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Tax Sale Atlas

Van Buren County, IA tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, seat of Keosauqua: 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
(319) 293-3110
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Van Buren 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
Van Buren County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Held annually in 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)
Sale list
Delinquent tax list and tax sale parcels
When it runs
Held annually in June. The county notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Van Buren Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the County Supervisors' Board Room on the second floor of the Van Buren County Courthouse, 400 Dodge St., Keosauqua, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. that same morning. The notice adds that "An adjourned tax sale will be held on any business day following the annual tax sale in which there are bidders present and there are parcels still available for sale."
Registration and deposit

Register online at www.iowataxauction.com. The notice states that "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. and closed Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9 by the registration deadline. All bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. Entity bidders need a federal tax identification number plus either a designation of agent for service of process on file with the Iowa Secretary of State (515-281-5204) or a verified statement of trade name on file with the Van Buren County Recorder (319-293-3240). Registration and auction site support is available at (877) 243-9997 or support@iowataxauction.com.

Sale format and venue
The Treasurer conducts the sale from the Courthouse board room, but the notice is explicit that "Bidders will place their bids online" through www.iowataxauction.com. Bidding follows the Iowa bid-down of ownership interest: each parcel is offered starting at a 100% undivided interest and bids step down in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%, with the certificate awarded to the bidder designating the smallest percentage. Ties at the lowest percentage are settled by a random selection process. Van Buren County does not use batches, and parcels are offered in published order. Bids may be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until it opens. Winning bidders are invoiced at the close of the sale and the total is drawn automatically by ACH debit from the account used for the registration fee, covering delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Certificates take about 7 to 15 days to arrive. Assigning a certificate carries a $100.00 assignment transaction fee that cannot be added to the redemption amount. Subsequent taxes must be paid through the online subsequent tax payment module at www.iowatreasurers.org at $0.25 per parcel; the notice warns that payments made any other way online will be treated as voluntary and omitted from redemption calculations. A dishonored payment must be replaced with guaranteed funds within three business days or the certificate is canceled, and a $30.00 service fee applies to returned payments.
Register on SRI / ZEUS
Source: Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers of the Terms and Conditions Governing the Annual Tax Sale of June 15, 2026, Van Buren County Treasurer (linked from the Treasurer page)· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Van Buren County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Van Buren 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 Delinquent tax list and tax sale parcels 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 Van Buren County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent tax list and tax sale parcels. 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 notice states that "No mailed or emailed registrations will be accepted." For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. and closed Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete an online W-9 by the registration deadline. All bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. Entity bidders need a federal tax identification number plus either a designation of agent for service of process on file with the Iowa Secretary of State (515-281-5204) or a verified statement of trade name on file with the Van Buren County Recorder (319-293-3240). Registration and auction site support is available at (877) 243-9997 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)

Van Buren County Treasurer

(319) 293-3110

404 Dodge St., P.O. Box 473, Keosauqua, IA 52565

Official website

County notes

  • The delinquent tax list is published in the Van Buren County Register (106 Van Buren St, Keosauqua, IA 52565, 319-293-3197). For the 2026 sale it was published the week of May 25.
  • Parcels were scheduled to be viewable on the auction site by Friday, May 30, 2026, but the notice states you must complete registration before you can access the parcel data.
  • Parcels flagged with an asterisk on the published list are public bidder tax sale parcels. Their 90-day notice of right of redemption may be issued nine months after the sale, versus one year and nine months for a regular tax sale parcel.
  • 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.
  • The Treasurer's office is at 404 Dodge St. and the sale room is in the Courthouse at 400 Dodge St. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax is (319) 293-3828. Treasurer: Linda Whitten.
  • A tax sale purchaser should not already hold an interest or lien in a parcel offered for sale; the notice warns that a certificate or Treasurer's Deed can be set aside by the courts if the purchaser was ineligible to bid.

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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren County tax certificate sale?

Held annually in June. The county notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Van Buren Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the County Supervisors' Board Room on the second floor of the Van Buren County Courthouse, 400 Dodge St., Keosauqua, Iowa, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. that same morning. The notice adds that "An adjourned tax sale will be held on any business day following the annual tax sale in which there are bidders present and there are parcels still available for sale." 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 Van Buren County hold tax deed sales?

Van Buren 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 Van Buren County tax sale list?

Van Buren 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.

Iowa tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Van Buren County TreasurerOpen auction