sold for delinquent taxes?
By state statute, any unpaid taxes plus interest and penalties go to a tax sale at the end of November or beginning of December. A registered tax buyer bids their fee for paying those taxes. The tax buyer’s fee is bid as a percentage of the amount owing, to be applied every six months. Bidding starts at 18% and goes down from there, in some cases to 0%; the County Treasurer must accept the lowest bid. If no tax buyer bids on a property, the County itself becomes the default tax buyer, at 18%.

The tax buyer whose bid is accepted then pays the amount owing in the Treasurer’s office. The taxes paid plus the additional fees are charged in the County Clerk’s office as a tax lien against the property. Additional fees will accrue until the homeowner or another financially interested party redeems them. Upon redemption, the lien is immediately removed and the tax buyer no longer has any vested interest in the property. If no redemption is made within the time allowed (2-3 years, depending on the type of property and the tax buyer’s decision), the tax buyer can petition the Circuit Court for the deed to the property.

The phrase, “your property has been sold for delinquent taxes,” is required by state statute and can be a bit misleading. During the redemption period, you are still the owner of the property. Only your unpaid taxes were sold. It is only after the redemption period expires that the property can change owners.

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1. I’m late paying my property taxes. What do I do?
2. What is a “tax sale”? What does it mean that my taxes have been sold or that my property has been sold for delinquent taxes?
3. How long do I have to pay off sold taxes? Can the final deadline be extended?
4. How do I find out the amount I now owe?
5. Whom do I pay? Do I have to pay in person? What forms of payment do you accept?
6. Can I make partial payments or set up a payment schedule?
7. I owe on prior years’ sold taxes and the current year’s tax bill; which should I pay off first?
8. When will the quoted amount change?
9. What happens if I can’t pay by the deadline?
10. Who can I talk to about all this?