Indiana Tax Sale Redemption Period: Deadlines, Costs, and Notice

The Indiana tax sale redemption period is one year from the date of the sale in most cases, and paying within that window means handing the county treasurer 110% of the minimum bid if you act within six months or 115% if you wait longer, plus 5% annual interest on any amount the buyer paid above the minimum bid and reimbursement for taxes and costs the buyer covered after the sale. Two situations change that timeline: sales to a qualified redevelopment agency cut the period to 120 days, and properties on the county’s vacant and abandoned list have no redemption right at all.

How Long You Have to Redeem

The clock starts on the sale date itself. Not the date you get notice, not the date the buyer records anything — the sale date. One year later, if no one has paid, the buyer can petition for a deed.¹

Two exceptions shrink or erase that year:

If the buyer is a redevelopment purchasing agency qualified under IC 36-7-17 or IC 36-7-17.1, you have 120 days from the sale date.¹
If the property appears on the county auditor’s vacant and abandoned property list, there is no redemption period. The high bidder receives a deed at the sale itself.²

One narrow extension exists in the other direction. When a property fails to sell and the county ends up with the certificate, the county treasurer can negotiate a payment arrangement with the owner. If the two sides reach a deal before the original redemption period expires, the treasurer may extend the period for up to one year from the date of that agreement. Miss the payment terms and the treasurer can terminate the arrangement on 30 days’ written notice.¹

What Redemption Costs

Indiana does not use a simple back-taxes-plus-interest formula. The redemption total is built from several separate pieces, and the numbers move as time passes.

The Minimum Bid Premium

Pay within six months of the sale and you owe 110% of the minimum bid. Pay after six months but before the one-year deadline and you owe 115%. These are flat percentages, not annualized rates, so waiting longer inside a tier doesn’t add to that piece of the bill. Crossing the six-month line does.³

Interest on the Surplus

Buyers often bid well above the minimum. For any amount the purchase price exceeded the minimum bid, you owe 5% per annum, applied to sales occurring after June 30, 2014. This piece is time-based, so it does keep growing month by month.³

Taxes and Costs the Buyer Paid

Add any property taxes or special assessments the buyer paid after the sale, with interest on those payments. You may also owe the buyer’s reasonable costs for the title search and for sending the statutory notices. On a property that has been in the buyer’s hands for most of a year, these amounts can be substantial.

Who Can Pay to Redeem

Indiana’s statute uses the phrase “any person.” You do not have to be the record owner. A mortgagee, a lien holder, a relative, or an unrelated third party can walk in and redeem before the deadline. If the property changed hands after the tax sale but before the redemption period ran out, the new owner can redeem too, though they have to meet additional recording requirements under IC 32-21-8-7.⁴

Where and How to Pay

Payment goes to the county treasurer. Not to the buyer, and not to the auditor. The county auditor calculates the total — premium, surplus interest, subsequent taxes, reimbursable costs — and the treasurer takes the money. Call the auditor’s office first to get the exact figure, because it changes as new taxes accrue and again when you cross the six-month threshold.

Keep every receipt. Once you pay in full, the auditor cancels the certificate of sale. If you’re pushing up against the deadline, ask the auditor’s office whether payment must be received by the deadline or whether a postmark is enough. A day late means the property is gone.

The Notice You Should Receive Before a Deed Issues

The buyer can’t just wait out the year and pick up a deed. Before petitioning for one, the buyer must send written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of record and to anyone with a substantial property interest shown in public records. The notice must state the date the buyer intends to petition for the deed, describe the property, give the sale date, break down the redemption amount, and confirm that any person may still redeem.⁵

If the buyer can’t locate a party’s address through ordinary means, notice by publication is allowed, once a week for three consecutive weeks. Treat this notice as your last clear warning. If you ever end up challenging the deed, a defect in this step is one of the strongest grounds available.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

When the redemption period ends without payment, the buyer petitions the court for a tax deed. That deed vests fee simple absolute title in the buyer and wipes out nearly every prior lien and encumbrance on the property. The only interests that survive are liens with federal priority (such as certain IRS liens), state or local government liens for taxes accruing after the sale, easements and deed restrictions recorded before the sale, and standard government police powers like zoning.¹

The consequences for the former owner are severe. Any equity built up through mortgage payments, improvements, or appreciation is gone. Existing mortgages are extinguished along with the ownership interest. The tax deed is treated as prima facie evidence that the sale was regular and that the buyer holds valid title, so if you want to attack it later, the burden is on you.¹

Surplus Funds You May Still Claim

If the buyer’s winning bid exceeded the judgment amount for delinquent taxes, penalties, and costs, the excess goes into a tax sale surplus fund. The owner of record at the time the tax deed issues can claim that money by filing a verified claim with the county auditor. There is a three-year deadline running from the sale of the certificate of sale, and unclaimed money transfers to the county general fund permanently.⁶

Many former owners never learn about this. If you lost property at a tax sale and the buyer paid more than the minimum bid, ask the county auditor whether surplus funds exist.

Grounds to Challenge a Sale After the Fact

Procedural errors during the tax sale process can support a challenge. The most common ground is defective notice. Both the pre-sale notice under Chapter 24 and the post-sale notice under IC 6-1.1-25-4.5 carry detailed content and delivery requirements.⁷ A buyer who skips certified mail, leaves required information out of the notice, or fails to notify lien holders of record opens the door to a challenge.⁵

The presumption of validity is strong, though. Overcoming it takes proof of a specific statutory violation, not a general argument that the outcome was unfair. Miscalculation of the redemption amount is another possible ground, but you have to identify the specific error and seek relief from the court before the deed issues.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-25-4 – Period for Redemption; Issuance of Tax Deed
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-24-1.5 – Vacant or Abandoned Real Property List
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-25-2 – Amount Required for Redemption
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-25-1 – Redemption of Property; Conveyance During Redemption Period
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-25-4.5 – Entitlement to Tax Deed
6
Justia. Indiana Code 6-1.1-24-7 – Payment of Sale Price; Application of Payment; Tax Sale Surplus Fund
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-24-2 – Notice of Tax Sale; Information Required in Notice; County Recovery of Unpaid Costs; Combined Sale or Redemption