Skip to content
Tax Sale Atlas

Scott County, IA tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Scott 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 Scott County, seat of Davenport: 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
Online registration only.
County office
563-326-8670
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Scott 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)

In person
Run by
Scott County Treasurer's Office
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual tax sale in June.
Registration
Online registration only.
Next expected
on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Scott County Treasurer tax sale lists and annual tax sale rules
When it runs
Annual tax sale in June. The county's 2026 rules state: "The tax sale will be held at 8:30 am on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Scott County Board Room at the Scott County Administrative Center located at 600 W. 4th Street, Davenport, Iowa." The rules add that if the sale is not completed on Monday, June 15th, it continues at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, June 16th in the Scott County Board Room. Two adjourned tax sales follow in the Scott County Treasurer's Office on August 5, 2026 and October 7, 2026. Reports of delinquent parcels are available as of May 20, 2026, and delinquent taxes are published May 27, 2026 in the Quad City Times.
Registration and deposit

Online registration only. The 2026 rules state: "Registration for the tax sale shall be processed online at www.iowatreasurers.org. Only online registrations will be accepted. Registrations will start May 8, 2026 through June 7, 2026." Investors must register prior to June 8, 2026. Each bidder number costs a $35.00 registration fee, paid online at the time of registration and non-refundable, with one bidder number per Tax I.D. Number. A Tax I.D. Number is required. All bidders and authorized agents must be 18 or older as of June 15, 2026 and must be ready to show valid proof of age and identity on entering the board room or at any point during the sale. Anyone bidding under a federal tax identification number must self-certify a Certificate of Existence from the Iowa Secretary of State, or a trade name meeting Iowa Code Chapter 547 on file with the county recorder.

Sale format and venue
Scott County runs a live, in-person tax sale with an auctioneer rather than an online auction. Registration and subsequent tax payments happen online, but the bidding itself takes place in the Board Room. Parcels are offered in item number order: regular certificates first by district and then alphabetically by deed holder, then public bidder sale certificates, then any city-certified abandoned parcels as a Public Nuisance Sale, and finally mobile homes. When more than one buyer wants the same parcel, the county uses a bid-down process on the percentage ownership interest taken in the property, moving from 95% to 90% to 80% and onward, with a random selection among bidders tied at the same percentage. The alternative method is a random number selection among all bidder numbers at one hundred percent. The winning buyer still pays the full tax amount plus a $20 tax sale certificate fee, and a redemption returns the original investment plus 2% per month. Full payment is due at the conclusion of the sale, or when the buyer leaves if that is earlier, by personal check, money order, or guaranteed funds for the exact amount. Cash, debit cards, credit cards, and two-party checks are not accepted, and IRA checks are accepted only if issued for the exact purchase amount. Certificates can take up to 15 days to arrive. Failure to pay at the conclusion of the sale cancels the purchase and sends the item to the next adjourned sale, and non-payment in Scott County or any other Iowa county bans that bidder from future Iowa tax sales. Subsequent taxes are paid online at iowatreasurers.org at twenty-five cents per parcel, starting one month and fourteen days after an installment becomes delinquent. Assignment of a certificate costs $100.00, deed issuance costs $25.00 plus a variable recording fee. A regular tax sale certificate holder may issue the 90-day Notice of Expiration of Right of Redemption after one year and nine months; a public bidder sale certificate holder may issue it nine months from the date of sale. The Treasurer cancels the sale if the holder has not completed deed-qualifying action within three years. Caution: a number of Iowa counties bid through the statewide iowataxauction.com platform, but Scott County's own published rules describe a live sale in the Board Room and never reference that platform, so confirm the format with the Treasurer's Office before assuming online bidding is available here. In person at the Scott County Board Room, Scott County Administrative Center, 600 W. 4th Street, Davenport. Bidder registration is handled online.
Source: Scott County Basic Rules of the Annual Tax Sale, revised 2/18/2026 (Scott County Treasurer)· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Scott County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Scott 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 Scott County Treasurer tax sale lists and annual tax sale rules for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Online registration only. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. 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.

  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 Scott County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Scott County Treasurer tax sale lists and annual tax sale rules. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Online registration only. The 2026 rules state: "Registration for the tax sale shall be processed online at www.iowatreasurers.org. Only online registrations will be accepted. Registrations will start May 8, 2026 through June 7, 2026." Investors must register prior to June 8, 2026. Each bidder number costs a $35.00 registration fee, paid online at the time of registration and non-refundable, with one bidder number per Tax I.D. Number. A Tax I.D. Number is required. All bidders and authorized agents must be 18 or older as of June 15, 2026 and must be ready to show valid proof of age and identity on entering the board room or at any point during the sale. Anyone bidding under a federal tax identification number must self-certify a Certificate of Existence from the Iowa Secretary of State, or a trade name meeting Iowa Code Chapter 547 on file with the county recorder.

  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)

Scott County Treasurer's Office

563-326-8670

Scott County Administrative Center, 600 W. 4th Street, Davenport, IA 52801

Official website

County notes

  • Scott County's seat is Davenport, and the tax sale is held in the Scott County Board Room at the Scott County Administrative Center, 600 W. 4th Street, Davenport.
  • The Treasurer is Tony Knobbe. The Property Tax Division line, 563-326-8670, is the number the tax sale rules give for tax sale questions; the Motor Vehicle Division line is 563-326-8664.
  • The Treasurer's tax sale page posts dated parcel lists as Excel files in the run-up to the sale, and the list shrinks as owners pay. The 2026 page carried lists dated May 20, May 27, June 2, June 8 and June 16.
  • The Treasurer's tax sale page states that properties left unsold after two consecutive years move to the County Planning and Development Department's Tax Deed Program.
  • The 90-day notice of right of redemption and notice of cost may be filed electronically by scanning documents to treasurer@scottcountyiowa.gov with a subject line in the form 90-day notice (Certificate #).
  • The county website lists the Treasurer's ZIP as 52801-1003 while the tax sale rules letterhead shows 52801-1030, so the ZIP+4 is left off the recorded address.

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 Scott 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 Scott County tax certificate sale?

Annual tax sale in June. The county's 2026 rules state: "The tax sale will be held at 8:30 am on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Scott County Board Room at the Scott County Administrative Center located at 600 W. 4th Street, Davenport, Iowa." The rules add that if the sale is not completed on Monday, June 15th, it continues at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, June 16th in the Scott County Board Room. Two adjourned tax sales follow in the Scott County Treasurer's Office on August 5, 2026 and October 7, 2026. Reports of delinquent parcels are available as of May 20, 2026, and delinquent taxes are published May 27, 2026 in the Quad City Times. The sale is held in person. Always confirm the exact date with the County Treasurer before the sale.

How often does Scott County hold tax deed sales?

Scott 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 Scott County tax sale list?

Scott County posts its tax sale list at scottcountyiowa.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.

More Iowa counties

Browse all 99 Iowa counties

Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Iowa tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Scott County Treasurer's Office