Denver County, CO
Online lien auction on denver.coloradotaxsale.com — batches close Nov 2–4, deposits due Oct 26
The City and County of Denver sells its unpaid 2025 real estate taxes as tax liens in an internet auction at denver.coloradotaxsale.com. Registration, deposits and pre-bids open October 12, 2026, and registration and deposits close at 2:00 p.m. on October 26 — no one can register or deposit after that. The liens are grouped into batches that close one hour apart, from 8:00 a.m. on November 2 until noon on November 4. Each lien opens at its face value (the unpaid taxes, interest, penalties and fees), bids go up in $1 steps, and a tie is settled at random by the auction site. Every bidder deposits 10% of the total they expect to win, by electronic transfer; if a deposit drops below 10% of the liens already won plus active bids, the remaining bids aren't accepted. Winning bids are collected by ACH debit no later than 2:00 p.m. on November 5, and the Treasurer can bar a buyer who doesn't pay from its tax lien sales for up to five years (C.R.S. 39-11-116).
What you buy is a treasurer's certificate of purchase, not the property. The rate isn't bid: Denver adds nine points to the September 1 Federal Reserve discount rate, which was 3.75% this year, so certificates sold in November 2026 earn 13% a year, accruing at 1.08333% a month. When the owner redeems, Denver pays back the certificate amount — tax, interest, advertising and fees — plus that interest; a premium bid on top is not part of the redemption. After July 1 each year a holder can pay the next year's unpaid taxes and have them endorsed onto the certificate at the same rate. If nobody redeems, the earliest you can apply for a public auction of a certificate of option for treasurer's deed is three years after the sale — November 2029 for this year's liens — with a $2,500 application deposit. The unpaid list ran in The Denver Post on September 11, 18 and 25, and owners can still pay without redemption interest until 3:30 p.m. on Friday, October 30.
Colorado rules at a glance
Colorado's rate is nine points above the federal discount rate, set each September 1 by the State Bank Commissioner (C.R.S. 39-12-103): 13% for liens sold from October 1, 2026. Bidders compete on a premium that goes to the county and earns no interest (C.R.S. 39-11-115). From August 1 of the third calendar year after the sale the holder can apply for a treasurer's deed, which now means a public auction (C.R.S. art. 11.5); the owner can redeem until seven days before it.
The statute, the bidding and what goes wrong for new buyers are on the Colorado page; every sale date we have sourced for Denver County is on the Denver County page.
Property & tax profile
The median homeowner in Denver County pays $2,751 a year in property tax — above the Colorado median of $2,602 (U.S.: $3,119). That is roughly what a typical home here owes after one missed year — about the face value of a one-year certificate, before interest, fees and any premium. Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $2,791; homes owned outright, $2,652.
On a home with a mortgage, the lender has its own reason to pay a delinquent tax bill: the tax lien outranks the mortgage, and a tax deed can wipe out the loan. On a home owned outright, nobody but the owner — or the heirs — has that reason. In Denver County, 26.6% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (Colorado: 30.6%, U.S.: 39.4%). That is less than the state as a whole: more of the delinquent bills here sit on mortgaged homes, where the lender often steps in.
6.7% of all housing units in Denver County are vacant. The figure that matters for a lien buyer is the Census “other vacant” category — not for rent, not for sale, not a holiday home, but a catch-all that includes foreclosures, homes held up by legal proceedings or family reasons, homes needing repairs, and abandoned ones. Here it is 1.9% of all units (Colorado: 1.7%, U.S.: 3.6%). Close to the state rate.
Half of the homes in Denver County were built in or before 1975 (Colorado: in or before 1988) — an older stock than the state's, which matters if a certificate ever turns into a deed: older roofs, wiring and plumbing. The typical tax bill is 2.9% of the median household income of $94,718 (Colorado: 2.7%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25077, B25103, B25081, B25002, B25004, B25035, B19013) — see the figures on data.census.gov. Survey estimates with margins of error; anything too uncertain to state is left out.
Before you bid: Public workstations are open at the Treasury Division, 201 West Colfax Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays while the auction runs, and city and county employees and their families can't bid. The lien list goes up on the auction site on October 12 — research each parcel there, and confirm deposit and payment details with Denver's Taxpayer Service Unit at (720) 913-9300.
Official source: denvergov.org — checked October 4, 2026
More sales: 38 other county sales are on the calendar in November 2026 — see them by date; or the upcoming sales in Colorado.
This page reflects publicly posted county auction notices as of publication and is general information, not financial or legal advice. Sale details can change — always confirm current terms with the county directly.