Payment of sale price; application of payment; tax sale surplus
fund; claims; transfers; invalidity of sale
Sec. 7. (a) When real property is sold under this chapter, the
purchaser at the sale shall immediately pay the amount of the bid to
the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall apply the payment in
the following manner:
(1) first, to the taxes, special assessments, penalties, and costs
described in section 5(e) of this chapter;
(2) second, to other delinquent property taxes in the manner
provided in IC 6-1.1-23-5(b); and
(3) third, to a separate "tax sale surplus fund".
(b) The:
(1) owner of record of the real property at the time the tax deed
is issued who is divested of ownership by the issuance of a tax
deed; or
(2) tax sale purchaser or purchaser's assignee, upon redemption
of the tract or item of real property;
may file a verified claim for money which is deposited in the tax sale
surplus fund. If the claim is approved by the county auditor and the
county treasurer, the county auditor shall issue a warrant to the
claimant for the amount due.
(c) If the person described in subsection (b)(1) acquired the
property from a delinquent taxpayer after the property was sold at a
tax sale under this chapter, the county auditor may not issue a
warrant to the person unless the person is named on a tax sale surplus
fund disclosure form filed with the county auditor under IC 32-21-8.
(d) An amount deposited in the tax sale surplus fund shall be
transferred by the county auditor to the county general fund and may
not be disbursed under subsection (b) if it is not claimed within the
three (3) year period after the date of its receipt.
(e) If an amount applied to taxes under this section is later paid out
of the county general fund to the purchaser or the purchaser's
successor due to the invalidity of the sale, all the taxes shall be
reinstated and recharged to the tax duplicate and collected in the
same manner as if the property had not been offered for sale.
(f) When a refund is made to any purchaser or purchaser's
successor by reason of the invalidity of a sale, the county auditor
shall, at the December settlement immediately following the refund,
deduct the amount of the refund from the gross collections in the
taxing district in which the land lies and shall pay that amount into
the county general fund.
(Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1.) As amended by P.L.50-1990,
SEC.11; P.L.88-1995, SEC.2; P.L.56-1996, SEC.5; P.L.139-2001,
SEC.6; P.L.1-2003, SEC.28; P.L.97-2004, SEC.22.
Last modified: May 28, 2006