Washington County, IL tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Washington 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 Washington County, seat of Nashville: 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 January 22, 2027.Friday · 2027
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (618) 327-4800 ext. 315
On this page
How Washington County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Washington County Treasurer, serving as ex officio County Collector. The county site lists Natalie Lynch as "Treasurer and Collector," with deputies Christine Bevil and Tammy Ryterski.
- Frequency
- annual
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register with the Washington County Treasurer using the county's Real Estate Tax Sale Registration form. The fee is $25.00 per purchaser due at the time of registration, plus a separate $25.00 list fee that "must be received before authorization will be given to J.E. Meyer & Assoc. to send file." Both fees are non-refundable. The form states registration "closes 10 working days prior to sale per State statute." Every purchaser must complete a W-9, with no exceptions. Return the form with a check payable to Washington County Treasurer to 101 E. St. Louis St., Nashville, IL 62263, or by email to chris.bevil@washingtonco.illinois.gov. Registered purchasers are then "eligible to bid and/or receive Certificates of Purchase." For bid-file format questions the county directs buyers to J.E. Meyer & Associates at 1-618-656-5744 or 1-800-248-2850.
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
Washington County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Washington 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 Washington County trustee catalog, prior sale results, and assignable certificate list (Joseph E. Meyer & Associates) 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 January 22, 2027. 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 Washington County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Washington County trustee catalog, prior sale results, and assignable certificate list (Joseph E. Meyer & Associates). 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
- Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm, at the Washington County Courthouse in Nashville.
- For the 2025 payable 2026 cycle the Treasurer mailed bills on July 23, 2026, with installments due Friday, September 11, 2026 and Friday, October 16, 2026. The page states: "The last day to pay online, by personal check or by business check is Friday, December 18, 2026. After that date, only cash, bank cashier's check or money order will be accepted." That December cutoff sets up the late-January sale.
- Total taxes billed for 2025 payable 2026 were $32,673,520.80 countywide, which gives a sense of the small scale of this sale.
- Late payments carry a 1.5 percent penalty per month under the county's stated schedule.
- Parcel search, tax bill printing, and online payment run through the county's Devnet portal at http://washingtonil.devnetwedge.com/. The Treasurer's page instructs users to search by parcel or PIN number without dashes, or by name only.
- Registration paperwork for the sale is handled by deputy Christine Bevil at chris.bevil@washingtonco.illinois.gov.
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 Washington County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Washington County tax certificate sale?
How often does Washington County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Washington 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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