Sauk County, Wisconsin

Tax Deed66,486 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

None once the county forecloses (roughly 2 years of delinquency before that)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer

Governing statutestate default

Wisconsin Statutes Ch. 75

Notes

Wisconsin in-rem tax-deed county. Sauk County (Baraboo / Wisconsin Dells fringe) Treasurer sells tax-foreclosed parcels by offer-to-purchase and sealed bid — not a pure live auction. Pages: co.sauk.wi.us treasurer properties-for-sale and sealed-bid; map at gis.co.sauk.wi.us/TaxDeedPropertiesForSale/. Money order or cashier’s check for full offer (meeting/exceeding appraised value) to Sauk County Treasurer, Room 148, 505 Broadway, Baraboo (608-355-3275). In-rem judgment under Wis. Stat. § 75.521 is the main clearing step. Tourism (Dells) and industrial (Baraboo) submarkets differ sharply.

Auction logistics

Format

Offer-to-purchase and sealed bid (Treasurer tax foreclosure inventory)

Frequency

As inventory posts after in-rem judgments; sealed-bid and offer lists update on Treasurer pages

Platform

Sauk County Treasurer — tax foreclosure properties for sale ↗

Deposit rules

For offer-to-purchase parcels, submit money order or cashier’s check in the full amount of the offer (at/above appraised value) payable to Sauk County Treasurer per posted instructions. Sealed-bid parcels follow the separate sealed-bid form and deadline. Confirm current packet before funding.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

In-rem foreclosure is intended to convey clear title subject to federal liens and sale-specific exceptions. Special assessments may be separate. Full title search required.

Quiet title

Judgment of foreclosure is the main clearing step; quiet title may still be used for residual defects.

Deal maths for Wisconsin

Assessment ratio: 1× of market value
Typical quiet title: $1,800–$5,000 · 5 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Wis. Stat. § 70.32(1) requires real property to be valued at the full value which could ordinarily be obtained at private sale, and § 70.05(5)(b) requires each taxation district to assess at full value at least once in every 5-year period. The Department of Revenue computes the actual assessed-to-full-value ratio for every district annually under § 70.05(5)(c) and notifies districts that drift more than 10% off over four years.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Sauk County Treasurer ↗

608-355-3275

Clerk of court

Sauk County Register of Deeds ↗

Property appraiser

Sauk County tax parcel iSite / land information ↗

GIS / parcel map

Sauk County tax deed properties for sale map ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

Baraboo / downtown–courthouse core

County-seat government and industrial employment with more liquid SF than rural townships

Wisconsin Dells / Lake Delton tourism edge

Tourism employment and short-term rental demand with seasonal occupancy risk

Reedsburg / industrial fringe

Manufacturing jobs supporting workforce housing absorption