The tax sale is held each November, in the JTK County Administration Building, 421 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, Illinois.
A list of delinquent parcels will be published in local newspapers in November. An electronically transmitted tax sale list of the delinquent parcels will be available for purchase by registered buyers at a cost of $250. Information contained on the tax sale list includes the permanent parcel number, the assessee name, the delinquent tax amount and the state equalized value. Purchase of the list is not a requirement for attending the tax sale. The tax sale list provided to the taxbuyers is for the sole purpose of the delinquent property tax sale. Use of this information for any other purpose is strictly prohibited. The County Treasurer reserves the right to deny sale of the list to any taxbuyer.
State law requires that bidders be registered at least 10 business days prior to the start of the sale. Registration forms are available in October to interested taxbuyers and can be obtained online or in our office. A person must attend the sale in order to bid. Payment of purchases (delinquent taxes + interest + costs of $104.00 per parcel) must be made by cash or cashier’s check only.
The bid represents the rate of interest that would be earned by the taxbuyer on the purchase amount during each six months of the redemption period, if the owner redeems the sale. By law, the maximum interest rate bid is 18%. The sale is to the person who bids the lowest percentage of interest. In the last several years the average successful bids ranged from 0% to 3%.
After the tax sale, the taxbuyer is issued a certificate of purchase, which represents a lien on the property. The property owner has a 2 to 2 ½ year redemption period, depending on property classification. If the tax lien is not redeemed by the owner, the taxbuyer must petition the circuit court for a tax deed, after first fulfilling all of the legal requirements. The taxbuyer may also pay all unpaid taxes for the next two subsequent years at a specified time and record the payments against the sale. See Subsequent Tax Payment Information.
The legal requirements to purchase at the tax sale and procedures that must be followed to obtain a tax deed are outlined in the Illinois Compiled Statutes Chapter 35, Act 200, Article 21, available at public libraries or on the internet at www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs.asp. Knowledge regarding procedures and statutory requirements is the taxbuyer’s responsibility.
In cases where there are no bidders on a parcel, the County, as Trustee for all taxing bodies, becomes the buyer at 18%. The County’s certificates are available for purchase by taxbuyers in the amount that the County paid, along with the 18%. Please direct inquiries concerning purchasing County certificates to the DuPage County Clerk. There are no forfeitures (unsold parcels) available after the sale for over-the-counter purchases.
The actual tax sale dates, deadlines and more specific information are available on our tax sale instructions page or by contacting our office at 630-407-5900.
