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Tax Sale Atlas

Winneshiek County, IA tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Winneshiek 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 Winneshiek County, seat of Decorah: 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
County site
Registration
Register online at iowataxauction.com.
County office
563-382-3753
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Winneshiek 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)

Online auction
Run by
Winneshiek County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual tax sale in mid-June.
Registration
Register online at iowataxauction.com.
Next expected
on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Tax sale parcel list on the auction site
When it runs
Annual tax sale in mid-June. The county's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Winneshiek County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office of the Winneshiek County Courthouse, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. the same morning. An adjourned tax sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available. The prior year's sale ran Monday, June 16, 2025, so the pattern is the third Monday-ish of June.
Registration and deposit

Register online at iowataxauction.com. The notice states "No mailed or emailed registrations will be 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. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete a W-9 electronically by the registration deadline. All 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 (515-281-5204) or a verified statement of trade name on file with the Winneshiek County Recorder (563-382-3486). Auction site support is (800) 800-9588 or support@iowataxauction.com.

Sale format and venue
Bidding is bid-down ownership interest. Each parcel opens 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 low bid are settled by random selection. Winneshiek County does not use bidding batches. Bids can be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until it opens at 9:00 a.m. The delinquent tax list is published the week of June 1 in the Decorah Leader (110 Washington Street, Suite 4, Decorah, IA 52101, 563-382-4221), and the same parcels are posted on the auction site by that Monday; registration must be complete to view the parcel data. Winning bidders receive an invoice at close and the total is drawn by automatic 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. Allow 7 to 15 days for certificates to issue. Subsequent taxes must be paid through the subsequent tax payment module at iowatreasurers.org at $0.25 per parcel; online payments made outside that module are treated as voluntary and are omitted from the redemption calculation. Certificate assignments carry a $100.00 transaction fee, and a Treasurer's tax sale deed costs $25.00 per parcel.
Register on Online auction
Source: Winneshiek County Treasurer, Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers of the Terms and Conditions Governing the Annual Tax Sale of June 15, 2026· Verified Jul 29, 2026

Winneshiek County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Winneshiek 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 Tax sale parcel list on the auction site for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Register online at iowataxauction.com. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Iowa holds no tax deed auction. Bidding runs on County site; 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 Winneshiek County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax sale parcel list on the auction site. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Register online at iowataxauction.com. The notice states "No mailed or emailed registrations will be 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. Bidders pay a non-refundable $40.00 registration fee by ACH debit and complete a W-9 electronically by the registration deadline. All 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 (515-281-5204) or a verified statement of trade name on file with the Winneshiek County Recorder (563-382-3486). Auction site 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)

Winneshiek County Treasurer

563-382-3753

201 W. Main Street, Decorah, IA 52101

Official website

County notes

  • The Treasurer publishes a Notice to Tax Sale Purchasers each year on the Iowa State County Treasurers Association site rather than on the county website. The 2026 edition governs certificates sold between June 15, 2026 and June 20, 2027, so expect a fresh notice each spring.
  • The Treasurer's page on the county website lists contact details, hours (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) and payment options but carries no tax sale section, which makes the annual notice the operative county sale document.
  • Redemption timing splits by parcel type. Regular tax sale parcels (advertised once) allow the 90 day notice of right of redemption after one year and nine months from the sale. Public bidder parcels (advertised two years, flagged with an asterisk on the published list) allow it after nine months.
  • If the certificate holder has not filed an affidavit of service under Iowa Code 447.12 within three years of the sale, the Treasurer cancels the certificate. The certificate, the $25.00 deed issuance fee and recording fees are due within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires.
  • Contact for the office is Treasurer Timothy N. Smock; email treasurer@co.winneshiek.ia.us, fax 563-387-4083.

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 Winneshiek 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 Winneshiek County tax certificate sale?

Annual tax sale in mid-June. The county's 2026 notice states: "The 2026 annual Tax Sale will be held by the Winneshiek County Treasurer on Monday, June 15, 2026, in the Treasurer's office of the Winneshiek County Courthouse, beginning at 9:00 a.m." Bidding closes at 10:30 a.m. the same morning. An adjourned tax sale is held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain available. The prior year's sale ran Monday, June 16, 2025, so the pattern is the third Monday-ish of June. 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 Winneshiek County hold tax deed sales?

Winneshiek 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 Winneshiek County tax sale list?

Winneshiek 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 Winneshiek County TreasurerOpen auction