Property taxes keep county governments up and running. Your property tax dollars are used for things like schools, roads, law enforcement, waste collection, parks, and libraries. In the state of Iowa, when you don't pay your property taxes the county issues a lien against your property for the past-due amount, plus interest. Each year in June, county treasurers across Iowa recover the revenue lost to unpaid property taxes by selling these liens at tax sale auctions. The person or company who buys a tax lien receives a tax sale certificate for that property, and is called the certificate holder. 

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If a tax sale certificate for your property was auctioned at tax sale, you have the opportunity to redeem (pay off and cancel) the tax sale certificate. In Iowa, you redeem a tax sale certificate by making payment to the County Treasurer for the amount of past-due property taxes, interest of 2% per month, and any additional fees. If you do not redeem within the time period provided by law (typically between 21-36 months), your right to redeem expires and the certificate holder can take deed to your property. This means the certificate holder would become the legal property owner. 

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Bottom line, if you don't pay your property taxes, you ultimately may lose ownership of the property. You must contact your County Treasurer's office (not the tax sale certificate holder) to pay the amount due and keep your property. 

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