Marion County, IN

Marion County, which covers Indianapolis, holds its 2026 online tax lien sale from Tuesday, October 13 through Friday, October 16, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, on GovEase. The non-profit portion, under the county's nonprofit tax lien sale program, goes first, followed by the regular sale. Bidder registration opened July 22 and closes Wednesday, October 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET, and bidders in the regular sale need a $2,500 deposit. First-time bidders are approved for the amount they request with acceptable evidence of credit from a bank; without it, the limit is $100,000 for an individual and $250,000 for a company. The auction runs as a continuous flow, parcel by parcel in item-number order, grouped by township — Center, Decatur, Franklin, Lawrence, Perry, Pike, Warren, Washington and Wayne, then unsold parcels — with no break between townships, and the county emails registered bidders each time it moves to the next one.

The minimum bid on each parcel is all the taxes, penalties and special assessments due plus administrative costs, and bidding continues in increments above it. Purchases are charged to your account as you win; the county's page gives 4:30 p.m. on October 13 as the deadline to satisfy your account, with a penalty of 25% of the bid if you don't, and all sales are final. What you buy is a tax lien, not the house. If the owner repays, you're reimbursed for any later taxes, penalties or assessments you paid, with 5% a year interest — and under Indiana law the redemption also includes 110% or 115% of the minimum bid, depending on timing, plus 5% a year on any overbid (IC 6-1.1-25-2). If the owner doesn't repay within one year of the sale, you can apply for a tax deed: you pay the delinquent taxes then due, and the Auditor's Office handles the title search, the notices and the petition to the court. The buyer's lien expires three months after the redemption period ends unless the certificate is presented to the auditor within that window.