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Tax Sale Atlas

Fountain County, IN tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Fountain 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 Fountain County, seat of Covington: 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
Mid to late September.
Format
In person
Registration
Bidders register once online at https://sriservices.com/.
County office
(765) 793-6226
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Fountain 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)

In person
Run by
Fountain County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Mid to late September.
Registration
Bidders register once online at https://sriservices.com/.
Sale list
Tax Sale Listing 2025 (county notice and parcel list)
When it runs
Mid to late September. The county's 2025 Notice of Real Property Tax Sale sets the sale "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, Commissioners Room, September 19, 2025" and states that "Such sale will be held on 09/19/2025 at the Commissioners' Room and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale." The county's Tax Sale / Certificate Sale page records that "The 2022 Fountain County Tax Sale was held on September 13, 2022 at 9:00 am in the Commissioners Room." No date for the next sale was posted on the county site as of late July 2026.
Registration and deposit

Bidders register once online at https://sriservices.com/. The county notice states that "This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties. Make sure to bring the completed form with you to each sale." Print the registration form and W-9 from the registration site and bring both on the morning of the sale. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. Arrive at least 30 minutes before the start time to be assured of a bid number before bidding opens. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity that seeks to register to bid must provide the Fountain County Treasurer with a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Indiana Secretary of State.

Sale format and venue
Fountain County holds its annual tax sale as a live, in person public auction in the Commissioners Room at the courthouse rather than on an online bidding platform. SRI Incorporated administers the sale, hosts bidder registration, and publishes the property list; the county notice says "A complete property list may be obtained at www.sriservices.com or in an alternative form upon request." The notice adds one conditional: "At the discretion of local officials, the tax sale may switch to an online format. If those measures are taking place, the public auction will be conducted as an electronic sale under IC 6-1.1-24-2(b)10 at www.zeusauction.com commencing on the same date/time listed above. All location updates will be posted at www.sriservices.com prior to the tax sale." Confirm the format with the Treasurer each year before traveling. The County Auditor and County Treasurer apply jointly for the court judgment ordering the sale and both reserve the right to withhold any parcel listed in error or otherwise ineligible. Redemption costs 110 percent of the minimum bid if redeemed within six months of the sale and 115 percent if redeemed later, plus the amount by which the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid with 5 percent annual interest on that excess, plus any post sale taxes paid by the purchaser. Two links on the county site are stale: the Treasurer menu's Tax Sale entry still points at the retired legacy.sri-taxsale.com address, which no longer resolves, and the Auditor page's Tax Sale FAQ link to help.sriservices.com returns a not found error. Use the county document center and sriservices.com instead. In person at the Fountain County Courthouse Commissioners Room, administered by SRI Incorporated
Source: Fountain County Notice of Real Property Tax Sale (Tax Sale Listing 2025)· Verified Jul 30, 2026

Fountain County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Fountain 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 Tax Sale Listing 2025 (county notice and parcel list) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Bidders register once online at https://sriservices.com/. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Mid to late September. 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.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Fountain County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Fountain County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax Sale Listing 2025 (county notice and parcel list). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidders register once online at https://sriservices.com/. The county notice states that "This registration is good for all counties that SRI services. You need to register only once for all counties. Make sure to bring the completed form with you to each sale." Print the registration form and W-9 from the registration site and bring both on the morning of the sale. Bidders without internet access may register the morning of the sale. Arrive at least 30 minutes before the start time to be assured of a bid number before bidding opens. Under IC 6-1.1-24-5.1, a business entity that seeks to register to bid must provide the Fountain County Treasurer with a Certificate of Existence or Foreign Registration Statement from the Indiana Secretary of State.

  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)

Fountain County Treasurer

(765) 793-6226

Fountain County Courthouse, 301 4th St, Covington, IN 47932

Official website

County notes

  • The Treasurer's duties listed by the county include "investment of funds, conducts annual real estate tax sale, collection of taxes of public employees; the collection of delinquent property taxes and taxes in judgment." The Auditor's duties include tax sales and issuing the tax deed.
  • The county's Tax Sale / Certificate Sale page is filed under the Auditor and was last refreshed for the 2022 sale, so current year specifics come from the Treasurer's published notice and from SRI.
  • The 2025 notice sets the redemption period for certificates sold at that sale to expire Monday, September 21, 2026, and notes that for certificates struck off to the county the period may expire Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
  • Minimum bid amounts are prescribed by law and the notice warns they are subject to change prior to the auction date.
  • The 2025 notice states the county does not warrant the accuracy of the street address or common description of a property, and that a misstatement in the key number or street address does not invalidate an otherwise valid sale.
  • Property tax due dates in Fountain County are May 11 and November 10, with statements mailed no later than the first week of April.
  • Fountain County Auditor Kim Johnson, County Courthouse, 301 4th St, Covington, IN 47932, phone (765) 793-6243. County Treasurer is Tiffany Wells. Both offices are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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 Fountain 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 Fountain County tax certificate sale?

Mid to late September. The county's 2025 Notice of Real Property Tax Sale sets the sale "Beginning 10:00 AM Local Time, Commissioners Room, September 19, 2025" and states that "Such sale will be held on 09/19/2025 at the Commissioners' Room and that sale will continue until all tracts and real property have been offered for sale." The county's Tax Sale / Certificate Sale page records that "The 2022 Fountain County Tax Sale was held on September 13, 2022 at 9:00 am in the Commissioners Room." No date for the next sale was posted on the county site as of late July 2026. The sale is held in person. 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 Fountain County Treasurer 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 Fountain County tax sale list?

Fountain County posts its tax sale list at fountaincounty.net. 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 Fountain County Treasurer