Teller County, CO tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Teller County's Treasurer also serves as Public Trustee, so the same office page carries both tax lien sale material and Public Trustee foreclosure notices. Do not confuse the Public Trustee foreclosure auction with the tax lien certificate sale.
• •The county's own paper of record for delinquent tax publication is The Pikes Peak Courier, per the Treasurer's FAQ.
• •Sale rules are republished annually. The Treasurer's page commits to posting updated rules on October 1 and the available parcel list by October 8 ahead of the November sale.
• •The county seat is Cripple Creek, and the Treasurer's counter is at 101 W Bennett Avenue, open Monday through Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm except holidays. Mail goes to a different box (P.O. Box 367) than the general county address (P.O. Box 959, 112 North A Street).
• •A large share of the county-held lien inventory dates back to the 1990s and early 2000s on small unimproved parcels, many with no street address listed. Treat those as land diligence problems, not turnkey redemption plays.

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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