Your first tax sale in Denver County, CO

Colorado is a tax lien state. At the sale you buy a lien (usually called a certificate) for the unpaid taxes, not the property. You make money when the owner pays the taxes back ("redeems"): you get your money back plus interest or a penalty, usually through the county. The state data lists the return as: Fed discount rate + 9 points (fixed). Redemption period: Until the treasurer's deed (3-year deed rule now pre-July 2024 only). If the owner never redeems, you may eventually be able to apply for a deed or foreclose, which takes more time, more money and usually an attorney.

What you actually get

A tax lien certificate: a claim for the unpaid taxes plus the interest or penalty the law allows. Not the property, and not the right to go onto it.

How you make money

Interest or penalty when the owner redeems (state data: Fed discount rate + 9 points (fixed)). Not guaranteed: the rate can be bid down, and some liens are never redeemed.

Redemption period

Until the treasurer's deed (3-year deed rule now pre-July 2024 only)

Recent change (HB 24-1056, signed May 10, 2024): Automatic treasurer's deed to certificate holder now applies only before July 1, 2024.

Sources: Colorado tax sale rules (LienDesk) · Guide: Tax lien vs. tax deed states · C.R.S. §39-12-103 · §39-11-115

Upcoming Denver County sales on our calendar:

• Monday, November 2, 2026 – November 4Tax lienOnline biddingThis plan is for this sale

  Denver County, CO tax lien sale →

  Online · Online, denver.coloradotaxsale.com

  7,250 parcels on the county's published list

  Last verified Oct 31, 2026 · Official source: denvergov.org ↗

Sources: Official sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · County tax sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · Auction platform (denver.coloradotaxsale.com) ↗ · Colorado auction calendar

How to register

Registration & deposits closed Oct 26, 2pm. Batches close hourly Nov 2 8am – Nov 4 noon

Deposit / funds

Registration & deposits closed Oct 26, 2pm. Batches close hourly Nov 2 8am – Nov 4 noon; 10% deposit

Where

Online, denver.coloradotaxsale.com

Official page

denvergov.org ↗

Terms as published: “Registration & deposits closed Oct 26, 2pm. Batches close hourly Nov 2 8am – Nov 4 noon; 10% deposit; 13% rate”

• Find the registration deadline on the official page and put it in your calendar. Some counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.
• Many counties ask for a W-9 (so they can report the interest they pay you), a photo ID and sometimes a deposit. LienDesk hasn't verified this county's paperwork, so check the official page.
• Online sales usually need an approved account on the auction platform, and any deposit must clear before the sale.

Sources: Official sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · County tax sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · Auction platform (denver.coloradotaxsale.com) ↗

Browse the 7,250 parcels on this sale's list → (copied from the county's published list; a free account shows the full list).

Due-diligence checklist, for every parcel you might bid on

• □Look at it. Street View and satellite view at minimum; drive by if you can. Confirm the parcel number matches the building you think it does.
• □Landlocked, sliver and unbuildable lots. Check the county GIS map for road access, odd shapes, drainage strips and lots too small to build on. These are cheap for a reason.
• □Mobile homes. A mobile home on the lot may be separate personal property and not included in the sale. Check how the county lists it.
• □IRS and other federal liens. Federal tax liens can survive a tax sale, and the IRS can have its own right to redeem after a sale. Search the county's lien records for the owner.
• □Code violations and demolition orders. Ask the city or county code enforcement office. Fines and demolition liens can follow the property.
• □Environmental problems. Former gas stations, dry cleaners, junkyards, wetlands and flood zones can cost far more than the bid. Check the FEMA flood map and the state environmental agency's site lists.
• □HOA or condo dues. Unpaid association dues and assessments may be owed by whoever ends up with the property.
• □Occupancy. If someone lives there, getting possession may mean an eviction or court action, and the owner often still has redemption rights.
• □Title search. Mortgages, judgments and other liens may or may not be wiped out, depending on the state and the sale. A title search (or a title company's opinion) before you bid is the only way to know.
• □Is it still on the list?. Owners pay up until sale day, so lists shrink. Check the county's final list the day before.

Sources: County sale list ↗ · FEMA flood map ↗ · Parcel lists on LienDesk

Premium bidding. Bidders pay extra (a "premium") on top of the taxes owed, and the highest premium wins. Check whether the premium earns interest or is refunded when the owner redeems: the state data says "Premium; premium kept by county".

County note: Premium bidding; 2026 certificates earn 13% (fed discount rate + 9 pts); premium earns no interest

• Decide your total budget first, then a maximum for each parcel. Write the maximums down before the sale starts.
• Set the lowest rate you'll accept. Remember your money can be tied up for the whole redemption period (Until the treasurer's deed (3-year deed rule now pre-July 2024 only)).
• Keep cash in reserve. Winning more than you can pay for can cost you your deposit and your bidding rights.

Open the Analyze This Investment calculator

The calculator is also in each parcel's Comps & ARV panel, prefilled with that parcel's amount and estimated value. Results are estimates, not a promise of profit.

Sources: Colorado tax sale rules (LienDesk) · C.R.S. §39-12-103 · §39-11-115

• □Check the official page the morning of the sale: sales get postponed or cancelled, and parcels get pulled when owners pay.
• □Log in to the auction platform early, confirm your deposit cleared and that you know the bid increments and the auto-bid rules.
• □Have funds ready the way the county wants them: Registration & deposits closed Oct 26, 2pm. Batches close hourly Nov 2 8am – Nov 4 noon; 10% deposit.
• □Bring (or open) your researched list with a maximum for each parcel. Don't bid on anything you haven't researched.
• □Stick to your maximums, even when the room (or the screen) gets competitive.
• □Save every receipt, confirmation and certificate or deed number you get.

Sale: Monday, November 2, 2026 – November 4 · Online, denver.coloradotaxsale.com

Sources: Official sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · County tax sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · Auction platform (denver.coloradotaxsale.com) ↗

Payment deadline

Not verified yet — check the county's official page ↗

What you receive

A tax lien certificate: a claim for the unpaid taxes plus the interest or penalty the law allows. Not the property, and not the right to go onto it.

Redemption

Until the treasurer's deed (3-year deed rule now pre-July 2024 only)

• When the redemption period runs out without payment, you may be able to apply for a tax deed or foreclose the lien (Until the treasurer's deed (3-year deed rule now pre-July 2024 only)). Miss the state's deadline and the certificate can lose its value.
• Keep paying any later property taxes so someone else can't buy a lien or deed on top of yours, and keep records of every cost.
• Don't move in, change locks or start work until you have the legal right to possession.

Talk to an attorney before you foreclose a right of redemption, apply for a deed, file quiet title, or deal with an occupant. Attorney listings are paid advertising, not referrals.

Sources: Official sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · County tax sale page (denvergov.org) ↗ · Auction platform (denver.coloradotaxsale.com) ↗ · Colorado tax sale rules (LienDesk) · C.R.S. §39-12-103 · §39-11-115