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Morgan County

Colorado · Upcoming sale ·

Sale dateNovember 12, 2026
Sale typelien
PlatformZeus Auction (online, one day, 8am–5pm)
Colorado rate / penalty13% for 2026 (discount rate + 9), premium bidding

Morgan County, Colorado holds its 2026 real estate tax lien sale online on Thursday, November 12, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Zeus Auction. Registration closes the day before at 5:00 p.m., and everyone must register again even if they bought last year. The Zeus listing showed 185 liens on October 16. Liens pay 13%, and the Treasurer is candid that very few ever go to deed.

One day, and registration the day before

Registration opened at 8:00 a.m. on October 11 and closes at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11. The auction runs on Thursday, November 12, opening at 8:00 a.m. and closing at 5:00 p.m. (the county's sheet gives both times in Mountain Daylight Time). It is held on zeusauction.com; SRI answers at 1-800-800-9588.

Every potential bidder must register before the auction opens, even if registered last year. Registration is online and includes the IRS W-9. The county encourages registering early to leave time for research.

The full delinquent real estate tax list is advertised in The Morgan County Times on October 8, 15 and 22, 2026. The updated list is on the auction website and on the Treasurer's tax lien sale page.

How premium bidding works here

Morgan describes the auction as a competition on the premium: the amount bid over and above the tax lien being offered. The minimum premium bid is $1.00, and when several investors want the same lien, the highest premium wins. Successful premium bids are not refunded, and the redemption payment never includes them.

So the premium is a cost. A $1,000 lien bought at face value and redeemed after a year returns $1,130. Pay a $130 premium for it and the same redemption only gets your money back; pay more and you lose money unless the owner takes years to redeem. Set your maximum before the sale.

The sale is open to any registered bidder, except Morgan County employees and their immediate families.

Payment, and a five-year ban for non-payment

High bidders are notified by email at the end of the auction, and results stay on the site for at least five days. Payment is drawn by ACH from the account you supplied at registration, the only method accepted, and the debit starts as soon as practical after the close. The money has to be there immediately after the auction.

If a payment is rejected, the corresponding bids can be cancelled, and under C.R.S. 39-11-116 the Treasurer may bar a bidder who fails to pay from Morgan County sales for up to five years.

Taxes not sold at the auction are held by the county and are normally available afterwards from the Treasurer's office.

Rate, endorsements and redemption

The interest rate is nine points above the Federal Reserve discount rate on September 1, and it stays fixed for the life of the certificate. For certificates sold in 2026 it is 13% (C.R.S. 39-12-103).

After the sale you receive a list or copies of your liens; the original certificates stay in the Treasurer's office. If later years' taxes go delinquent, Morgan notifies lienholders in July and offers the chance to pay and endorse them onto the certificate, at the same rate.

When a lien is redeemed, a check is sent for the lien plus interest from the month of sale to the month of redemption. Each year the county sends a Form 1099 for the redemption interest paid, with a copy to the IRS.

What the Treasurer wants you to understand

You buy a property tax lien, not property rights. Most properties sold at the sale have a three-year redemption period, and during that time the property still belongs to the assessed owner. In the Treasurer's words, most investors take part because the interest rates are attractive, and very few liens actually go to deed. The county makes no guarantees about the properties and suggests a financial advisor.

If you do hold a lien past three years, the deed route changed in 2026. Under Senate Bill 26-144 a deed application leads to a public auction rather than a deed directly to the lienholder (C.R.S. title 39, article 11.5), and a lien issued from 2026 is cancelled seven years after issue unless an application is pending (C.R.S. 39-11-148).

Three ways people lose money here

  1. 1. Counting on last year's registration

    Morgan requires everyone to register again for 2026, by November 11 at 5:00 p.m.

  2. 2. Overpaying premiums

    Premiums are never refunded and earn nothing. Bid in $1 steps, not round hundreds.

  3. 3. Missing the ACH

    Non-payment can bar you from Morgan sales for up to five years.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-16.

County snapshot

Population (2024)30,300
Change since 2020+4.2%
Net migration (2024)+378

Morgan County has grown 4.2% since 2020 and still shows positive net migration (378 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, Morgan County is the 20th 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, 378 came from people moving in and 115 from births outnumbering deaths.

Counties of similar size in Colorado with a sale on our calendar: Delta County, Routt County, Park 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$338,600
Median tax / year$1,751
Tax / home value0.5%
Owned outright38.9%
“Other vacant”1.0%
Median year built1975

The median homeowner in Morgan County pays $1,751 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 $1,940; homes owned outright, $1,500.

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 Morgan County, 38.9% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (Colorado: 30.6%, U.S.: 39.4%). That is more than the state as a whole, so a larger share of the delinquent bills here have no lender behind them.

6.2% of all housing units in Morgan 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 1.0% of all units (Colorado: 1.7%, U.S.: 3.6%). That is below the state rate: fewer empty properties on the list than elsewhere in Colorado.

Half of the homes in Morgan 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 2.4% of the median household income of $73,278 (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

185 liens. Everyone re-registers by Nov 11 at 5pm.

View official source ↗

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Quick answers

When is the Morgan County tax sale?+

The Morgan County, Colorado tax sale is scheduled for November 12, 2026, hosted via Zeus Auction (online, one day, 8am–5pm).

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

Morgan County has grown 4.2% since 2020 and still shows positive net migration (378 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: 30,300. 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 Morgan County?+

The median homeowner in Morgan County pays $1,751 a year, about 0.5% of the median home value of $338,600 (Colorado: 0.5%). Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $1,940, homes owned outright $1,500. 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?+

Morgan 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 Morgan County?+

Morgan 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 Morgan 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.