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Tax Sale Atlas

Lyon County, IA tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Lyon 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 Lyon County, seat of Rock Rapids: 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
Register online at www.iowataxauction.com.
County office
(712) 472-8500
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Lyon 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
Lyon County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Registration
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
Lyon County notice of tax sale and delinquent real estate tax list (PDF)
When it runs
The Treasurer's page headlines the sale as "TAX SALE - MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2026", matching Iowa's third Monday in June. The published notice states the sale is held in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Lyon County Courthouse "beginning at 9:00 a.m." with bids placed online, organized into one batch "closing at 10:00 a.m." The same page lists the 2026 payoff cutoffs: delinquent taxes paid by 4:30 pm on May 28, 2026 avoided newspaper publication, payment by 4:30 pm on June 12, 2026 kept a parcel out of the sale, and online payment ran through June 11, 2026. Parcels left unsold roll into an adjourned tax sale that the Treasurer runs in the office, not online, each business day after the annual sale until everything is sold.
Registration and deposit

Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The Treasurer's notice states that no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted, and that every step must be finished by 11:59 p.m. on the registration deadline (the published window ran from mid May to the Thursday before the sale). Registration requires a non-refundable registration fee paid by e-check, set at $40.00 in the published notice, plus an electronically completed W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older on 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 statement of trade name on file with the Lyon County Recorder. Bidding is Iowa's percentage bid down: each parcel opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and bids move in whole percentage points from 99 percent down to 1 percent, with ties broken by a random selection process. Registered bidders get access to the parcel data on the auction site once the published list posts. Auction site support is listed at (877) 243-9997 or support@iowataxauction.com. Bidding at the in-office adjourned sale is separate: the notice requires a registration form with a $25.00 fee plus a W-9, and the Treasurer's page tells anyone not already registered for the online sale to contact the office first.

Sale format and venue
Lyon County runs its annual certificate sale online through Iowa Tax Auction, the Zeus Auction platform, while the Treasurer conducts it from the courthouse office. The delinquent list is published in the Lyon County Reporter the week of the first Monday in June and posts to the Treasurer's page and the auction site in early June; the county page notes the current year's list is not online until that date. Winning bidders are invoiced at close and an ACH debit pulls the total from the account used for the registration fee. The amount due covers delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee for each certificate purchased. A returned payment gives the bidder three business days to repay with guaranteed funds or the certificate is canceled, plus a $30.00 service fee. Certificates take roughly 7 to 15 days to arrive. Assignment of a certificate carries a $100.00 assignment transaction fee that cannot be added to the redemption amount. On timing to deed, the notice separates a regular tax sale parcel, where the 90 day notice of right of redemption may issue after one year and nine months, from a public bidder parcel advertised two years and flagged with an asterisk on the list, where the 90 day notice may issue after nine months. If the holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 within three years of the sale, the Treasurer cancels the certificate. One caution: the link the county labels for the current year's terms serves the prior year's notice PDF, so the fee amounts and registration window dates in it are the prior year's figures. Confirm the current fee, window, and sale date with the Treasurer's office before registering.
Register on SRI / ZEUS
Source: Lyon County Treasurer homepage, Iowa County Treasurers portal· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Lyon County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Lyon 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 Lyon County notice of tax sale and delinquent real estate tax list (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    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 Lyon County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Lyon County notice of tax sale and delinquent real estate tax list (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The Treasurer's notice states that no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted, and that every step must be finished by 11:59 p.m. on the registration deadline (the published window ran from mid May to the Thursday before the sale). Registration requires a non-refundable registration fee paid by e-check, set at $40.00 in the published notice, plus an electronically completed W-9. Bidders must be 18 or older on 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 statement of trade name on file with the Lyon County Recorder. Bidding is Iowa's percentage bid down: each parcel opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and bids move in whole percentage points from 99 percent down to 1 percent, with ties broken by a random selection process. Registered bidders get access to the parcel data on the auction site once the published list posts. Auction site support is listed at (877) 243-9997 or support@iowataxauction.com. Bidding at the in-office adjourned sale is separate: the notice requires a registration form with a $25.00 fee plus a W-9, and the Treasurer's page tells anyone not already registered for the online sale to contact the office first.

  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)

Lyon County Treasurer

(712) 472-8500

Lyon County Courthouse, 206 S. 2nd Ave., Ste. 106 and Ste. 107, Rock Rapids, IA 51246

Official website

County notes

  • Lyon County's Treasurer does not maintain a working standalone county website. The office's official web presence is its county homepage on the statewide Iowa County Treasurers portal, which carries the tax sale dates, the sale terms PDF, and the parcel lists.
  • Two ways to buy exist here. The annual June sale is online only through Iowa Tax Auction. The adjourned sale that follows is in person at the Treasurer's office and runs each business day until every remaining parcel sells, and the county posts a separate adjourned tax sale listing for it.
  • The Treasurer's page links Beacon (Schneider Geospatial) for Lyon County parcel and assessor detail, which is the practical way to check a parcel before bidding.
  • Office detail from the Treasurer's page: tax line (712) 472-8500, fax (712) 472-2829, Treasurer Stacy Knobloch, tax office hours 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.

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 Lyon 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 Lyon County tax certificate sale?

The Treasurer's page headlines the sale as "TAX SALE - MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2026", matching Iowa's third Monday in June. The published notice states the sale is held in the Treasurer's Office on the first floor of the Lyon County Courthouse "beginning at 9:00 a.m." with bids placed online, organized into one batch "closing at 10:00 a.m." The same page lists the 2026 payoff cutoffs: delinquent taxes paid by 4:30 pm on May 28, 2026 avoided newspaper publication, payment by 4:30 pm on June 12, 2026 kept a parcel out of the sale, and online payment ran through June 11, 2026. Parcels left unsold roll into an adjourned tax sale that the Treasurer runs in the office, not online, each business day after the annual sale until everything is sold. 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 Lyon County hold tax deed sales?

Lyon 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 Lyon County tax sale list?

Lyon County posts its tax sale list at iowatreasurers.org. 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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