Brown County, IL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Brown County, IL tax sale, one of 2,553 counties in 30 states. Illinois sells tax lien certificates paying up to 9%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from state rules plus what the county publishes on Jul 30, 2026.
How tax lien and tax deed sales work in Brown County, seat of Mount Sterling: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Illinois tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Tax sale scheduled for November 6, 2026.Friday · 2026
- County office
- 217-773-3133 ext. 7
On this page
How Brown County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Brown County Treasurer / Collector (the Treasurer serves as ex officio County Collector)
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Brown County does not publish bidder registration instructions, forms, or deadlines online. Contact the Treasurer / Collector at 217-773-3133 ext. 7 or treasurer@browncoil.org for registration requirements, deposit rules, and check-in time. The county does describe the bidding method: "By law, tax sale interest rate bids start at 9% per 6 months and bid downward to the lowest bid."
Sale format and venue
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Sheriff or a court-appointed private selling officer, under an order of the circuit court. A county acting as trustee runs its own tax deed auctions.
- Frequency
- as ordered by the circuit court
- Typical timing
- Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Terms of a judicial tax deed auction, including whether it runs online, in person, or both, and what deposit is required, are set in the court's order and published in the notice of tax deed auction. That notice runs once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, starting no more than 45 days and ending no less than 7 days before the auction. Read the notice for each parcel; there is no statewide platform or standing bidder registration.
Sale format and venue
Brown County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Brown 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 Brown County property tax inquiry (parcel-level tax status lookup) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Tax sale scheduled for November 6, 2026. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Sheriff or a court-appointed private selling officer, under an order of the circuit court. A county acting as trustee runs its own tax deed auctions. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Brown County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Brown County property tax inquiry (parcel-level tax status lookup). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Terms of a judicial tax deed auction, including whether it runs online, in person, or both, and what deposit is required, are set in the court's order and published in the notice of tax deed auction. That notice runs once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, starting no more than 45 days and ending no less than 7 days before the auction. Read the notice for each parcel; there is no statewide platform or standing bidder registration.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Illinois 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 Illinois 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 liens and deeds
Certificates nobody bids on at the annual sale are forfeited to the county as trustee for the taxing districts. The county may then assign a forfeited certificate to any party or sell property it has acquired, which many counties handle through a delinquent tax agent rather than a public counter. Counties may also offer county-held certificates at a scavenger sale with a minimum bid of $250, or half the tax when total liability is under $500. Ask the county collector and the county clerk which program the county runs and who may buy.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Illinois calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
County notes
- The Treasurer's published duties include "Preparation of delinquent tax lists and mailing of notices to the taxpayer(s) on record", "Obtaining tax-sale judgment orders", and "Conducting an annual tax sale to seek payment of delinquent taxes".
- Current officeholder listed on the county site: Heather McClelland, Treasurer / Collector, with Leah Bond as Deputy. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
- Redemption of a sold tax is handled by the Brown County Clerk and Recorder at 200 Court St., Room 4, Mt. Sterling, IL 62353, phone 217-773-3421. The Treasurer page states: "Sold tax redemption is made at the County Clerk's office." The Clerk's own page carries no redemption detail, so investors should call for a redemption estimate.
- The county calendar event for the sale gives only a date and a courthouse venue. It carries no start time, no registration window, and no bidder packet.
- No delinquent tax list or sale list is posted on browncoil.org. Illinois counties of this size commonly publish the delinquent list in a local newspaper of record rather than online.
- Two similar domains exist for this area. browncoil.org is the county government site and the one used for every fact here. Any figure should be confirmed with the Treasurer's office before bidding.
Illinois rules
- Redemption
- Property sold at an Illinois tax sale may be redeemed at any time before the redemption period expires. Public Act 104-0553 set the standard period at 3 years from the date of sale for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026. Certificates issued between January 1, 2024 and July 9, 2026 run on the earlier 2.5 year (30 month) track, and on that track the certificate holder could file a written notice with the county clerk extending redemption to a date no later than 3 years from the sale. A short 1 year period applies when the parcel was, on the date of sale, vacant non-farm property, commercial or industrial property, or improved with a structure holding 7 or more residential units. Certificates the county holds or assigns as trustee run on their own schedule under Section 21-385, and an assignee must file notice within 60 days of assignment setting a redemption deadline no later than 3 years from the assignment.
- Deed deposit
- Illinois does not fix a statutory deposit percentage. Deposit and payment terms are set in the court's order authorizing the auction and by the selling officer, so read the notice of tax deed auction for each sale. A purchaser who fails to complete the sale forfeits any deposit already made to the county surplus equity fund, and the court orders a new auction of the property.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any amount by which the winning bid exceeds the minimum bid is surplus. Within 30 days after the court confirms the sale the selling officer deposits the surplus with the county treasurer, who notifies everyone who received the Section 22-10 take notice that the owner at the time of the sale may file a claim for it. A county running its own tax deed auction deposits surplus with the treasurer within 30 days of the sale and notifies interested parties within 60 days. Separately, a previous owner who lost equity through a tax deed can claim an award from the county surplus equity fund, capped at the value of the property when the deed issued less mortgages, liens, and the taxes the purchaser paid.
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 Brown County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Brown County tax certificate sale?
How often does Brown County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Brown County tax sale list?
Verified Jul 30, 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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