Indiana Tax Sale: Redemption, Deadlines, and the Surplus Fund

An Indiana tax sale does not take your house on the day it happens. What the county sells is a certificate on the tax debt, and Indiana then gives you a defined window to pay that debt off and keep the property. The two things that decide your outcome are which track your parcel is on and how many days are left on it.

Most Indiana owners get the headline right and the details wrong. They hear "one year to redeem," which is true for a regular county tax sale, and never learn that a parcel routed to the county commissioners carries a 120-day clock instead. They also rarely hear the part that matters most after the fact: if the parcel sold for more than the taxes owed, that extra money is theirs to claim, and Indiana gives them three years to do it.

How an Indiana tax sale works

An Indiana tax sale is a county sale of the delinquent tax debt on a parcel, conducted by the county treasurer with the county auditor acting as clerk of the sale (IC 6-1.1-24-5). The purchaser pays the county and receives a certificate of sale. The purchaser does not receive your house, and cannot ask a court for a deed until the redemption period has expired.

Getting on the list is mechanical rather than discretionary. The county treasurer certifies a list of eligible parcels to the county auditor not later than 51 days after the first tax payment due date in a year the county holds a sale, and a parcel qualifies once the delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, fees, or interest due exceed $25, or once costs from a prior tax sale remain unpaid (IC 6-1.1-24-1).

The county auditor then prepares the notice of sale. Indiana requires that notice to state the minimum sale price, the sale date, time, and location, the terms on which the parcel can be redeemed, and a statement that a surplus may be payable to the owner of record (IC 6-1.1-24-2). That last item is written into the statute for a reason, and it is the part of the notice most owners skip.

What "the minimum" actually covers

A parcel cannot be sold for less than a statutory floor. That minimum is the sum of the delinquent taxes and special assessments, the taxes and assessments due in the year of the sale, all penalties on those delinquencies, the county's prescribed costs, unpaid costs from any prior tax sale, and other reasonable expenses of collection including title search expenses, uniform commercial code expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees (IC 6-1.1-24-5). The parcel is offered at public sale and goes to whoever offers the most above that floor.

The purchaser pays the county treasurer immediately (IC 6-1.1-24-7). If nobody takes the parcel at the minimum, the county executive, meaning the board of county commissioners in most Indiana counties, acquires the lien for that minimum amount and the auditor issues the certificate to the county executive with the same rights a purchaser would have (IC 6-1.1-24-6).

The Indiana tax sale timeline, stage by stage

Indiana's process moves through five identifiable stages, and something different is available to the owner at each one. The table below sets out what governs each stage and what you can still do while you are in it.

Read stage 5 as two separate facts. Losing the house and losing the surplus are different events with different deadlines, and an owner who assumes the first one ended everything usually forfeits the second one by default.

How long is the Indiana tax sale redemption period?

The Indiana tax sale redemption period is one year after the date of sale for real property sold at a regular county tax sale (IC 6-1.1-25-4). During that year you remain the owner, and the certificate holder holds a lien rather than the property.

Two shorter periods sit alongside that year. Where the county executive acquires the lien on a parcel that did not sell, the period is 120 days after the date the county executive acquires it. Where the county executive then sells that certificate of sale, the period is 120 days after the date the certificate is sold (IC 6-1.1-25-4). Property sold to a qualified purchasing agency also carries 120 days.

There is also a category with no redemption at all. If a court or hearing authority has determined under IC 36-7-37 that the real property is vacant or abandoned, and prior-year taxes are delinquent, the parcel can be certified to a separate vacant and abandoned property list. The sale notice for those parcels must state that the owner will have no right to redeem after the date of the sale (IC 6-1.1-24-1.5; IC 6-1.1-25-4). For an Indiana owner sitting on an empty inherited house, that is the single most expensive detail in this article.

What redemption costs

Indiana prices redemption as a percentage of the minimum sale price, and the percentage steps up at the six-month mark. Redemption requires 110% of the minimum sale price if the parcel is redeemed not more than six months after the date of sale, or 115% if it is redeemed more than six months but not more than one year after the date of sale (IC 6-1.1-25-2).

Three additions sit on top of that percentage. For sales after June 30, 2014, you owe 5% per year on the amount by which the purchase price exceeded the minimum sale price. You also owe all taxes and special assessments the purchaser paid after the sale, plus 5% per year on those. Finally, where they are properly certified to the county auditor, you owe the holder's attorney's fees, the costs of giving the statutory notices, and the cost of a title search or abstract update (IC 6-1.1-25-2).

Because those additions accrue and because the certified costs are not fixed, do not estimate the figure. Ask the county auditor's office for a written redemption amount and the exact date the period expires, and get it again if you are more than a few weeks out from closing.

County commissioners' sales and the 120-day clock

A county commissioners' certificate sale is what happens to parcels nobody took at the regular tax sale, and it runs on a 120-day redemption period instead of a year. When a parcel is not sold at the minimum, the county executive acquires the lien automatically and the auditor issues the certificate to the county executive (IC 6-1.1-24-6). The commissioners may then offer those certificates for sale at a price that may be less than the statutory minimum (IC 6-1.1-24-6.1).

The redemption math changes too. On this track redemption requires the amount of the minimum sale price for which the parcel was last offered, plus 10% of the amount for which the certificate is sold, plus attorney's fees and the costs of giving notice, plus title search or abstract costs, plus any taxes and special assessments the purchaser paid with 10% interest per year, plus the county's costs of sale and advertising (IC 6-1.1-24-6.1).

Two things make this track dangerous for an owner. The clock is roughly a third as long, and the price the certificate sells for can be well below the tax debt, which means the arithmetic that makes a certificate attractive to a purchaser is exactly the arithmetic that leaves the owner nothing. Notice of the sale is published once each week for three consecutive weeks, with the final advertisement not less than 30 days before the sale date (IC 6-1.1-24-6.1), so the entire window from first notice to expiration can run under six months.

The Indiana tax sale surplus fund and the three-year deadline

When an Indiana parcel sells for more than the tax debt, the extra money goes into a county tax sale surplus fund and the former owner of record can claim it. The county treasurer applies the purchaser's payment first to the delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, and costs, second to other delinquent property taxes on the parcel, and deposits whatever is left into a separate tax sale surplus fund (IC 6-1.1-24-7).

Two classes of people may claim from that fund. A verified claim may be filed by the owner of record of the real property at the time the real property was certified for sale, before the issuance of a tax deed, or by the tax sale purchaser or the purchaser's assignee if the property is redeemed. When the county auditor and the county treasurer approve the claim, the auditor issues a warrant to the claimant for the amount due (IC 6-1.1-24-7).

Now the part that costs Indiana families real money. An amount deposited in the tax sale surplus fund is transferred by the county auditor to the county general fund and may not be disbursed if it is not claimed within the three-year period after the date of its receipt, and a court's authority to direct the auditor to issue a warrant is likewise limited to three years after the date of the tax sale (IC 6-1.1-24-7). Nobody chases you down to hand it over. Doing nothing is how the money is lost.

Tyler v. Hennepin County and why surplus rules matter nationally

In 2023 the US Supreme Court held unanimously that a government keeping surplus equity beyond the tax debt is a taking. In Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023), decided May 25, 2023, Chief Justice Roberts wrote for a 9-0 Court that where a county seized and sold a condominium over roughly $15,000 in tax debt and kept about $25,000 in surplus, the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment did not allow the county to appropriate more than it was owed.

Indiana was not the state at issue, and Indiana already had a statutory surplus-claim mechanism in IC 6-1.1-24-7 before the decision. What Tyler changed is the national framing. Surplus above the debt is treated as the former owner's property, which makes Indiana's three-year claim deadline a procedural step rather than a technicality worth ignoring.

Your options when Indiana property taxes are delinquent

An Indiana owner behind on property taxes has four realistic moves, and which ones are still open depends on how far the county has already gone. The comparison below is a starting point for a conversation with your county auditor, not a substitute for one.

Doing nothing is not on the list because it has the worst arithmetic of the four. A parcel that goes to tax deed leaves the former owner with no house, and if the surplus claim is never filed, no money either.

Selling an Indiana house with back taxes owed

You can generally sell an Indiana house with delinquent property taxes, and you can generally sell it after a tax sale as long as you are still inside the redemption period and no tax deed has issued. Delinquent taxes are a lien on the parcel rather than a bar to conveying it, and during redemption you are still the owner of record. At closing, the title company obtains the payoff or redemption figure from the county, that amount is paid out of the proceeds, and the buyer takes clear title.

The binding constraint is the calendar rather than the lien. A sale only helps if it closes before your redemption period expires, and a financed buyer adds appraisal and underwriting time to that schedule. Indiana's statewide market gives some sense of the pace: the typical Indiana house was valued at $253,628 as of May 2026, up 3.0% year over year (Zillow Home Value Index, May 2026), and statewide median days on market reached 49 in March 2026, up 10 days year over year (Redfin, March 2026).

Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer. We buy houses across Indiana with our own funds, in any condition, and cash transactions can close in as few as 7 days. There are no agent commissions, no closing costs charged to you, and no fees. Propcash is 100% free for sellers, with no repairs, no cleaning, and no cleanout. Our offers are based on local market data, and we will show you how we got to our number.

We will also tell you when a cash sale is not your best move. If the county has not certified your parcel yet, the house shows well, and you have real equity and months of runway, listing with a local agent may net you more, and we will say so and point you to someone local. For city-level detail, see Indianapolis cash buyer options, or our ranked guide to the best ways to sell a house for cash in Indiana.

Or call or text (615) 552-4296 to speak with the decision-maker. Our offer stands, so you can take it to an attorney before you decide.

Tax sale and mortgage foreclosure are two separate clocks

A delinquent tax bill and a missed mortgage payment run on separate timelines under separate statutes, and resolving one does nothing for the other. The tax side is driven by the county treasurer and county auditor under IC 6-1.1-24 and IC 6-1.1-25 and ends in a tax deed. The mortgage side is a judicial proceeding your lender files in court, and it ends at a sheriff's sale. Indiana gives no right of redemption after that sheriff's sale (IC 32-29-7-13), which is a different rule from the tax sale redemption period described above.

Owners facing both need to track both dates independently. Our guide to stopping an Indiana mortgage foreclosure covers the lender-side timeline and the sheriff's sale, and the 2026 Indiana property tax changes explain how the bill itself is calculated. Our Indiana cash home buyer page covers statewide options if a sale is on the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the Indiana tax sale redemption period?

One year from the date of the sale for a parcel sold at a regular county tax sale (IC 6-1.1-25-4). The period is only 120 days when the county executive acquires the lien on a parcel that did not sell, and 120 days from the date the certificate of sale is sold if the commissioners resell it. A parcel placed on the county's vacant and abandoned property list has no right of redemption at all after the sale (IC 6-1.1-24-1.5; IC 6-1.1-25-4).

How much does it cost to redeem a property after an Indiana tax sale?

Redemption costs 110% of the minimum sale price if you redeem within six months of the sale date, or 115% if you redeem more than six months but not more than one year after it (IC 6-1.1-25-2). On top of that you owe 5% per year on the amount by which the sale price exceeded that minimum for sales after June 30, 2014, plus any taxes and special assessments the purchaser paid after the sale with 5% per year, plus properly certified attorney fees, notice costs, and title search costs. Ask your county auditor for a written redemption figure rather than estimating it.

What is the Indiana tax sale surplus fund?

The tax sale surplus fund is a separate county fund that holds the money left over when a parcel sells for more than the tax debt and costs. The county treasurer applies the payment first to the delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, then to other delinquent property taxes, and deposits the remainder into the surplus fund (IC 6-1.1-24-7). That remainder is not the county's money. It belongs to the owner of record at the time the parcel was certified for sale, who can claim it.

How do I claim tax sale surplus money in Indiana?

You file a verified claim with the county auditor. The claim may be filed by the owner of record of the real property at the time it was certified for sale, before a tax deed issues, or by the purchaser or the purchaser's assignee if the property is redeemed (IC 6-1.1-24-7). Once the county auditor and county treasurer approve the claim, the auditor issues a warrant to the claimant for the amount due. Start with the auditor's office in the county where the parcel sits and ask what their claim form requires.

Can I lose my Indiana tax sale surplus by waiting?

Yes. An amount deposited in the tax sale surplus fund is transferred by the county auditor to the county general fund and may not be disbursed if it is not claimed within the three year period after the date of its receipt (IC 6-1.1-24-7). A court's authority to direct the auditor to issue a warrant is likewise limited to three years after the date of the tax sale. After that window closes, the money is gone even though it started out as the former owner's equity.

How soon can a tax sale purchaser get a deed to my Indiana house?

Not until the redemption period has run out, and the purchaser then has a limited window to act. After the redemption period expires, but not later than three months after it expires, the purchaser, an assignee, the county executive, or the purchaser of a certificate of sale may file a verified petition asking the court to direct the county auditor to issue a tax deed (IC 6-1.1-25-4.6). The court is to enter its order not later than 61 days after the petition is filed. A purchaser who misses the notice requirements or the petition window can lose the certificate back to the county executive (IC 6-1.1-25-4.5).

Can I sell my Indiana house if it is already in the tax sale?

Generally yes, as long as you are still inside the redemption period and no tax deed has issued. You keep title during redemption, and a closing can pay the full redemption amount to the county auditor out of the sale proceeds so the certificate is satisfied and the buyer takes clear title. The constraint is the calendar rather than the lien, because the sale has to close before the redemption period ends. Confirm the exact redemption figure and the exact expiration date with the county auditor before signing anything.