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Gilpin County

Colorado · Upcoming sale ·

Sale dateNovember 17, 2026
Sale typelien
PlatformZeus Auction (online, Nov 17–19)
Colorado rate / penalty13% for 2026 (discount rate + 9), premium bidding

Gilpin County, Colorado sells its tax liens online over three days, Tuesday, November 17 to Thursday, November 19, 2026, on Zeus Auction. Registration closes Monday, November 16 at 5:00 p.m. MST, and the Zeus listing marks this sale as requiring approval. On October 16 it showed 174 liens. Certificates pay 13%; a deed application, three years on, needs a $1,500 deposit.

Dates

The auction site opened for registration and research on October 13 at zeusauction.com. Registration closes Monday, November 16 at 5:00 p.m. MST, with no exceptions. Bidding opens Tuesday, November 17 at 8:00 a.m. MST and the auction closes Thursday, November 19 at 5:00 p.m. MST. No tax payments are accepted while the sale is running.

The delinquent list is published for three consecutive weeks from October 15 in the Weekly Register-Call, with no deletions, and from October 15 it is also on the county website for research, updated periodically. Liens nobody buys are struck off to the county and can be bought from the Treasurer's office after December 1.

The Treasurer may change the method of sale at its discretion, so recheck the listing in the week before.

Registration and bidding

There is no deposit. You register online with SRI; only bidders with a U.S. taxpayer ID can take part, and every document must match the name tied to that number, because the W-9, the certificates, the redemption checks and refunds are all prepared from it. The Zeus listing shows Gilpin's sale as approval required, so leave time before November 16.

Bidding opens at the taxes, interest, advertising and fees due. Anything above is a bonus, or premium. The bonus is not returned when the property is redeemed and earns no interest. The highest bidder gets a Tax Lien Certificate of Purchase: a lien, with no right of possession, use, improvement or access.

Gilpin County employees and officials, their immediate families and agents cannot buy liens (C.R.S. 39-11-151).

Paying and getting paid

Payment is by ACH only, from the account you registered, starting after midnight at the close of the sale or as soon as practical after that. A rejected payment can cancel your bids (C.R.S. 39-11-116), and a high bidder who does not pay is barred from future auctions on the site. All successful bids are final.

The certificate pays nine points over the September 1 federal discount rate (C.R.S. 39-12-103), which the county states as 13% for the 2026 auction; a wrongfully sold lien pays two points over the discount rate, at least 8%. When a lien is redeemed, the Treasurer mails a check, and redemptions of liens from this sale will not be processed until after December 1, 2026.

The county keeps the original certificate and gives you a copy. Keep your mailing address current with the Treasurer; that is where redemption checks go. A certificate can be assigned by notarized affidavit or the assignment on its face, and the Treasurer must be told.

Endorsements, and an exception for bankruptcy

If the owner does not pay later years' taxes before August 1, you are mailed an Endorsement Eligibility Statement and can pay them; they are endorsed onto your certificate at the original rate. With several lienholders on one parcel, the first payment received is applied, and the owner can still pay the current taxes first.

Gilpin's rules add a caution other counties phrase differently: if the property is in bankruptcy, subsequent taxes may not be endorsed. Call the Treasurer's office before trying.

The deed, and the lien's life

A Treasurer's Deed may be applied for three years after the auction if the property is still unredeemed, and Gilpin's deposit for that is currently $1,500.

The county's information sheet says a lien is valid for 15 years from issue. That was the rule for older liens. Under Senate Bill 26-144, liens issued from January 1, 2026 expire seven years after issue unless a deed application is pending (C.R.S. 39-11-148), and a deed application now leads to a public auction rather than a deed straight to the lienholder (C.R.S. title 39, article 11.5). Plan on seven years for a lien bought this November, and confirm with the Treasurer.

Three ways people lose money here

  1. 1. Relying on the 15-year figure

    Liens issued from 2026 are cancelled after seven years unless a deed application is pending.

  2. 2. Expecting ACH redemptions

    Gilpin mails checks, and none from this sale before December 1.

  3. 3. Endorsing during a bankruptcy

    Subsequent taxes may not be endorsed on a property in bankruptcy; call first.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-16.

County snapshot

Population (2024)5,963
Change since 2020+2.5%
Net migration (2024)+49

Gilpin County has grown 2.5% since 2020 and still shows positive net migration (49 people in 2024). Demand for housing usually means owners redeem rather than walk away — good for the interest, less good if you were hoping to take the deed.

By population, Gilpin County is the 47th largest of Colorado's 64 counties. It has grown faster than the state average (+1.9% across Colorado), so competition at the auction is likely to be heavier here than in the quieter counties. Of the 2024 change, 49 came from people moving in and 8 from deaths outnumbering births.

Counties of similar size in Colorado with a sale on our calendar: Ouray County, Clear Creek County, Gunnison County. Useful if this county's sale has already closed and you want the next comparable one.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Census population estimates. Population figures are estimates, not a count.

Property & tax profile

Median home value$573,900
Median tax / year$1,310
Tax / home value0.2%
Owned outright24.0%
“Other vacant”3.4%
Median year built1984

The median homeowner in Gilpin County pays $1,310 a year in property tax — below 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 $1,290; homes owned outright, $1,346.

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 Gilpin County, 24.0% 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.

16.7% of all housing units in Gilpin County are vacant. 8.6% of all units are seasonal or vacation homes, empty by design rather than abandoned. 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 3.4% of all units (Colorado: 1.7%, U.S.: 3.6%). That is above the state rate, so expect more empty properties on the delinquent list: the ones least likely to redeem, and the most likely to need work if the deed ends up yours. Drive by before you bid.

Half of the homes in Gilpin County were built in or before 1984 (Colorado: in or before 1988). The typical tax bill is 1.4% of the median household income of $95,361 (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.

Note

174 liens. Registration closes Nov 16 at 5pm MST.

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Quick answers

When is the Gilpin County tax sale?+

The Gilpin County, Colorado tax sale is scheduled for November 17, 2026, hosted via Zeus Auction (online, Nov 17–19).

Is Gilpin County a good county to buy tax liens in?+

Gilpin County has grown 2.5% since 2020 and still shows positive net migration (49 people in 2024). Demand for housing usually means owners redeem rather than walk away — good for the interest, less good if you were hoping to take the deed. Population in 2024: 5,963. These are U.S. Census Bureau estimates, not a recommendation — the county's own delinquency and redemption history matters more, and only the Colorado treasurer publishes that.

How much is the property tax in Gilpin County?+

The median homeowner in Gilpin County pays $1,310 a year, about 0.2% of the median home value of $573,900 (Colorado: 0.5%). Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $1,290, homes owned outright $1,346. These are U.S. Census Bureau survey estimates (American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates); the exact bill for a parcel depends on its assessed value and local rates, and the county tax collector has it.

What type of sale is it?+

Gilpin County holds a tax lien sale. Colorado's statewide system: tax lien certificate. What the buyer earns: 13% for 2026 (discount rate + 9), premium bidding.

What's the redemption period in Gilpin County?+

Gilpin County follows Colorado's statewide redemption period: 3+ years.

Other Colorado sales near this date

Every Colorado page →

Other sales in November 2026

All November 2026 sales →

Want the full statutory picture for Colorado, not just Gilpin County? Read the Colorado state page for the rate, redemption period, and every other county we've sourced, or compare it with tax lien interest rates in every state. If a past sale left money over, how surplus funds are claimed in Colorado.

Before you bid: how to research a tax sale property, what a tax lien or deed really costs and the risks investors run.

See every other scheduled sale on the full auction calendar, every sale in November 2026, the upcoming Colorado sales, or sign up for deal alerts to hear about new Colorado dates as soon as we add them.

This page is general information, not financial or legal advice. Auction dates get postponed, cancelled, or rescheduled — always confirm against the official source above before showing up or bidding. Verified 2026-10-16.