Story County, IA tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Story 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 Story County, seat of Nevada: 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
- (515) 382-7330
On this page
How Story 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
- Story County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual tax sale held in mid-June.
- Registration
- Register online at www.iowataxauction.com.
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. For 2026, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026, and all steps had to be completed by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Mailed and emailed registrations are not accepted. Registration requires a non-refundable $36.00 fee paid by ACH debit and an electronically completed 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 on file with the Story County Recorder. Auction site support is listed at (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com.
Sale format and venue
Story County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Story 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 Story County Treasurer tax sale page (annual memo, terms and conditions, and sale notice) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Iowa holds no tax deed auction. Bidding runs on ZEUS; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.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 Story County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Story County Treasurer tax sale page (annual memo, terms and conditions, and sale notice). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. For 2026, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026, and all steps had to be completed by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Mailed and emailed registrations are not accepted. Registration requires a non-refundable $36.00 fee paid by ACH debit and an electronically completed 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 on file with the Story County Recorder. Auction site support is listed at (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com.
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
- The Story County delinquent tax list is published the week of June 1 in the Ames Tribune, 317 5th St., Ames, IA 50010. For the 2026 sale, parcels on the published list were also posted for review on the auction site and the county website on Friday, May 29, but bidders must finish registration before they can access the data.
- Story County requires subsequent tax payments on a held certificate to be made online at www.iowatreasurers.org, using the Login option under the Tax Sale menu. A non-refundable fee of $0.25 per parcel applies, and the county states it is not responsible for a certificate holder failing to access or correctly submit subsequent payments.
- Redemption interest is 2% per month on the amount for which the parcel sold, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month. Subsequent taxes paid by the certificate holder accrue the same 2% per month.
- Redemption notice timing differs by sale type. For a regular tax sale parcel, the 90-day Notice of Right of Redemption may be issued after one year and nine months from the sale date. For a public bidder tax sale parcel, advertised for two years and marked with an asterisk on the published list, the notice may be issued nine months from the sale date.
- If three years pass from the tax sale and the holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code section 447.12, the Treasurer cancels the certificate. Electronic submission of the affidavit of service is not accepted.
- A Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel. The certificate of purchase, the deed issuance fee, and recording fees must reach the Treasurer within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires or the certificate is canceled.
- Certificates are assignable by endorsement and entry in the county system, with a $100.00 assignment transaction fee that is not added to the redemption amount. The Treasurer's office holds the original certificates and emails copies within roughly 7 to 15 days.
- The Treasurer's office also lists fax (515) 382-7336 and email Treasurer@storycountyiowa.gov on its tax sale notice. The county administration building main line is (515) 382-6581.
- The county FAQ page can be confusing on this point: it routes general sale questions to the Sheriff's Office, but that refers to sheriff's foreclosure sales, not the annual tax lien certificate sale, which the Treasurer runs.
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 Story County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Story County tax certificate sale?
How often does Story County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Story 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.
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