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Tax Sale Atlas

Webster County, IA tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Webster 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 Webster County, seat of Fort Dodge: 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
515-576-4611
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Webster 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
Webster County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual, 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
Treasurer tax sale page with the published sale list and the purchaser notice
When it runs
Annual, in June. The county page states "The 2026 Webster County Tax Sale will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2026" and that "The Sale will be held at the Webster County Courthouse and bidders shall place their bids online. Bidders need not be present at the courthouse." The treasurer's purchaser notice adds that the sale closes at 11:30 a.m. the same morning and that "An adjourned tax sale will be held 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 treasurer's notice states no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and ended Thursday, June 11, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11. Each bidder pays a non-refundable $56.00 registration fee by ACH debit and completes an 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 statement of trade name on file with the Webster County Recorder. Platform registration and bidding support is (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com.

Sale format and venue
Webster County sells tax certificates online through Iowa Tax Auction, the Zeus Auction Program platform at www.iowataxauction.com, even though the sale is legally held on the first floor of the Webster County Courthouse at 701 Central Ave, Fort Dodge. Bidding is a bid down on undivided interest: each parcel opens at a 100 percent undivided interest and bid downs run in whole percentage points from 99 percent to 1 percent, with ties settled by a random selection process. The county does not use batches, and parcels are offered in published order. Bids can be uploaded before the sale but do not apply until the sale opens at 8:00 a.m. Winning bidders receive an invoice at close, and an ACH debit for the total pulls automatically from the account designated for registration fees. The total covers delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, special assessment collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20.00 certificate fee per certificate. Webster County retains the original certificate in the office and charges a $100.00 assignment transaction fee, which is not added to the redemption amount. Subsequent taxes must be paid online at iowatreasurers.org through the Login item on the Tax Sale menu, at a non-refundable $0.25 per parcel.
Register on SRI / ZEUS
Source: Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers of the Terms and Conditions Governing the Annual Tax Sale of June 15, 2026, Webster County Treasurer· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Webster County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Webster 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 Treasurer tax sale page with the published sale list and the purchaser notice 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 Webster County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Treasurer tax sale page with the published sale list and the purchaser notice. 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 no mailed or emailed registrations are accepted. For the 2026 sale, registration opened Monday, May 18, 2026 and ended Thursday, June 11, 2026, with all steps completed by 11:59 p.m. on June 11. Each bidder pays a non-refundable $56.00 registration fee by ACH debit and completes an 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 statement of trade name on file with the Webster County Recorder. Platform registration and bidding support is (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)

Webster County Treasurer

515-576-4611

Webster County Courthouse, 701 Central Ave, Fort Dodge, IA 50501

Official website

County notes

  • Bidding is online only through Iowa Tax Auction. The sale itself is held at the Webster County Courthouse, but the treasurer states bidders need not attend in person.
  • The 2026 delinquent tax list was published the week of May 25 in The Messenger News, Fort Dodge. Parcels became viewable on the auction site by May 30, and the treasurer requires a completed registration before the parcel data can be accessed.
  • The treasurer's tax sale page sits at a legacy URL ending in tax_sale_2018.php but carries the current year's notice, dates, and sale list. Check that page each spring rather than assuming the file name reflects the sale year.
  • The county department page lists the treasurer's phone as 515-576-4611, while the tax sale purchaser notice letterhead lists a direct line of (515) 573-2731. Both are published by the county.
  • Webster County splits parcels between regular tax sale and public bidder tax sale. The 90 day Notice of Right of Redemption may be issued after one year and nine months on regular tax sale parcels, and after nine months on public bidder parcels, which are advertised for two years and marked with an asterisk on the published list.
  • Redemption interest runs at 2 percent per month against the amount for which the parcel sold, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month. Subsequent tax payments earn the same 2 percent per month once reported to the treasurer.

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 Webster 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 Webster County tax certificate sale?

Annual, in June. The county page states "The 2026 Webster County Tax Sale will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2026" and that "The Sale will be held at the Webster County Courthouse and bidders shall place their bids online. Bidders need not be present at the courthouse." The treasurer's purchaser notice adds that the sale closes at 11:30 a.m. the same morning and that "An adjourned tax sale will be held 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 Webster County hold tax deed sales?

Webster 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 Webster County tax sale list?

Webster County posts its tax sale list at webstercountyia.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.

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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 Webster County TreasurerOpen auction