Ford County, IL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Ford 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 Ford County, seat of Paxton: 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
- Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction.
- County office
- (217) 379-9465
On this page
How Ford County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Ford County Treasurer and Ex-Officio County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Registration is a paper form filed with the County Collector, not an online bidder account. The Ford County Bidder Registration Form states that "All bidders at the Collector's annual sale of real estate tax delinquent lands, lot and parcels must complete and sign this registration" and that "There is a $250 fee to register with that being applied to your purchases. If nothing is purchased, that amount is forfeited to the County Collector." The form must be received in the Collector's office at least ten business days before the sale; for the December 4, 2024 sale that deadline was November 15, 2024. All registration fees and purchases must be in US funds from checks drawn on US banks, per 35 ILCS 200/20-25. Registration details are kept on file by both the County Clerk and the County Collector.
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
Ford County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Ford 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
A county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the office and platform details on this page before relying on a copied list.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction. 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 Ford County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
The county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the county office contacts below and confirm the advertised parcels directly before you price a bid.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)
Ford County Treasurer and Ex-Officio County Collector
Ford County Treasurer, P.O. Box 92, 200 W. State Street, Paxton, IL 60957
Official websiteCounty notes
- The county website lists Taylor Burnett as interim Treasurer and Ex-Officio County Collector, and a county resolution posted in April 2026 covers that appointment. The Illinois County Treasurers Association directory still shows Krisha Whitcomb, so confirm the current officeholder when you call.
- Office hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The office email is treasurer@fordcounty.illinois.gov and the treasurers association directory lists a fax of (217) 379-9469.
- Ford County has no standalone tax sale page. Sale facts have to be pulled from the Treasurer page plus the scanned bidder registration form the county reposts each cycle, so investors should call ahead rather than rely on the website.
- Sale dates published on the county's own registration forms have moved around: January 25, 2023, then January 19, 2024, then December 4, 2024. Two versions of the 2023 form exist, one listing a 9:00 A.M. start and one listing 1:00 P.M., another reason to confirm the time directly.
- The county's Property Tax Cycle Overview assigns the tax lien sale and the preparation and publication of delinquent notices to the Treasurer's Office, which matches the Collector running the sale.
- Parcel and tax bill lookup runs on fordil.devnetwedge.com and online payments run through GovTech Tax Pro. Neither hosts the tax sale or a delinquent list.
- ILTaxSale.com is operated by Joseph E. Meyer and Associates and covers tax deed foreclosed property and assignable tax certificates statewide. Its Ford County page is useful for trustee held inventory but it is not the platform for the Collector's annual certificate sale.
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 Ford County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Ford County tax certificate sale?
How often does Ford County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
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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