Delinquent tax lists · Wisconsin
Dane County delinquent tax list
Short answer: Dane County has two delinquent tax lists. The official one is published by the County Treasurer before each scheduled sale, free to download, and it lists parcel numbers and amounts owed with no owner contact. The year-round one is the delinquency record underneath it, where 172 (estimated) owners near Madison currently carry a distress signal. Wisconsin is a deed state, so a winning bid at the sale takes the property itself.
Distressed owners near Madison
172
Within 25 miles of the county seat, refreshed daily. Dane County is a mid-size county.
Top-deal discount target
~43% under market
Average start bid across the 20 strongest Dane leads right now.
Avg. spread per top deal
$247,000
On a typical $570,000 estimated value.
Coverage centers on Madison, the Dane County seat, and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.
Dane County tax sale rules at a glance
The mechanics that decide what you are actually buying, and how long the owner keeps a way out. The full Wisconsin rules, timelines and deficiency detail sit on the state page, since they apply to every county here.
| County | Dane County, Wisconsin. County seat: Madison. |
|---|---|
| Who publishes the list | The County Treasurer for Dane County. |
| What the sale transfers | Wisconsin is a deed state. A winning bidder gets the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. |
| Rate and cadence | Counties take tax deeds in rem and sell surplus parcels; there is no certificate market. |
| Owner redemption | Runs BEFORE the sale: usually 6 months (shorter if the lender waives deficiency). |
The Wisconsin delinquency clock
Where a Dane owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.
The Dane list, ranked hardest-first
Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Madison area. The live list, with exact locations, photos and owner details, is one free scan away.
| Rank | Why they would sell | Est. value | Start bid | Under market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Auction setTax delinquent 3 yr72% equity | $638,000 | $274,000 | ~45% |
| #2 | Notice of defaultTax delinquent 3 yr68% equity | $631,000 | $271,000 | ~45% |
| #3 | Notice of defaultTax delinquent 4 yr69% equity | $621,000 | $267,000 | ~45% |
7 more ranked Madison deals behind the scan
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What the Dane list is made of
Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.
How Dane compares across Wisconsin
Dane County is among the largest counties in Wisconsin, and it runs lighter in distressed owners than the Wisconsin average, at 3 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a state figure of 10. It accounts for about 6.3% of every flagged property across the Wisconsin counties on this site.
| County | Seat | Flagged owners | Per 10k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outagamie County | Appleton | 776 | 40.4 |
| Waukesha County | Waukesha | 658 | 16 |
| Kenosha County | Kenosha | 429 | 25.2 |
| Milwaukee County | Milwaukee | 317 | 3.5 |
| Brown County | Green Bay | 236 | 8.7 |
| Dane County (this page) | Madison | 172 | 3 |
Density matters more than the raw count when you are choosing where to work. A smaller county with a high per-capita figure often has less competition per lead than the metro next door.
How far under market these close
The official Dane list vs. this one
Both are worth having. They answer different questions.
| Dane official sale list | The LowBaller list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who publishes it | The County Treasurer | LowBaller, from county and public records |
| When it exists | Only in the run-up to each scheduled sale | Year round, refreshed daily |
| Format | A PDF or spreadsheet of parcel numbers and amounts owed | A ranked table with a map pin, photo and estimated value on every row |
| Owner contact | Not included | Phone and email on unlock, and no credit is spent when nothing verifies |
| Ranking | Alphabetical or by parcel number | Hardest situation first, by foreclosure stage, years behind and equity |
| Timing advantage | Everyone bidding sees the same list on the same day | Owners appear months before any auction, while a private sale still solves their problem |
Working the Dane list
What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under Wisconsin timelines.
Number 2 in Wisconsin, and quieter for it
Dane County ranks 2 of 7 covered Wisconsin counties with roughly 6.3% of the state's flagged properties. Big enough for real volume, one step removed from where the crowd concentrates.
A thin list, so filter hard
At 3 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, Dane sits in the bottom quarter of Wisconsin counties, against a state figure of 10. Do not try to work every row. Sort on equity and go deep on a handful.
Madison and everything around it
Dane works off Madison as its seat, and the scan reaches 25 miles out from there, widening to 50 when the list runs thin. In a county this shape that usually means several towns, each with its own price level.
The Wisconsin clock
Foreclosure here typically runs 8 to 14 months from filing to sale. The tax clock and the mortgage clock run independently, so check both before you decide how hard a deadline an owner is actually facing.
Why Dane investors work it before auction day
No bidding war
At the sale you are one of a room full of bidders on the same parcel. Months earlier you are the only person who called.
You can see the house
A private sale means an inspection and a clean title search. Deed auctions in Wisconsin rarely give you either.
The owner keeps something
An owner with equity who sells early clears the tax debt and walks away with money. At the sale, they usually walk away with nothing.
Dane County delinquent tax list FAQ
How do I get the Dane County delinquent tax list?
Two lists exist and they are not the same. The official one comes from the County Treasurer, is published as a PDF or spreadsheet before each scheduled sale, and disappears between sales. The year-round one is the delinquency record itself, which is what LowBaller compiles: roughly 172 properties around Madison currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.
Is there a free Dane delinquent property tax list PDF?
Yes. The County Treasurer publishes the pre-sale list free of charge, usually as a PDF or a downloadable spreadsheet tied to a specific sale date. It gives you parcel numbers and amounts owed. It does not give you owner contact details, an estimated value, or any indication of which owners would actually take a low cash offer.
When is the Dane County tax sale?
Dane County publishes its own schedule, and it moves. The Wisconsin pattern is the thing that holds steady: Counties take tax deeds in rem and sell surplus parcels; there is no certificate market. Check the county's pre-sale notice close to the date, because the list shrinks daily as owners redeem.
Can I buy Dane tax-delinquent property before the auction?
Yes, and it is usually the better trade. There is no bidding war, the owner clears the debt with a clean sale instead of a forced one, and you are not buying blind. The window is the months between the delinquency appearing in the record and the sale being scheduled, which is exactly the period this list covers.
What does a winning bid actually get you in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin is a deed state, so a winning bidder takes the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. Runs BEFORE the sale: usually 6 months (shorter if the lender waives deficiency). That difference matters more than the discount: in a lien state you are buying a debt with a yield, and in a deed state you are buying a house.
How far below market do Dane deals close?
The strongest current leads near Madison support start bids around 43% under estimated value. Across the whole list, hard distress such as a scheduled auction or a stacked tax lien closes 25 to 45% under market, while softer signals like long-distance ownership land closer to 15 to 30% under. Dane runs lighter in distress than the Wisconsin average, so the deepest discounts are rarer here and equity screening matters more than volume. Equity sets the ceiling, because an offer cannot go below what clears the owner's mortgage.
How many tax-delinquent properties are there in Dane?
About 172 properties within 25 miles of Madison currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 3 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 10 across Wisconsin as a whole, and makes Dane the number 2 of the 7 Wisconsin counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.
Do I need a Dane address to search, or can I search the whole county?
Either. Run the scan on any Dane ZIP and you get the full ranked list for the surrounding area, or check one specific address to see whether that owner carries a distress signal. Browsing is free and unlimited, and credits are only spent when an owner's verified phone or email comes back.
Delinquent tax lists nearby
Keep going
The Dane owners who will sell cheap are on this list today.
Not in 2026 sale season. Now, months before the auction, while a quiet private sale still solves their problem. Scan free and browse every one.
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Informational summary, not legal or investment advice. Rates, redemption periods and sale formats are summarized at the Wisconsin state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by Dane County. The County Treasurer and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.