McDonough County, IL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the McDonough 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 McDonough County, seat of Macomb: 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
- (309) 833-2032
On this page
How McDonough County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- McDonough County Treasurer, acting as ex officio McDonough County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Not published online.
- Registration
- Registration runs through the Treasurer and County Collector's office.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Registration runs through the Treasurer and County Collector's office. Nothing is posted online, so request the buyer packet, deposit terms, and cutoff date at (309) 833-2032 or info@treasurer.mcdonough.il.us. The R.A.M.S. operator states that registration and the tax sale list stay with the county, and that 35 ILCS 200/21-205 requires all bidders to personally attend the 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
McDonough County tax sale list and auction calendar
For McDonough 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
McDonough County publishes no tax sale list online. The 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. advertises the parcels ahead of the sale rather than posting them, so the list reaches bidders through the county legal newspaper and the office itself. Call (309) 833-2032 to ask for the current advertisement.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 McDonough County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
There is no online list to price against. McDonough County advertises the parcels before the sale rather than posting them, so get the advertisement from the office on (309) 833-2032 and price from the parcel numbers it carries.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 office page states the Treasurer shall "Act as ex-officio County Collector for the County and is also responsible for collecting property tax and mobile home tax," which puts the annual tax sale with this office. The current Treasurer is Dana Moon, and the Illinois County Treasurers Association listing gives office hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:00.
- Certificate holders should note the county's payment page: "Subsequent Tax Payments: Must be paid in person." Keeping a lien current in McDonough means a trip to the courthouse office or a call to arrange it, since the online and phone channels are set up for regular installments only.
- The County Clerk and Recorder lists "Tax Extensions and Delinquent Taxes" among its seven main roles and is reachable at (309) 833-2474 at the same courthouse address, so redemption amounts and delinquent tax records start with that office rather than the Collector.
- Joseph E. Meyer & Associates is the delinquent tax agent behind both the R.A.M.S. bidding system and ILTaxSale.com. Parcels no buyer takes at the county sale roll into the trustee program and later resurface as trustee tax deed offerings; the McDonough County page on ILTaxSale.com shows sealed bid real estate auctions dated 07/12/2024, 08/01/2025, and 07/17/2026, plus a paid list of assignable tax lien certificates for the county. That is a separate track from the Collector's annual certificate sale.
- Parcel level tax data is public at mcdonoughil.devnetwedge.com (McDonough County Property Tax Inquiry, DEVNET), which is useful for diligence on a parcel but carries no sale list or sale date.
- The county website is served over plain HTTP and has no tax sale section at all, so no county page confirms platform, timing, deposit, or list access. Anything beyond the office contact details here should be re-verified with the Collector.
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 McDonough County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the McDonough County tax certificate sale?
How often does McDonough 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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