Marion County's 2026 tax sale runs October 13–16, 2026, online at govease.com. We've already covered that auction from the buyer's side in our investor guide to the 2026 Marion County tax sale. This post is the other side of the table: you own a home in Indianapolis, you've fallen behind on property taxes, and you've either received a tax sale notice or you're worried one is coming.
The good news up front: the tax sale is a slow, heavily noticed process with multiple exits. You can get off the list before the sale by paying the certified delinquency, and even if your home does sell, Indiana law gives you a full year to redeem it. But every stage costs more than the last, so the earlier you act, the cheaper this gets.
How a home ends up on the list
The mechanics are set by statute. Under IC 6-1.1-24-1, on or before July 1 each year, the county treasurer certifies to the county auditor a list of parcels with delinquent taxes or special assessments from the prior year's spring installment or earlier, plus any unpaid costs from a prior tax sale.
Translate that to the 2026 sale:
- The list certified by July 1, 2026 captures delinquencies from the spring 2025 installment and before.
- Missing the May 11, 2026 installment alone does not put you in the October 2026 sale — but if it goes unpaid into summer 2027, you become eligible for the 2027 sale. Our missed May 11 payment guide covers that earlier stage.
- Once certified, your parcel stays on the list unless you pay the amounts in the certification.
So if you're on the 2026 list, you're carrying a delinquency that is at least a year and a half old — plus the penalties that stack on unpaid balances each time an installment date passes.
The notices you will receive
The tax sale is not a stealth process. Before the county can sell, the statutes require a notice sequence:
| Notice | Who sends it | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Public advertisement | County auditor/treasurer | The sale list is published, with parcel numbers and minimum sale amounts, under IC 6-1.1-24-2 |
| Mailed notice to owner | County auditor | Sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by first class mail to the owner of record, at least 21 days before the county applies for the court's judgment and order of sale, under IC 6-1.1-24-4 |
Two details in that mailed-notice statute matter enormously:
- The notice goes to your address as it appears in the auditor's transfer book records. If you moved and never updated your mailing address with the county, the notice goes to the old address.
- Failure to receive the notice does not invalidate the sale. The county has to send it properly; it does not have to prove you read it.
Warning
If you own a Marion County property but don't live at it — an inherited house, a former residence you kept — verify the mailing address on file with the county now. Homes are lost at tax sale every year by owners who never saw a notice because it went to a stale address.
Getting off the list before the sale
Removal is mechanical: pay what the treasurer certified. That means the delinquent taxes, the penalties, and the tax sale costs that have attached — the same total that becomes the minimum bid at auction. Partial payment reduces the balance but does not remove the parcel; under IC 6-1.1-24-1 the parcel remains on the list unless the certified amounts are paid.
Practical steps for a Marion County owner this summer:
- Get the exact payoff from the Treasurer — not the number on an old bill. The payoff includes penalties and sale costs that accrue after certification. Reach the office through the Marion County Treasurer's page or mytaxes@indy.gov.
- Ask about a payment arrangement if you cannot pay in one stroke. The Treasurer's office discusses arrangement options for delinquent balances — ask specifically whether an arrangement removes or holds the parcel from the October sale, and get the terms in writing.
- Pay before the auction opens on October 13. Owners can pay off the delinquency up to the sale; parcels drop off the list as owners pay. Don't cut it to the final days — a payment that doesn't post in time is a payment that didn't happen.
- If you genuinely can't cover it, read our companion guide to where Marion County owners can get help paying property taxes — township trustee assistance and Treasurer programs exist for exactly this situation.
And keep current-year installments paid. The November 10, 2026 fall installment is a separate obligation — see the fall installment guide — and letting it slip while you fight the older delinquency digs the hole deeper.
If your home sells: you have not lost it yet
Indiana runs a certificate sale, not a deed sale. The October winner buys a tax lien — a Certificate of Sale — not your house. You keep possession, and you keep the right to redeem.
The redemption window
Under IC 6-1.1-25-4, the redemption period runs one year from the date of sale. For a parcel sold October 13–16, 2026, that clock runs to mid-October 2027. Only after that year expires — and after additional statutory notices — can the certificate holder petition a court for a tax deed.
What redemption costs
The redemption amount is set by IC 6-1.1-25-2, and it is tiered by how fast you act:
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Minimum bid portion, if redeemed within 6 months of the sale | 110% of the minimum bid |
| Minimum bid portion, if redeemed 6 to 12 months after the sale | 115% of the minimum bid |
| Any amount the winning bid exceeded the minimum (the overbid) | 100% of the overbid, plus 5% per annum on it |
| Taxes and special assessments the buyer paid on the parcel after the sale | Repaid with statutory interest |
| Certain costs (title search, notice costs) if the buyer has incurred them | Added to the payoff |
The 110/115 split is the most actionable fact in this post: redeeming in month five instead of month eight saves five percentage points on the entire minimum bid — real money for the same outcome.
Tip
Redemption is paid to the county treasurer, not to the investor who bought the certificate. If anyone contacts you directly offering to "settle" your redemption, verify everything through the Treasurer's office before paying a dime.
The timeline, end to end
| Stage | When | Your cheapest exit |
|---|---|---|
| Delinquency accrues | Spring 2025 installment missed | Pay with 5%/10% penalty |
| List certified | By July 1, 2026 | Pay certified amount in full |
| Notices mail, list published | Summer 2026 | Pay before the sale |
| Tax sale | Oct 13–16, 2026 | Last chance to pay pre-sale |
| Redemption, months 0–6 | Through spring 2027 | 110% of minimum bid + extras |
| Redemption, months 6–12 | Through fall 2027 | 115% of minimum bid + extras |
| Tax deed petition | After the year expires | Home can be lost |
For the broader statewide mechanics — commissioner's sales for parcels that don't sell, deed petitions, and the investor's view of each stage — see the complete Indiana tax sale guide.
Verify where your parcel stands
Before you panic — or relax — verify your parcel's actual status: the delinquent balance, whether it appears on the certified list, and whether your assessment (the number driving those bills) is even correct. Property Lookup surfaces your parcel's assessment history and taxing district in seconds, and if the underlying assessment is inflated, an appeal next cycle attacks the problem at its source.