Macoupin County, IL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Macoupin 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 the county’s own official pages on Jul 30, 2026.
How tax lien and tax deed sales work in Macoupin County, seat of Carlinville: 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.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- 217-854-4014 Ext. 919
On this page
How Macoupin County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Macoupin County Treasurer / Ex-Officio Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale in November.
- Registration
- A $250.00 fee is required to register.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
A $250.00 fee is required to register. Per the Treasurer's Q&A, "You must register in writing at least 10 business days before the sale by sending a letter to the Macoupin County Treasurer's Office, P.O. Box 20, Carlinville, IL 62626." The letter must include the name of the buyer to go on the certificate, the name of the person or persons buying at the sale, a mailing address, a telephone number, and an FEIN number. The county accepts personal checks, business checks, cashier's checks, or cash, and states that taxes must be paid immediately after the close of the tax sale.
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
Macoupin County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Macoupin 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 Delinquent Tax Sale Q&A, explaining that judgment book copies are supplied for a $100.00 prepaid fee (no list is published online) 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
Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.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 Macoupin County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent Tax Sale Q&A, explaining that judgment book copies are supplied for a $100.00 prepaid fee (no list is published online). 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 sale is in person. The Treasurer's Delinquent Tax Sale Q&A answers the question about bidding by mail or by a representative with the statement that the format of the tax sale is automated and that the buyer or a representative must attend the sale to participate. No online auction platform is confirmed for this county, so confirm the format with the Treasurer's office before planning to bid remotely.
- Two offices split the process. The County Clerk's tax redemption page states that after the tax sale the County Treasurer turns over responsibility for collection to the County Clerk. Redemption contacts are 217-854-3214, taxredemption@macoupincountyil.gov, and 201 E Main St, P.O. Box 107, Carlinville, IL 62626. Redemption funds must be cash, certified funds, or a money order payable to the Macoupin County Clerk.
- The County Clerk's page describes tax buyers bidding interest percentages ranging from 18% to 0%, and gives owners a period of 2 1/2 to 3 years to redeem before losing the property.
- Payment at the sale is due immediately after it closes. The county accepts personal checks, business checks, cashier's checks, or cash.
- There is no online delinquent or sale list. The Treasurer advertises in county newspapers at least 10 days before the Application for Judgment, which the office describes as the Monday before the tax sale, and sells copies of the judgment book for a $100.00 prepaid fee.
- The Macoupin County Property Tax Inquiry portal at macoupinil.devnetwedge.com supports parcel, owner, address, and mobile home lookups only. It publishes no delinquent tax list, sale list, or certificate purchase information.
- A separate secondary channel exists for parcels the county already holds. Joseph E. Meyer & Associates serves as Macoupin County Trustee, and the Treasurer's Delinquent Tax Liquidation section says the office can give details on the availability of tax lien certificates for purchase or through assignment purchasing. The trustee runs a Macoupin County Surplus Real Estate Public Auction by sealed bid, with bid forms available online or in the Treasurer's office and bids submitted to the Treasurer's office in person or by mail. The county lists the tax agent at 800-248-2850 or 618-656-5744, and ILTaxSale.com shows a Macoupin County sealed-bid real estate auction dated 09/25/2026.
- The Treasurer's Delinquent Tax Liquidation section still shows an expired last day to bid of September 26th, 2025, so treat trustee deadlines on that page as stale and confirm current dates with the tax agent by phone.
- Several third-party aggregator sites publish Macoupin County tax sale pages and sell access to lists. None of them conducts this county's sale. Treat the Treasurer's office as the only authority on the date, registration, and list.
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 Macoupin County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Macoupin County tax certificate sale?
How often does Macoupin County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Macoupin 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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