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Tax Sale Atlas

DeKalb County, IN tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the DeKalb 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 DeKalb County, seat of Auburn: 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
An annual tax sale held in the fall, entirely online.
Format
ZEUS
Registration
Registration is handled on the auction platform, not at the courthouse.
County office
(260) 925-2712
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How DeKalb 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)

SRI / ZEUS
Run by
DeKalb County Treasurer's Office, acting jointly with the DeKalb County Auditor's Office. The county contracts SRI Incorporated to conduct the sale, and both the Treasurer and the Auditor direct bidders to SRI.
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
An annual tax sale held in the fall, entirely online.
Registration
Registration is handled on the auction platform, not at the courthouse.
Sale list
SRI property search (DeKalb County tax sale list)
When it runs
An annual tax sale held in the fall, entirely online. The county's most recent published notice reads "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 07, 2025 / Online - www.zeusauction.com" and states that "The public auction will begin on 10/07/2025 at 10:00 AM local time. The properties in the online auction will commence closing at 02:00 PM local time on 10/07/2025 at www.zeusauction.com. Each property will have its specific closing time posted on the auction web site." The prior year followed the same pattern, opening 10:00 AM local time on October 1, 2024. DeKalb County also runs a separate commissioners' certificate sale in the spring for parcels struck to the county; the most recent notice sets it "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, March 11, 2025" on the same platform. No 2026 sale date is posted on the county site yet, so confirm the current date with the Treasurer or SRI before planning.
Registration and deposit

Registration is handled on the auction platform, not at the courthouse. The county notice states: "If you are interested in participating in this public auction, registration information and the procedures you must follow to bid are available online at https://www.zeusauction.com. In order to participate, you must become a member of the auction web site (www.zeusauction.com). You must read, understand and agree to the rules of sale and payment terms. Once you become a member of the auction web site, you must register for the Dekalb County auction, specifically." Bidders must also "complete IRS Form W-9 and agree to the registration statement described at IC 6-1.1-24-5.3(c) electronically, through the auction web site." Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity registering to bid must provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement under IC 5-23 from the Secretary of State to the DeKalb County Treasurer. The registration window closes before the sale: for the October 7, 2025 sale it "begins at 8:00 AM local time on August 28, 2025 and closes at 9:00 AM local time on October 07, 2025," and the notice warns that an incomplete registration means no approval to bid.

Sale format and venue
Winning bidders buy a certificate of lien, not a deed. The Treasurer's page explains that "A winning bidder at tax sale is actually buying a certificate of lien on the parcel, which entitles the buyer to request the court to issue a tax deed to the property after a redemption period has expired," and that during redemption the lien buyer has no right to enter the property or alter it. The minimum bid is "the total of all of the delinquencies, the tax sale fee and the current year taxes," and the statutory floor adds $75 for postage and publication plus other county costs directly attributable to the sale. The county calls this "a buyer beware sale" and recommends title company or attorney research before bidding. The eligible-parcel list is published once in local newspapers and posted at www.co.dekalb.in.us, and the notice adds that "A complete property list may be obtained at www.sriservices.com or in an alternative form upon request." The Auditor and Treasurer reserve the right to pull any parcel before or during the sale. Payments on parcels already certified for tax sale cannot be made online and must be certified funds (cash, cashier's check or money order). To pull a parcel before the 2025 sale, payment had to reach the Treasurer at 100 South Main Street, Auburn, IN 46706 by 12:00 PM local time the prior day. One navigation caution: the SRISERVICES.COM link on the Treasurer's TAX SALE page points to a properties.sriservices.com address that no longer resolves; the Auditor's Tax Sale Information page links to https://sriservices.com/properties, which loads. SRI also lists a phone line of 800-800-9588 on the Treasurer's page for tax sale questions.
Register on SRI / ZEUS
Source: Notice of Real Property Tax Sale, DeKalb County Indiana (sale dated October 7, 2025)· Verified Jul 30, 2026

DeKalb County tax sale list and auction calendar

For DeKalb 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 SRI property search (DeKalb County tax sale list) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Registration is handled on the auction platform, not at the courthouse. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    An annual tax sale held in the fall, entirely online. Bidding runs on ZEUS; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use DeKalb County Treasurer's Office, acting jointly with the DeKalb County Auditor's Office. The county contracts SRI Incorporated to conduct the sale, and both the Treasurer and the Auditor direct bidders to SRI. as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in DeKalb County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from SRI property search (DeKalb County tax sale list). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration is handled on the auction platform, not at the courthouse. The county notice states: "If you are interested in participating in this public auction, registration information and the procedures you must follow to bid are available online at https://www.zeusauction.com. In order to participate, you must become a member of the auction web site (www.zeusauction.com). You must read, understand and agree to the rules of sale and payment terms. Once you become a member of the auction web site, you must register for the Dekalb County auction, specifically." Bidders must also "complete IRS Form W-9 and agree to the registration statement described at IC 6-1.1-24-5.3(c) electronically, through the auction web site." Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity registering to bid must provide a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement under IC 5-23 from the Secretary of State to the DeKalb County Treasurer. The registration window closes before the sale: for the October 7, 2025 sale it "begins at 8:00 AM local time on August 28, 2025 and closes at 9:00 AM local time on October 07, 2025," and the notice warns that an incomplete registration means no approval to bid.

  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)

DeKalb County Treasurer's Office

(260) 925-2712

100 S Main St, Courthouse, Auburn, IN 46706

Official website

County notes

  • The sale is conducted entirely as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)10 at www.zeusauction.com. There is no in-person courthouse bidding.
  • The Treasurer is Joni Humbarger; office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • The Auditor's Office (Susan Sleeper, (260) 925-2362, same courthouse address) maintains a Tax Sale Information page that links directly to SRI.
  • Redemption pricing from the county notice: 110% of the minimum bid if redeemed within six months of the sale, or 115% if redeemed later, plus the amount the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid with 5% per annum interest on that overbid, plus subsequent taxes paid by the purchaser with 5% per annum interest. The notice sets the redemption deadline for certificates sold at the October 7, 2025 sale as October 7, 2026.
  • Certificates struck to the county move to a commissioners' certificate sale with much lower minimums. The March 11, 2025 commissioners' notice lists minimum bids of $25.00 per parcel, with redemption at the last tax sale minimum bid plus 10% of the certificate price plus costs and 10% per annum on subsequent taxes.
  • Indiana law bars anyone owing delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest or costs from a prior tax sale in the county from purchasing at the 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb County tax certificate sale?

An annual tax sale held in the fall, entirely online. The county's most recent published notice reads "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, October 07, 2025 / Online - www.zeusauction.com" and states that "The public auction will begin on 10/07/2025 at 10:00 AM local time. The properties in the online auction will commence closing at 02:00 PM local time on 10/07/2025 at www.zeusauction.com. Each property will have its specific closing time posted on the auction web site." The prior year followed the same pattern, opening 10:00 AM local time on October 1, 2024. DeKalb County also runs a separate commissioners' certificate sale in the spring for parcels struck to the county; the most recent notice sets it "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, March 11, 2025" on the same platform. No 2026 sale date is posted on the county site yet, so confirm the current date with the Treasurer or SRI before planning. 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 DeKalb County Treasurer's Office, acting jointly with the DeKalb County Auditor's Office. The county contracts SRI Incorporated to conduct the sale, and both the Treasurer and the Auditor direct bidders to SRI. 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 DeKalb County tax sale list?

DeKalb County posts its tax sale list at sriservices.com. 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 DeKalb County Treasurer's OfficeOpen auction