Garfield County, CO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The county moved its website from garfield-county.com to garfieldcountyco.gov; old treasurer URLs redirect to the new domain home page rather than to the matching page.
• •Redemptions are handled by the Treasurer's Office in cash, cashier's check, or wire transfer, and must be received in the office by the last working day of the month. Redemption checks are mailed to the certificate holder automatically, so holders must keep their mailing address current with the office.
• •Interest paid to certificate holders is reported to the IRS, and the office mails a 1099-INT annually.
• •At the last check the Treasurer's tax lien sale page had not yet been rolled over to the current year, so the posted date, registration window, and deposit deadline reflect the prior sale cycle.

Colorado rules

Max interest rate

14% per year, set by statute (bidding is on price)Colorado Division of Banking - Interest Rates set by the Bank Commissioner (rate set under C.R.S. 39-12-103)Verified Jul 29, 2026

Minimum return

No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the price at the saleC.R.S. 39-12-103 - Redemption made, interestC.R.S. 39-12-103Verified Jul 29, 2026

Redemption

Redemption may be made at any time before a treasurer's deed is executed, so the practical window runs well past the three-year mark and through the Article 11.5 auction process. The treasurer must hold that public auction between 110 and 125 calendar days after the known interested party notice is first published or mailed, which gives owners and junior lienors a further defined period to pay. A separate rule lets an owner who was under a legal disability when the deed was executed redeem within nine years of the deed being recorded, at 15 percent per year plus the present value of any improvements.C.R.S. 39-12-103 - Redemption made, interestC.R.S. 39-12-103Verified Jul 29, 2026

Deed deposit

The treasurer may require the applying lawful holder to post a deposit covering the recording fee plus the actual and reasonable cost of administering the auction, and all Article 11.5 fees and costs are chargeable as additional amounts owing under the tax lien. For bidders, the treasurer accepts cash, cashier's check, bank check, or electronic funds transfer subject to the treasurer's bidding rules. The statute sets no fixed bidder deposit percentage, so the deposit terms come from county bidding rules.C.R.S. 39-11.5-102 - Application for public auctionC.R.S. 39-11.5-102Verified Jul 29, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Any overbid goes first to junior lienors in order of recording priority, measured as of the recording date of the application for public auction, who filed a notice of intent to redeem and whose liens are unredeemed, up to each lien's unpaid amount plus fees and costs. Whatever remains is paid to the property owner. The treasurer must post a public notice about these funds and mail the owner a notice within thirty calendar days of the auction. Unclaimed remaining overbids sit in escrow for six months without interest, then transfer to the state administrator under the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. An agreement to pay someone to recover an owner's overbid is unenforceable, and inducing one is a class 2 misdemeanor.C.R.S. 39-11.5-109 - Treatment of an overbidC.R.S. 39-11.5-109Verified Jul 29, 2026

Governing statute

C.R.S. Title 39, Article 11C.R.S. 39-11-115 - To whom tax lien shall be soldC.R.S. 39-11-115Verified Jul 29, 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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