El Paso County tax sales, Colorado

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El Paso County moved its annual tax lien sale online to Real Auction, and the Treasurer's tax lien sale page is built around the vendor calendar: deposits, registration and bidding opened in RealAuction on September 30, 2026, with a hard deadline of October 27, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. MST to submit the deposit, enter ACH redemption information and complete the participation acknowledgement, ahead of the October 28, 2026 sale. The Treasurer is plain about what a lien is and is not: the buyer receives a Tax Lien Sale Certificate of Purchase, a recorded lien that earns interest, with no right of possession, and fewer than 1 percent of tax liens result in a deed. The county also runs a standing county held liens program with a published list and a written request process.

Selling office: El Paso County Treasurer

Next sale: Annual Tax Lien Sale, October 28, 2026; completed as of November 9, 2026. The Treasurer's tax lien sale page gives the full 2026 calendar: deposits, registration and bidding opened in RealAuction on September 30, 2026; the deadline to submit the deposit, enter ACH redemption information and complete the required participation acknowledgement was October 27, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. MST; and the Annual Tax Lien Sale was held October 28, 2026, with bidding closing according to the schedule established in RealAuction. The delinquent list ran in the Colorado Springs Gazette on September 16, 23 and 30, 2026. As of November 9, 2026 the 2026 sale is over.

The October 28, 2026 sale is complete, and the Treasurer's tax lien sale page says to check that page for updates on the next event. On the 2026 pattern the next cycle would publish delinquent taxes in the Gazette in September 2027 and open RealAuction registration at the end of September; that is the 2026 pattern, not a published 2027 date.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	Annual Tax Lien Sale, October 28, 2026; completed as of November 9, 2026
The sale	The annual Tax Lien Sale, the last step the county takes to collect unpaid taxes on real property and mobile homes, is held online in Real Auction. The 2026 sale was held October 28, 2026, with bidding closing according to the schedule established in RealAuction. What sells is the tax lien, not the property: the buyer receives a Tax Lien Sale Certificate of Purchase, a recorded lien that earns interest, and no ownership, possession, use, improvement or access rights.
The list	The list of taxes available to purchase at the sale is advertised for three consecutive weeks prior to the sale in the Colorado Springs Gazette. The 2025 delinquent taxes (payable in 2026) publication ran on Wednesday, September 16, September 23 and September 30, 2026. Properties are not removed from the publication if they are paid during the publishing cycles; they are removed from Real Auction as they are paid. Delinquent interest before the sale accrues at 1 percent per month under CRS 39-10-104.5.
Registration	Registration is in RealAuction, and deposits, registration and bidding opened September 30, 2026. All requirements, the deposit, the ACH redemption information and the required participation acknowledgement, had to be completed by October 27, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. MST to participate in the sale. Real Auction offers an online training video library for new and returning bidders, linked from the Treasurer's page at elpaso.coloradotaxsale.com.
Bidding and the certificate	Bidding follows the Colorado premium bidding frame under CRS 39-11-115(1). El Paso County calls the premium a bonus bid: it is the amount paid to obtain the lien, it is not included in the redemption amount, and bonus bids are non-refundable. The premium is credited to the county general fund and earns no interest. The buyer is issued a Tax Lien Sale Certificate of Purchase; the Treasurer's Office prefers to keep all original certificates, and returns of principal come through the redemption process.
Redemption	For the 2026 tax lien sale the annual interest rate is 13 percent, nine percentage points above the federal discount rate in effect on September 1 under CRS 39-12-103, accruing monthly at 1.08 percent from the date of sale until redemption. The redemption period lasts three years from the year of the original tax sale, and the lien may be redeemed by the owner or other legally interested parties at any time before a treasurer's deed is issued. When the owner redeems, the holder receives the amount paid plus interest earned; premium bids are not refunded. Holders are notified by mail in August if their certificates qualify for endorsement of the following year's delinquent taxes at the same rate. After August 1 of the third calendar year following the sale the holder may apply for a treasurer's deed under CRS Article 11.5, which is now a public auction of a certificate of option, not an automatic deed; the county's deed application fee is $1,300, and the county makes no guarantee of the condition or marketability of property acquired through a tax deed.
Unsold liens	If a lien is not sold at the tax lien sale, or the county chooses not to sell it, the lien is held by the county. County held liens may be purchased by submitting a written request to the El Paso County Treasurer's Office, using the published county held list, which is updated as liens are assigned. Parcel numbers beginning with 99000 or 99001 are severed mineral interests.
Format	Online only: RealAuction (Real Auction), at elpaso.coloradotaxsale.com
Selling office	El Paso County Treasurer

Sources: El Paso County Treasurer, Tax Lien Sale. El Paso County Treasurer, What is a Tax Lien?. El Paso County Treasurer, Redemption Interest. El Paso County Treasurer, Treasurer's Deed. El Paso County Treasurer, County Held Tax Liens. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and parcels are pulled up to sale day.

Research El Paso County parcels before you bid

A sale list gives you the parcels, the date, and the opening terms. It does not give you the owner, the value, or the rest of the picture: liens, foreclosure status, and parcel history. PropertyRadar is the data platform for that layer. It carries owner records, assessed and market values, foreclosure and tax data, and property history for parcels across El Paso County, searchable by address, owner, or county, including parcels that never reach a sale list.

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How Colorado tax lien sales work

Unpaid taxes become a lien, and the lien is what sells. Property taxes in Colorado are a lien on the property, and delinquent interest accrues at 1 percent per month under CRS 39-10-104.5. When taxes stay unpaid, the county treasurer publishes the delinquent list once a week for three weeks (39-11-102) and sells the tax lien at the annual sale under Title 39, Article 11. What the buyer receives is a certificate of purchase: a lien position against the property, not the property, not a deed, and no right to enter or use it.
The sale runs every fall, and the statute sets the outer date. The sale must begin no later than the second Monday in December (39-11-109), and each treasurer fixes the day. Counties in this set sell from late October into December, most of them in November. Most of the large counties sell online through a vendor the treasurer names; some still sell in person, and the county page says which.
Bidding is a premium, and the premium is spent money. Under 39-11-115(1) the lien goes to the person who pays the taxes, delinquent interest and fees and bids the largest amount on top of that sum. The excess, the premium, is credited to the county general fund. It earns no interest, and it is not returned if the owner redeems. Competition in Colorado raises the price of the lien without raising its return by a cent.
The rate is fixed by statute, and redemption is the normal exit. The certificate earns the redemption rate in 39-12-103: nine percentage points above the federal discount rate as of September 1, rounded to the nearest whole percent. For the 2026 sale that rate is 13 percent. The owner, or another interested party, may redeem at any time before a treasurer's deed is issued, and the holder may pay later delinquent taxes and endorse them onto the certificate at the same rate. Most certificates end in redemption.
The deed runs through a public auction now. Colorado used to hand the treasurer's deed to the certificate holder on application after three years. That ended July 1, 2024 under HB 24-1056, and SB 26-144 reenacted the replacement process as Article 11.5 effective June 1, 2026. After August 1 of the third calendar year following the sale, the lawful holder applies, and the treasurer auctions a certificate of option for treasurer's deed: the opening bid covers what is owed to the holder plus treasurer fees and costs, any overbid belongs to the former owner, and if no qualifying bid is made and paid, the lawful holder is deemed the option purchaser and the deed issues to that purchaser. Liens nobody buys are struck off to the county and can later be bought by assignment.

How bidding works in El Paso County

Registration is handled in RealAuction, not at the Treasurer's counter. For the 2026 sale, deposits, registration and bidding opened September 30, 2026, and the deposit, ACH redemption information and participation acknowledgement all had to be completed by October 27, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. MST. Questions go to the Treasurer's Office at 719-520-7900.

The premium is the price, and it buys nothing. Every dollar of premium goes to the county general fund the moment the lien sells. A small lien won with a large premium can pay back less than the taxes were worth even at a 13 percent headline rate, because the rate applies only to the certificate amount. Model premium as a fee you pay for the right to earn 13 percent on somebody else's tax bill, because that is what it is.
The certificate is not the property. No possession, no rents, no right to enter, and no deed on application. Since 2024 the deed runs through a public auction where the owner's equity is bid for openly; buyers who need the property itself on a schedule should be reading the deed state pages, not this one.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, El Paso County	A deposit is required in RealAuction by the October 27, 2026 deadline, but the deposit amount or percentage was not published on the Treasurer's pages read for this page as of November 9, 2026, and no deposit figure is claimed here.
Payment, El Paso County	The Treasurer's pages read state the deposit and ACH information deadlines in RealAuction but do not publish a winner payment deadline or payment method for balances after the October 28, 2026 closing; bidding closed according to the schedule established in RealAuction. Redemption payments to holders are made by check, or by ACH if the holder contacts the office at trsweb@elpasoco.com, and include the taxes purchased plus interest accrued from the sale date through the redemption date, with no refund of premium bids.
What is sold	A certificate of purchase: a lien on the property for the delinquent taxes, delinquent interest and fees. Not the property, not a deed, and no right of possession. A deed exists only at the end of the Article 11.5 public auction process, years later, if the owner never redeems.
The bid	The taxes, delinquent interest and fees, plus a premium bid on top. Under CRS 39-11-115(1) the premium is credited to the county general fund: it earns no interest and it is not refunded when the owner redeems. The premium is a cost of winning, never part of the return.
The rate	Fixed by statute, not bid. Under CRS 39-12-103 the rate is nine percentage points above the federal discount rate as of September 1, rounded to the nearest whole percent, effective October 1. For the 2026 sale the rate is 13 percent, and it applies to the taxes and fees in the certificate amount and to subsequent taxes the holder endorses, never to the premium.
Redemption	At any time before a treasurer's deed is issued, through the county treasurer, by paying the certificate amount plus interest at the certificate rate and the statutory fees. The holder of a redeemed certificate is paid by the treasurer; the premium stays with the county.
The deed path	Article 11.5, as reenacted by SB 26-144 effective June 1, 2026. After August 1 of the third calendar year following the sale, the lawful holder may apply for a treasurer's deed; the treasurer auctions a certificate of option for treasurer's deed, with an opening bid of the amount owed to the holder plus treasurer fees and costs, the premium excluded. Any overbid is the former owner's surplus. If no qualifying bid is made and paid, the lawful holder is deemed the option purchaser and the deed issues to that purchaser. County pages state a treasurer's deed is unmarketable title for at least seven years.
Certificate life	A certificate is not perpetual, and the deed window does not open early: the application cannot be made before August 1 of the third calendar year following the sale, and county treasurers state that certificates from sales on or after January 1, 2026 expire seven years after the sale if the deed process is never begun.

Unsold liens: county held certificates

A lien that is not sold at the tax lien sale, or that the county chooses not to sell, is held by the county, and the owner still owes the back taxes, interest and fees until the lien is paid or otherwise resolved. El Paso County publishes a PDF list of county held tax liens, updated as liens are assigned, and a buyer may request to purchase one by submitting a written request to the Treasurer's Office. The Treasurer urges buyers to research the property and visit the site if possible before requesting a county held lien.

Before you bid

Model the premium before the rate. Run the redemption case with your real premium included: certificate amount, plus premium, against 13 percent on the certificate amount alone over the likely redemption window. Liens that only work at a zero premium do not work.
Check whether the sale is already over. Colorado's season is short and most of it lands in a few November weeks. Several sales in this set had already closed before these pages were checked. The treasurer's sale page is the live word on dates, registration, and deposits.
Subsequent taxes are part of the position. A holder can pay later delinquent taxes on the parcel and endorse them onto the certificate at the same rate. Budget for carrying the position across the three year deed window, not just for buying it.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your exit value to the highest certificate amount you can carry, with the premium and costs shown.

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New York tax sales · Florida tax deed sales · Texas tax sales · Pennsylvania tax sales · Georgia tax sales · North Carolina tax foreclosure sales · Ohio tax foreclosure sales · Illinois tax lien sales · Michigan tax foreclosure sales · Arizona tax lien sales · California tax defaulted property sales · South Carolina tax sales