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Tax Sale Atlas

Allen County, IN tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Allen County, IN tax sale, one of 2,553 counties in 30 states. Indiana sells tax lien certificates paying up to 15%, redeemable for 1 year. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Jul 30, 2026.

How tax lien sales work in Allen County, seat of Fort Wayne: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Indiana tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
The 2026 Tax Sale will be held September 16, 2026.Wednesday · 2026
Format
GovEase
Registration
Registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EST.
County office
260-449-7241
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Allen County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Indiana holds no general public tax deed auction. Once the redemption period runs out, the certificate holder files a verified petition in the same court that entered the judgment of sale, and the court directs the county auditor to issue the deed. That petition must be filed no later than three months after the redemption period expires, or the purchaser's lien terminates. One narrow exception exists: real property a county, city, or town executive has certified as vacant or abandoned is auctioned separately, and there the county auditor deeds fee simple title straight to the highest bidder with no right of redemption.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

GovEase
Run by
Allen County Auditor's Office
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
The 2026 Tax Sale will be held September 16, 2026.
Registration
Registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Sale list
Allen County Auditor tax sale list and sale documents
When it runs
Annual fall sale in mid-September. The Auditor's Tax Sale page states "The 2026 Tax Sale will be held September 16, 2026", and the county's 2026 tax sale notice lists "DATE OF SALE: Wednesday, September 16, 2026" with "TIME: 9:00 a.m. EST until done". The notice adds that the official tax sale list is certified in late June (June 26, 2026 for the 2026 sale).
Registration and deposit

Online only. The 2026 county notice states "Bidders must register electronically" from the auction website beginning September 2, 2026 by creating an account, with "Registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EST". Create a GovEase account, then complete the online registration documents before approval to bid. Each bidder must provide an IRS Form W-9 to the auction site, and a business must supply a Certificate of Good Standing (Certificate of Existence) from the Indiana Secretary of State. Anyone with delinquent real estate or personal property taxes, individually or through a company they own, may not register. Bidder numbers are assigned through the auction website. GovEase publishes bidder training at govease.com/bidderhelp.

Sale format and venue
Allen County sells tax liens under IC 6-1.1-24 and IC 6-1.1-25. The winning bidder receives a tax sale certificate and holds only a lien until the parcel is redeemed or a tax title deed issues, which the county puts at roughly 45 to 60 days after the one year redemption period. Parcels are offered by Tax Sale Item Number, the unique number shown on GovEase. The minimum bid is the tax sale lien amount plus $620.00 in sale costs, and any other assessment certified against a parcel before the sale is added to it. Redemption runs 110% of the delinquent taxes, special assessments, the November installment and sale costs if redeemed within six months, 115% if redeemed after six months but within one year, plus 5% per annum on the amount the purchase price exceeds the taxes and assessments and 5% per annum on subsequent taxes paid. All bids are final, with no refunds or exchanges, and refusing a winning bid carries a penalty of 25% of the purchase amount. Purchases must be paid by 12 p.m. the next business day; the Treasurer accepts cash or cashier's checks for the exact amount and no personal checks. The county warns that the IRS no longer grants blanket permission to sell properties included in a tax sale, so a federal tax lien can survive the tax title deed and the buyer may need a Certificate of Discharge (Publication 783, Form 14135). Unsold parcels may be certified to the Board of Commissioners and then assigned and deeded to the Allen County Community Development Corp for resale; the county lists 260-449-3276 for those properties. Allen County does not contract SRI for this sale; it is hosted on GovEase. Auction platform questions go to GovEase support at (769) 208-5050 ext. 2, sale process questions to the Auditor at (260) 449-7241, and payment arrangements to the Treasurer at (260) 449-7693.
Register on GovEase
Source: Allen County Auditor: 2026 General Tax Sale Information (PDF, updated 6/11/26)· Verified Jul 30, 2026

Allen County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Allen 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.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Allen County Auditor tax sale list and sale documents for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EST. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    The 2026 Tax Sale will be held September 16, 2026. Bidding runs on GovEase; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Allen County Auditor's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Allen County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Allen County Auditor tax sale list and sale documents. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Online only. The 2026 county notice states "Bidders must register electronically" from the auction website beginning September 2, 2026 by creating an account, with "Registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EST". Create a GovEase account, then complete the online registration documents before approval to bid. Each bidder must provide an IRS Form W-9 to the auction site, and a business must supply a Certificate of Good Standing (Certificate of Existence) from the Indiana Secretary of State. Anyone with delinquent real estate or personal property taxes, individually or through a company they own, may not register. Bidder numbers are assigned through the auction website. GovEase publishes bidder training at govease.com/bidderhelp.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Indiana due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. 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

Parcels that draw no bid at the treasurer's tax sale pass to the county executive, which acquires a lien for the minimum sale price and receives a tax sale certificate. The county executive may then adopt a resolution and offer those certificates at a separate advertised public sale, often called the commissioners' certificate sale, priced below the minimum bid that failed at the tax sale. Notice runs once a week for three consecutive weeks with the final advertisement at least 30 days before the sale. This is a scheduled sale rather than a walk-in list, and redemption on a certificate bought this way is 120 days. Check the county auditor page for the next commissioners' certificate sale date.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Indiana calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Allen County Auditor's Office

260-449-7241

1 E Main Street, Rousseau Centre, Suite 102, Fort Wayne, IN 46802

Official website

County notes

  • The Auditor's Office administers the sale and issues the tax deed. The county notice still calls it the Treasurer's Tax Sale because the Treasurer collects the delinquent taxes and takes purchase payments, and the handout is issued jointly by both offices.
  • Tax sale questions are routed to Scot Harber at 260-449-7917 or the main Auditor line at 260-449-7241 per the county Tax Sale page.
  • The Auditor posts the current year sale list on the Tax Sale page (2026 list dated 7/23/2026) plus sold-property files for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
  • A separate Delinquent Property List is published by the Auditor under IC reporting requirements and is informational only. The county states those properties are not available for sale and the file is not refreshed until the following year.
  • The county notice points bidders to the Treasurer's online tax information system at https://lowtaxinfo.com/allencounty/ for parcel research by Property Pin number, and stresses that tax sale property is sold as is with no warranty of the listed street address or legal description.
  • Eligibility threshold from the county: a property delinquent for three or more installments is eligible for tax sale.

Indiana rules

Max interest rate
15% of the amount paid maximum, as a flat statutory penalty
Minimum return
10% statutory penalty at redemption
Redemption
The standard period is one year after the date of the treasurer's tax sale. Several tracks run 120 days instead: a certificate bought at the county executive's certificate sale, a lien the county executive holds that was never sold on, a sale to a purchasing agency qualified under IC 36-7-17 or IC 36-7-17.1, a certificate the county executive assigns to another political subdivision, and a parcel that was not offered at the tax sale at all. Property on the county auditor's vacant and abandoned list carries no right of redemption after its sale. A county treasurer may also extend redemption by agreement with the owner, in which case the extended period ends one year after the date of that agreement.
Surplus proceeds
The treasurer applies the payment first to the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs in the minimum bid, then to other delinquent property taxes, then deposits the remainder in a tax sale surplus fund. The owner of record at the time the parcel was certified for sale, or the purchaser on a redemption, may file a verified claim against that fund. Unclaimed surplus transfers to the county general fund three years after it was received.
Governing statute
IC 6-1.1-24

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.

See the full Indianarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Allen County, Indiana sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Indiana investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Treasurer runs the sale.

When is the Allen County tax certificate sale?

Annual fall sale in mid-September. The Auditor's Tax Sale page states "The 2026 Tax Sale will be held September 16, 2026", and the county's 2026 tax sale notice lists "DATE OF SALE: Wednesday, September 16, 2026" with "TIME: 9:00 a.m. EST until done". The notice adds that the official tax sale list is certified in late June (June 26, 2026 for the 2026 sale). Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Indiana's redemption rule: 1 year from the date of sale. Call the Allen County Auditor's Office as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Allen County tax sale list?

Allen County posts its tax sale list at allencounty.in.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Indiana tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Allen County Auditor's OfficeOpen auction