Georgia tax sale law
Georgia sells the property itself at a public-outcry execution sale — a redeemable deed, not a lien certificate: the owner may redeem within 12 months (and until the right is barred by notice) by paying the sale price plus a statutory premium. Each row below carries the statute it rests on, the operative text verbatim, and the date it was read from the official source.
| Fact | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What is sold | Property under a tax execution is sold in the manner of a judicial sale; the purchaser takes a tax deed whose recitals show the amount paid, subject to the owner's statutory right of redemption, and redemption money is paid to the purchaser. Read from the as-passed text of SB 216 (Act 58 of 2019, eff. 2019-07-01). | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-1(a)(1); §§ 48-4-40, 48-4-42(d) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Redemption period | The defendant in fi. fa. or any interest-holder may redeem at any time within 12 months from the date of the sale, and at any time after that until the right to redeem is foreclosed by the barment notice under § 48-4-45. The official Legislative Counsel summaries 2017–2026 list no later substantive amendment to § 48-4-40. | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-40 (as amended by Ga. L. 2016, Act 600 / HB 51) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Redemption interest / premium | The redemption amount is the price paid at the tax sale, plus taxes the purchaser paid afterward and any special assessments, plus a premium of 20% of that amount for the first year or fraction of a year after the sale and 10% for each year or fraction of a year thereafter — the structure in force since July 1, 2016. The 2016 act struck the pre-2016 '20 percent for EACH year' rule; accounts written against the older text, including the extra 20% after barment notice, are out of date. Sheriff's costs are added if redemption follows more than 30 days after the § 48-4-45 notice. | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-42(a) (as amended by Ga. L. 2016, Act 600 / HB 51, eff. 2016-07-01) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Bidding mechanic | Execution sales are made at public outcry at the county courthouse; since 2019 a tax commissioner may instead conduct the sale in the tax commissioner's office or another location identified in the sale notice. | O.C.G.A. § 9-13-161(a); § 48-4-1(a)(3) (enacted by Ga. L. 2019, Act 58 / SB 216) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Statutory sale timing | Execution sales take place on the first Tuesday of each month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the county courthouse, shifting to the following Wednesday when the first Tuesday falls on New Year's Day or Independence Day. No statute authorizes online tax sales — the 2022 bill proposing them was never enacted. Quoted from the unmarked base text set out in the official 2022 bill print of SB 471 — a bill whose internet-sale insertion stopped at 'Read and Referred' and never became law; the Legislative Counsel summaries list no amendment to § 9-13-161 in 2013–2026. | O.C.G.A. § 9-13-161(a) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Bidder registration | No statutory bidder-registration or bidder-qualification requirement appears in Georgia's tax-sale procedure statutes (§§ 48-4-1, 48-4-40, 48-4-42, 48-4-5 and § 9-13-161 checked); registration terms at a given sale are county administrative practice, not statute. The quoted § 48-4-42(d) is the only payment-medium language in the reviewed sections, and it concerns the redemption payment, not bids. Silence is asserted across the obtainable sale-procedure sections, not the whole Code — the official O.C.G.A. portal serves no text to a fetcher. | O.C.G.A. §§ 48-4-1, 48-4-40, 48-4-42, 48-4-5, 9-13-161 (checked; silent) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Payment at sale | The reviewed sale-procedure statutes set no express payment or deposit terms for a winning bidder; sale conduct follows the judicial-sale manner, and payment terms at a given sale are the levying officer's administrative practice. | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-1(a)(1); §§ 48-4-40 to 48-4-45, 9-13-161 (checked; silent) · read 2026-08-30 |
| Funds above the taxes due | The officer selling the property must give written notice of excess funds within 30 days of the sale to the record owner and recorded interest-holders; funds are distributed by priority (interpleader available), and after five years unclaimed excess funds pass to the Department of Revenue, releasable only by court order in an interpleader action. Post-Tyler v. Hennepin (2023): the Legislative Counsel summaries for 2023–2026 list no amendment to §§ 48-4-5, 48-4-40, 48-4-42 or 48-4-45. | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5 (as rewritten by Ga. L. 2006, Act 759 / SB 585, eff. 2006-07-01) · read 2026-08-30 |
A statutory sale day is a fact about the law, not an announcement of a sale. No date on this page means a county has scheduled anything — the sale calendar lists only dates counties have actually published.
The operative text
O.C.G.A. § 48-4-1(a)(1); §§ 48-4-40, 48-4-42(d) · read 2026-08-30
Except as otherwise provided in this title, the sale of real or personal property under a tax execution shall be made in the same manner as provided for judicial sales; provided, however, that … the defendant shall be given ten days' written notice of such sale by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery.
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20192020/186925
O.C.G.A. § 48-4-40 (as amended by Ga. L. 2016, Act 600 / HB 51) · read 2026-08-30
…may redeem the property from the sale by the payment of the amount required for redemption, as fixed and provided in Code Section 48-4-42: (1) At any time within 12 months from the date of the sale; and (2) At any time after the sale until the right to redeem is foreclosed by the giving of the notice provided for in Code Section 48-4-45.
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20152016/162315
O.C.G.A. § 48-4-42(a) (as amended by Ga. L. 2016, Act 600 / HB 51, eff. 2016-07-01) · read 2026-08-30
…be the amount paid for the property at the tax sale, as shown by the recitals in the tax deed, plus: (1) Any taxes paid on the property by the purchaser after the sale for taxes; (2) Any special assessments on the property; and (3) A premium of 20 percent of the amount for the first year or fraction of a year which has elapsed between the date of the sale and the date on which the redemption payment is made and 10 percent for each year or fraction of a year thereafter.
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20152016/162315
O.C.G.A. § 9-13-161(a); § 48-4-1(a)(3) (enacted by Ga. L. 2019, Act 58 / SB 216) · read 2026-08-30
A sale for taxes due may be conducted by the tax commissioner or tax collector or his or her duly authorized officer and may be held in the office of the tax commissioner or tax collector or at such other location as may be identified in the notice required by this Code section. Such notice shall also be posted in a conspicuous location in the appropriate courthouse.
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20192020/186925
O.C.G.A. § 9-13-161(a) · read 2026-08-30
Unless otherwise provided, sales of property taken under execution shall be made by the sheriffs or coroners only at the courthouse of the county where the levy was made on the first Tuesday in each month, between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., and at public outcry; provided, however, that, should the first Tuesday of the month fall on New Year's Day or Independence Day, such sales shall take place on the immediately following Wednesday.
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20212022/205497
O.C.G.A. §§ 48-4-1, 48-4-40, 48-4-42, 48-4-5, 9-13-161 (checked; silent) · read 2026-08-30
All of the amounts required to be paid by this Code section shall be paid in lawful money of the United States to the purchaser at the tax sale or to the purchaser's successors.
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20152016/162315
O.C.G.A. § 48-4-1(a)(1); §§ 48-4-40 to 48-4-45, 9-13-161 (checked; silent) · read 2026-08-30
Except as otherwise provided in this title, the sale of real or personal property under a tax execution shall be made in the same manner as provided for judicial sales…
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20192020/186925
O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5 (as rewritten by Ga. L. 2006, Act 759 / SB 585, eff. 2006-07-01) · read 2026-08-30
If there are any excess funds after paying taxes, costs, and all expenses of a sale made by the tax commissioner, tax collector, or sheriff … the officer selling the property shall give written notice of such excess funds to the record owner of the property at the time of the tax sale and to the record owner of each security deed affecting the property and to all other parties having any recorded equity interest or claim in such property at the time of the tax sale. Such notice shall be sent by first-class mail within 30 days after the tax sale.
Source: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20052006/65084
Georgia counties on this site
- Clayton County — 53 parcels listed
Elsewhere on this site
Statutory facts on this page were read from the official statute host or the state's own promulgated rules on the dates shown. Statutes are amended; the citation and quote are provided so every field can be re-checked at its source. This page is not legal advice.