Stark County, IL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Stark 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 Stark County, seat of Toulon: 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 December 1, 2026.Tuesday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- County office
- 309-286-5901
On this page
How Stark County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Stark County Treasurer & Collector (the County Treasurer serving as ex officio County Collector). The office states that "The Office of the County Treasurer serves dual functions as treasurer and as collector of County funds." Treasurer: Paula K Leezer. Chief Deputy Treasurer: Amanda S King.
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register with the Treasurer's office using the Real Estate Tax Sale Registration Form, which doubles as a substitute W-9. It asks for bidder name, SSN or FEIN, bidding company, address, phone, email, and full ownership detail for corporations, partnerships, or other entities. The 2024 tax-year form states that "a completed registration form and a deposit check for $50.00 payable to the Stark County Treasurer must be received by the Stark County Treasurer's office by 4:30 pm" on the registration deadline, and that "The $50.00 check will be refunded to me if I attend the tax sale and bid." Late delivery is not excused: "delays caused by the United States Postal Service or other delivery method will not excuse me from that requirement." Registered bidders agree to pay all balances due at the end of the sale using a signed blank check, not to bid on parcels in which they or anyone they represent hold an interest, not to collude or bid rig, that only one bidder at a time may bid per registration, and that "Tax Certificates will be titled using the above listed registration information." Anyone registering for a Stark County tax sale for the first time must also sign the First Time Tax Buyer Disclosure, which acknowledges that tax lien certificates carry significant risk, that specific actions are required within specific timeframes to keep a certificate valid and enforceable, that "The tax sale is final and no refunds are offered", and that county staff cannot give legal advice.
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
Stark County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Stark 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 parcel tax buyer list, ordered from the Treasurer on the tax sale registration form 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 December 1, 2026. 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 Stark County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent parcel tax buyer list, ordered from the Treasurer on the tax sale registration form. 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)
Stark County Treasurer & Collector
Stark County Courthouse, 130 W Main St, PO Box 309, Toulon, IL 61483-0309
Official websiteCounty notes
- Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. Email: treasurer@starkco.illinois.gov.
- The Treasurer cites 35 ILCS 200/21-15: all taxes not paid by the due date have interest added at 1.5% per month or part of a month until paid.
- Advertising costs of $10.00 per parcel are added after publication of delinquent taxes.
- Real estate tax installments are customarily due June 1 and September 1. For the 2025 tax year the county lists June 1, 2026 and September 1, 2026, with September 18, 2026 the last day personal checks are accepted.
- Small jurisdiction: the Treasurer sends about 6,000 property tax bills a year and collects over $15,000,000 for more than 40 taxing districts, so expect a short sale list.
- Tax payments are made payable to the Stark County Collector, while the sale registration deposit check is made payable to the Stark County Treasurer.
- The Stark County Clerk & Recorder handles tax extensions and delinquent taxes: 130 West Main Street, PO Box 97, Toulon, IL 61483, (309) 286-5911, clerk@starkco.illinois.gov. Confirm redemption amounts with that office.
- The county tax agent site iltaxsale.com is operated by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates and lists "Tax Deed Foreclosed Property & Assignable Tax Certificates" auctions across many Illinois counties. Read any Stark listing there carefully: it serves the trustee surplus program, not the county's annual in-person 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 Stark County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Stark County tax certificate sale?
How often does Stark County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Stark 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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