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Tax Sale Atlas

Des Moines County, IA tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Des Moines 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 Des Moines County, seat of Burlington: 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
ZEUS
Registration
All bidder registration and bidding is done online at iowataxauction.com.
County office
(319) 753-8252
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Des Moines 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)

SRI / ZEUS
Run by
Des Moines County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual sale on the third Monday in June.
Registration
All bidder registration and bidding is done online at iowataxauction.com.
Next expected
on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Notice of Tax Sale and delinquent parcel list (PDF)
When it runs
Annual sale on the third Monday in June. The county's 2026 terms state: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Des Moines County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Supervisors' Board Room on the second floor of the Des Moines County Courthouse, 513 N. Main St., Burlington, Iowa beginning at 9:00 a.m. Bidders will place their bids online." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. Adjourned sales are held on the third Monday in August, October, December, February and April at 10:00 a.m. in the Treasurer's office when bidders are present and parcels remain available, with the February adjourned sale moved to the third Tuesday because of a Monday holiday.
Registration and deposit

All bidder registration and bidding is done online at iowataxauction.com. For the 2026 sale the county states registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and closed Wednesday, June 10, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 10, 2026. Mailed and emailed registrations are not accepted. Bidders pay a non-refundable $36.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. An entity bidder 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 trade-name statement on file with the Des Moines County Recorder. Registration and auction-site support is offered at (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com. To bid at a later adjourned sale you must be registered and notify the Treasurer in writing of your intent to attend by 4:00 p.m. on the Friday 10 days before that sale.

Sale format and venue
Bidding is bid-down-ownership-interest, not bid-down-interest-rate. Every parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and bids step down in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%; the certificate goes to the bidder naming the smallest percentage, and ties are broken by random selection. The county states it will not be using batches. Winning bidders receive an invoice at close and the total is drawn automatically by ACH debit from the account used to pay the registration fee, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. A returned payment carries a $30.00 service fee and three business days to cure before the certificate is cancelled. Redemption accrues interest at 2% per month, counting each partial month as a whole month. The 90-day notice of right of redemption may be issued 1 year and 9 months after a regular tax sale, or 9 months after a public bidder sale (parcels advertised two years, marked with an asterisk on the published list). Certificates are cancelled if no affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 is filed within three years. A Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel, and certificate assignments cost $100.00 each. Subsequent taxes may be paid in the office or online through iowatreasurers.org, with a $0.25 per parcel fee; payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and omitted from the redemption calculation. The delinquent list is published the week of June 1 in The Hawk Eye newspaper in Burlington, and parcels were posted for review on the auction site by June 2, 2026. One caution: the Treasurer's Tax Department web page describes the annual sale generically as the third Monday in June at 10:00 a.m., while the signed 2026 notice and terms both give a 9:00 a.m. start, so confirm the start time against the current year's notice.
Register on SRI / ZEUS
Source: Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers of the Terms and Conditions Governing the Annual Tax Sale of June 15, 2026 (county-hosted)· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Des Moines County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Des Moines 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 Notice of Tax Sale and delinquent parcel list (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    All bidder registration and bidding is done online at iowataxauction.com. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Iowa holds no tax deed auction. 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 County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Des Moines County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Notice of Tax Sale and delinquent parcel list (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    All bidder registration and bidding is done online at iowataxauction.com. For the 2026 sale the county states registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and closed Wednesday, June 10, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 10, 2026. Mailed and emailed registrations are not accepted. Bidders pay a non-refundable $36.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. An entity bidder 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 trade-name statement on file with the Des Moines County Recorder. Registration and auction-site support is offered at (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com. To bid at a later adjourned sale you must be registered and notify the Treasurer in writing of your intent to attend by 4:00 p.m. on the Friday 10 days before that sale.

  3. 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.

  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

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)

Des Moines County Treasurer's Office

(319) 753-8252

513 N. Main Street, Suite 13, P.O. Box 248, Burlington, IA 52601

Official website

County notes

  • Des Moines County runs a single annual tax lien certificate sale under Iowa Code Chapter 446, held at the courthouse in Burlington but bid entirely online through iowataxauction.com.
  • The bid-down is on ownership percentage, from 100% down to 1%, rather than on the interest rate. Redemption interest is fixed at 2% per month regardless of the winning bid.
  • Parcels left unsold roll into adjourned sales on the third Monday of August, October, December, February and April at 10:00 a.m. in the Treasurer's office, which is the county's route for picking up leftover certificates.
  • Payment is automatic. The county ACH-debits the winning total from the bank account used for the $36.00 registration fee, so bidders should fund that account before the sale closes.
  • The Treasurer for the 2026 sale is Janelle Nalley-Londquist. The Property Tax Department reaches (319) 753-8252 and dmctax@dmcounty.com; the office fax is (319) 753-8729.

Iowa rules

Max interest rate
24% per year, fixed by statute (not bid down)
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.
Governing statute
Iowa Code Chapter 446

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 Iowarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Des Moines County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?

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

When is the Des Moines County tax certificate sale?

Annual sale on the third Monday in June. The county's 2026 terms state: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Des Moines County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Supervisors' Board Room on the second floor of the Des Moines County Courthouse, 513 N. Main St., Burlington, Iowa beginning at 9:00 a.m. Bidders will place their bids online." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. Adjourned sales are held on the third Monday in August, October, December, February and April at 10:00 a.m. in the Treasurer's office when bidders are present and parcels remain available, with the February adjourned sale moved to the third Tuesday because of a Monday holiday. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

How often does Des Moines County hold tax deed sales?

Des Moines County holds its tax deed sale none. Iowa holds no tax deed auction. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

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

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Iowa's redemption rule: 1 year 9 months from the sale before the notice of expiration can be served, then 90 days after service is complete. Call the 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 Des Moines County tax sale list?

Des Moines County posts its tax sale list at desmoinescounty.iowa.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 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.

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