Decatur County, IA tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Decatur County, IA tax sale, one of 2,553 counties in 30 states. Iowa sells tax lien certificates paying up to 24%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Jul 29, 2026.
How tax lien sales work in Decatur County, seat of Leon: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Iowa tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Iowa holds no tax deed auction.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Paper pre-registration filed with the treasurer, not online.
- County office
- 641-446-4321
On this page
How Decatur County sells delinquent taxes
From lien to deed
Iowa holds no separate tax deed auction. The county treasurer makes out a deed for each parcel sold and unredeemed immediately after 90 days have expired from the date of completed service of the notice of expiration of the right of redemption, once the holder returns the certificate of purchase and pays the deed and recording fees.
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Decatur County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- will then be adjourned daily, until May 31, 2027.
- Registration
- Paper pre-registration filed with the treasurer, not online.
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
- Sale list
- 2026 published delinquent tax list
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Paper pre-registration filed with the treasurer, not online. The 2026 packet states: "Registration must be completed and filed by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. There is a $20.00 registration fee, which must accompany the registration documents." The fee is nonrefundable, applies per bidder and per authorized bidder, and covers the June sale plus all adjourned sales that year. Three forms must be completed: the Bidder Registration Form, signed for each tax sale year, a W-9 so the county can issue an accurate 1099-INT, and an Authorization to Represent Bidder form if an agent will bid. One authorized agent may represent a bidder. Registration forms go to Janet Pierson, Decatur County Treasurer, 207 N Main, Leon, IA 50144. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date and may be asked for proof of age. A bidder that is not an individual needs a federal tax ID number plus either a designation of agent for service of process on file with the Iowa Secretary of State or a verified statement from the county Recorder. Pre-registered bidders collect a bidder card at the sale location between 8:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Bidding is a bid-down of undivided interest: each parcel opens at 100 percent undivided interest and active bidders bid down in whole percentage points from 99 percent to 1 percent, ties are settled by random drawing, and the drawn bidder must immediately announce "Sold" or "Pass".
Sale format and venue
Decatur County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Decatur 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.
Get the advertised list
Use 2026 published delinquent tax list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Iowa holds no tax deed auction. 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 County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Decatur County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from 2026 published delinquent tax list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Paper pre-registration filed with the treasurer, not online. The 2026 packet states: "Registration must be completed and filed by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. There is a $20.00 registration fee, which must accompany the registration documents." The fee is nonrefundable, applies per bidder and per authorized bidder, and covers the June sale plus all adjourned sales that year. Three forms must be completed: the Bidder Registration Form, signed for each tax sale year, a W-9 so the county can issue an accurate 1099-INT, and an Authorization to Represent Bidder form if an agent will bid. One authorized agent may represent a bidder. Registration forms go to Janet Pierson, Decatur County Treasurer, 207 N Main, Leon, IA 50144. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date and may be asked for proof of age. A bidder that is not an individual needs a federal tax ID number plus either a designation of agent for service of process on file with the Iowa Secretary of State or a verified statement from the county Recorder. Pre-registered bidders collect a bidder card at the sale location between 8:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Bidding is a bid-down of undivided interest: each parcel opens at 100 percent undivided interest and active bidders bid down in whole percentage points from 99 percent to 1 percent, ties are settled by random drawing, and the drawn bidder must immediately announce "Sold" or "Pass".
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Iowa due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.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 certificates
Two routes reach parcels after the June sale. Parcels that remain unsold for want of bidders are carried to adjourned sales, which the treasurer sets at intervals of not more than two months until the next annual sale. Separately, certificates struck to the county at the public bidder sale may be assigned by the county for the total amount due on the date of assignment, or for a compromised amount, under a written agreement filed with the treasurer and a 10 dollar assignment transaction fee. Ask the county treasurer which county-held certificates are available for assignment.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Iowa 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
- Janet Pierson is the Decatur County Treasurer and took office January 1, 2019. The office sits on the second floor of the courthouse, with the accessible entrance on the north side of the building.
- Property tax and motor vehicle counter hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The office fax is 641-446-7159 and the treasurer's email is dec-tre@grm.net.
- The treasurer's page lists www.decaturcountyiowa.gov as the county government website. That site sits behind a security filter that blocked automated retrieval during this check, so it was not read directly.
- Bidder registration, the W-9, and the published delinquent list are posted as downloadable documents on the treasurer's page in the Iowa State County Treasurers Association portal. Fresh documents appear each spring ahead of the June sale.
Iowa rules
- Minimum return
- No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the share of ownership taken at the sale
- Redemption
- A parcel may be redeemed at any time before the right of redemption expires. After one year and nine months from the date of sale, the certificate holder may serve a notice of expiration of the right of redemption on the person in possession, the person in whose name the parcel is taxed, and every mortgagee, contract vendor, recorded lessor, and other party of record. The right of redemption then ends 90 days after that service is complete, which means the affidavit of service has been filed with the county treasurer. Three shortened tracks exist: nine months from a public bidder sale under section 446.18, and three months from an abandoned-property or public nuisance sale under section 446.19A or 446.19B. After the treasurer delivers the deed, redemption is possible only through an equitable action in district court, and only by a person who could have redeemed during the 90-day window.
- Surplus proceeds
- No surplus arises. The deed conveys the parcel to the certificate holder rather than selling it to the highest bidder, so there are no excess proceeds to distribute. Where the winning bid was less than 100 percent, the deed conveys only that undivided percentage interest in the parcel.
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 Decatur County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Decatur County tax certificate sale?
How often does Decatur County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Decatur County tax sale list?
Verified Jul 29, 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.
Browse all 99 Iowa counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.