Behind on Property Taxes in Park County, CO?

Back Taxes in Park County: Your Options

This page explains what happens in Park County, Colorado when property taxes on a lot go unpaid. It covers the due dates, the interest, the fall tax lien sale, redemption, the treasurer's deed process and the 2026 change in state law, how to find out what you owe, and the choices you have. It is written for owners of vacant land, including people who inherited a lot with back taxes.

Back taxes do not stop you from selling. A tax lien sale does not transfer your land. Until a treasurer's deed is issued, you still own the lot, and you can redeem the lien or sell the lot and have the taxes paid from the sale at closing. This page is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, ask the Park County Treasurer or a Colorado attorney.

When Park County property taxes are due and when they become delinquent

Colorado property tax is paid one year behind. The tax for one year is billed in January of the next year. The Park County Treasurer in Fairplay mails tax notices by the end of January each year.

State law gives you two ways to pay. You can pay in two halves: the first half by the last day of February and the second half by June 15. Or you can pay the whole year by April 30 (C.R.S. 39-10-104.5).

Late taxes add delinquent interest of 1 percent per month. If you pay in halves, interest on a late first half starts March 1, and interest on a late second half starts June 16. If you pay the whole year in one payment after April 30, interest of 1 percent per month runs from May 1 (C.R.S. 39-10-104.5). The Park County Treasurer publishes a table of the interest due by month on its Delinquent Taxes page. It accepts only a whole first half, a whole second half or the full amount, plus interest and fees. An administrative fee of up to $25 is added to delinquent payments under $50.

What happens next: the tax lien sale and redemption

If taxes are still unpaid in the fall, the Treasurer advertises the property and sells a tax lien on it. State law says the sale must start on or before the second Monday in December (C.R.S. 39-11-109). The lien buyer pays your delinquent taxes, interest and costs, and receives a certificate of purchase. The buyer does not own your land. Park County advertises delinquent properties once a week for three weeks before the sale. The 2026 tax lien sale is online at ZeusAuction.com (run by SRI, Inc.), from Monday, November 2, 2026 at 8:00 am to Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 1:00 pm (MST). The sale list is posted on or about October 9, 2026 and updated daily until the sale. To keep a property out of the sale, the payment must reach the Treasurer's office by Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 3:00 pm MST. Since September 11, 2026, the office takes only certified funds for these payments: cashier's check, money order, cash, or a credit card online.

After the sale, you can redeem the lien. To redeem, you pay the Treasurer the delinquent taxes, interest and costs, redemption interest, and any later years' taxes the lien holder paid, with redemption interest on them (C.R.S. 39-12-103). The redemption interest rate is set each year at 9 percentage points above the federal discount rate, rounded to the nearest full percent. The Treasurer pays the lien holder. In Park County, anyone with a legal or equitable interest in the property may redeem, and all redemption payments must be made in cash or certified funds. The payment must be received; a postmark does not count.

A lien holder often pays your later years' taxes too, and those amounts are added to what you must pay to redeem. So the total grows faster than the tax bill alone.

The treasurer's deed, the 2026 law change (SB 26-144) and Park County

If the lien is not redeemed, the holder can ask for a treasurer's deed after about 3 years. Since 2024, a treasurer's deed in Colorado comes only after a public auction, so that an owner does not lose equity worth more than the tax debt. Colorado set up that auction in 2024 (HB 24-1056) after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Tyler v. Hennepin County.

In 2026 the legislature rewrote that process in Senate Bill 26-144. The governor signed it on May 19, 2026, and it took effect June 1, 2026. It applies to every treasurer's deed issued on or after June 1, 2026, no matter when the lien was sold or the application was filed. The main changes are listed at the end of this section.

Park County says a tax lien stays valid for 7 years from the date it is issued, and the holder may pursue a treasurer's deed after 3 years. Its Treasurer's Deed page says the process takes at least seven to nine months before the public auction, and the auction takes place about four months after the first advertisement. Before the ad runs, the Treasurer sends certified mail to the owner and others with a legal interest, then advertises in The Flume newspaper on 3 Fridays in a row.

Park County holds its treasurer's deed public auctions online at GovEase (liveauctions.govease.com), one Tuesday a month at 2:00 pm MST. If your property sells at the auction for more than the total owed, you may have money due to you, and the county asks you to contact the Treasurer's office.

Park County's treasurer's deed pages describe the 2024 process. SB 26-144 changed the rules on June 1, 2026, including the new intent-to-redeem deadline. If you have received a notice about a deed application, call the Treasurer at 719-836-4334 to confirm the current steps and dates for your parcel.

The main changes in SB 26-144:

• The auction process is rebuilt on the model of a public trustee foreclosure, in a new article 11.5 of title 39 of the Colorado statutes. Treasurers may no longer issue a deed under the old article 11 process.
• A lien holder may apply for a treasurer's deed after August 1 of the third calendar year after the tax lien sale (C.R.S. 39-11.5-102).
• The Treasurer then mails, publishes and posts a notice of public auction. If the auction is online, the notice says where to find it and the bidding rules.
• Once an application is filed, the owner must file an intent to redeem with the Treasurer no later than 7 calendar days before the scheduled auction. The Treasurer sends a redemption statement within 3 business days. It is good for 10 business days, or until noon the day before the auction, whichever is first. The fee for this is no more than $25 (C.R.S. 39-11.5-106).
• If the property sells at auction for more than the total owed, the extra money (the overbid) goes first to junior lienholders who file a claim, and the rest must be paid to the property owner. Overbid money not claimed within 2 years goes to the state's unclaimed property program (C.R.S. 39-11.5-112).
• The law sets new standard treasurer fees for these steps, adjusted for inflation every two years.

How much you owe, and your options

Look up your account on the Treasurer's online tax information system by owner name, address or schedule number. It shows each year's tax and whether it is paid.

If a tax lien was sold, the online balance may not show the full redemption amount. Call the Treasurer's office at 719-836-4334 and ask for a redemption amount good through a given date. Interest adds up each month, and the redemption rate changes each year, so the amount depends on the day you pay.

Current-year taxes can be paid online through the county's GovPayments portal. Redemptions must be paid in cash or certified funds and received by the office.

Once you know the amount, you have several choices. Each one has costs and tradeoffs, so look at all of them before you decide.

• Pay in full. Pay the delinquent taxes and interest before October 28, 2026 at 3:00 pm to stay out of this year's lien sale, or redeem the lien later.
• Ask about payment options. We did not find a payment plan on the Park County Treasurer's pages, and the office accepts only whole half-year or full-year payments. Call 719-836-4334 to ask what is possible for your account.
• Sell the land. You can sell with back taxes or a tax lien. The title company pays the Treasurer from the sale price.
• Let it go. If you do nothing, a tax lien is sold, interest keeps growing, and after about 3 years the holder can apply for a treasurer's deed. You lose the land at the public auction. If it sells for more than is owed, you can claim the overbid that is left after junior liens.

How selling works when taxes are owed

In Colorado, a title company usually handles the closing. It searches the county records, finds unpaid taxes and any tax lien sold on the lot, and gets the exact amounts from the Treasurer.

At closing, the title company pays the Treasurer from the sale price. That pays the current and delinquent taxes and redeems any tax lien, so the buyer gets clear title. You receive the rest. In Park County, redemptions must be paid in cash or certified funds, so the title company sends certified funds to the Treasurer.

If a treasurer's deed application has already been filed, the timing matters more. The closing has to happen before the redemption deadline under the 2026 law, so tell the buyer and the title company about any notice you received.

What EasyLotBuyer does

EasyLotBuyer buys vacant land in Park County for cash, including lots with back taxes, liens, title issues or no road access. We make a cash offer within 24 hours. There are no fees or commissions, and we pay the closing costs. We can close in as few as 7 days.

When a lot has back taxes or a tax lien, they are paid off at closing from the sale. You do not need to pay them first. If you would rather keep the land, the contacts on this page are the right places to start.