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Tax Sale Atlas

Howard County, IA tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Howard 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 Howard County, seat of Cresco: 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
Bidders register online at www.iowataxauction.com.
County office
563-547-9211
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Howard 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
Howard County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Registration
Bidders register online at www.iowataxauction.com.
Next expected
on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Tax sale parcel list on Iowa Tax Auction (registered bidders)
When it runs
The county treasurer states that "The Annual Tax Sale is held the third Monday in June at 10:00 a.m. with an adjourned sale scheduled for the third Monday of each subsequent month." The 2026 notice sets the sale for Monday, June 15, 2026: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Howard County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's Office on the 2nd floor of the Howard County Courthouse, 137 N Elm St Cresco, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding opens at 9:00 a.m. and the sale closes at 10:00 a.m. An adjourned sale is held on any business day following the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available.
Registration and deposit

Bidders register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The 2026 notice states that "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted" and that "Registration will begin on Monday, May 18, 2026, 12:01 a.m. and end Thursday, June 11, 2026," with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11, 2026. Registration requires a non-refundable $40.00 fee paid by ACH debit and a completed online W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. An entity bidder needs a federal tax identification 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 Howard County Recorder. Auction site support is listed as (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com.

Sale format and venue
Bids are placed online through the Iowa Tax Auction platform even though the sale itself is conducted in the Treasurer's Office on the 2nd floor of the Howard County Courthouse in Cresco. Bidding is a bid-down of the undivided percentage interest: every parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and "Bid downs will range 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 notice states "Howard County will not be utilizing batches." Bids may be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until the sale opens. Winning bidders are invoiced at close and the total due is drawn by ACH debit from the account used for the registration fee; the total includes delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Redemption interest runs at 2% per month. Certificate assignment carries a $100.00 transaction fee and a Treasurer's Tax Sale Deed costs $25.00 per parcel. Subsequent tax payments must be made online through the subsequent tax payment module at www.iowatreasurers.org, at $0.25 per parcel; payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and left out of the redemption calculation. The delinquent tax list is published the week of June 3, 2026 in the Times Plain Dealer, 214 N Elm St, Cresco. Parcels on the published list are also posted for review on the auction site by Friday, May 29, 2026, but registration must be completed first to reach that data, so there is no public pre-sale parcel list on the county website. The Treasurer's own web page describes the sale schedule but does not link the notice or the auction platform; the notice document is hosted on the auction site.
Register on SRI / ZEUS
Source: Howard County Treasurer, Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers of the Terms and Conditions Governing the Annual Tax Sale of June 15, 2026· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Howard County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Howard 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 parcel list on Iowa Tax Auction (registered bidders) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Bidders register online at www.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 Howard County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax sale parcel list on Iowa Tax Auction (registered bidders). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidders register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The 2026 notice states that "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted" and that "Registration will begin on Monday, May 18, 2026, 12:01 a.m. and end Thursday, June 11, 2026," with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11, 2026. Registration requires a non-refundable $40.00 fee paid by ACH debit and a completed online W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. An entity bidder needs a federal tax identification 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 Howard County Recorder. Auction site support is listed as (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com.

  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)

Howard County Treasurer

563-547-9211

Howard County Courthouse, 137 North Elm Street, Cresco, IA 52136

Official website

County notes

  • The Treasurer is Christine Hron. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the office fax is 563-547-9217.
  • Parcels advertised twice are flagged with an asterisk on the published list and sell as public bidder tax sales, where the 90-day notice of right of redemption may be issued nine months after the sale instead of the regular one year and nine months.
  • If a certificate holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code section 447.12 within three years of the sale, the Treasurer cancels the certificate.
  • Certificates are typically mailed 7 to 15 days after the sale while the office posts records and balances proceeds.

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 Howard 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 Howard County tax certificate sale?

The county treasurer states that "The Annual Tax Sale is held the third Monday in June at 10:00 a.m. with an adjourned sale scheduled for the third Monday of each subsequent month." The 2026 notice sets the sale for Monday, June 15, 2026: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Howard County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's Office on the 2nd floor of the Howard County Courthouse, 137 N Elm St Cresco, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding opens at 9:00 a.m. and the sale closes at 10:00 a.m. An adjourned sale is held on any business day following the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available. 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 Howard County hold tax deed sales?

Howard 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 Howard County tax sale list?

Howard County posts its tax sale list at iowataxauction.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 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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

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