Annual Tax Sale

Tax Buying Procedures for Henry County

1. Register with our office within 10 days of the scheduled Tax Sale.

  • Registration fee of $250 is paid at this time. This goes towards the purchase of your first $250 in taxes. This is non-refundable if you do not attend the sale. You can also purchase the list of delinquent taxes for $100; this is emailed only and is updated frequently up until the day of the sale.  Henry County has adopted a Single Bidder Rule Ordinance on May 19, 2022 effective immediately.  It follows the new statute 35 ILCS 200/21-205 (b-5).  Please be advised that the County Treasurer requires an affidavit to be signed by each registered buyer attesting to compliance with the single bidder rule.  Any questions may be directed to the County Treasurer's office at (309) 937-3576.
  • Access the Single Bidder Ordinance and Single Bidder Affidavit
  • Access the Bidder Registration form (PDF), which can be filled out and mailed to the Henry County Treasurer's office at: 
    • 307 W Center Street
      Cambridge, IL 61238

2. The Day of Sale

  • You must be present to bid. Henry County utilizes either the R.A.M.S or R.A.M.S 2 sale. R.A.M.S bidding is done electronically and on a key pad. The keypad represents the interest rate you want to pay for those taxes. R.A.M.S. 2 is done by presenting your bids on a flash drive and those are then uploaded. Each process awards the lowest interest rate the taxes. If using R.A.M.S 2 and there is more than one bid at the lowest, the system randomly chooses which buyer. Any questions regarding the sale, please contact our office.
  • You must pay for all taxes and fees you purchased before leaving the building after the sale.

3. After the Sale

  • The County Clerk's office handles all delinquent taxes once the sale is complete. The Clerk's office will send the winner tax buyer the tax certificates.  

Interest is calculated the day of the sale and the amount is good for 6 months. After 6 months and 1 day, interest is calculated again.

  • If a tax buyer has purchased a prior year of taxes on a property, that tax buyer will have the opportunity to purchase the following years taxes (subsequent tax) first. These can be purchased after the second installment of taxes has become due and the Treasurer's office has completed entering all payments made by the 2nd installment due date. The interest is automatically calculated at 12%.

It is the tax buyer's responsibility to  insure your purchase stays legal.

You must consult an attorney for all legal matters and questions.