Delinquent Property Taxes in Georgia: A Sheriff's Tax Deed You Buy Back From the Bidder, Not the County
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Georgia · Last updated October 21, 2026
In Georgia the phrase delinquent property taxes describes a bill a homeowner missed by their own county's due date, after which interest and penalties pile up and the tax commissioner can put the parcel on the courthouse steps. What the winning bidder buys there is neither a certificate nor the land outright. It is a sheriff's tax deed, and it stays defeasible. Until the right of redemption is foreclosed, Georgia tax commissioners describe that deed as having about the same effect as a lien, so the buyer may not take possession, evict a tenant, improve the property or collect rent. Taxes are due by December 20 unless the law says otherwise, and a local governing authority may move the official due date to December 1 or to November 15, or bill in installments, so the date that binds you is your county's (Georgia Department of Revenue). Interest then accrues monthly at the bank prime loan rate plus 3 percent under O.C.G.A. 48-2-40, set at 9.75 percent a year for 2026, and a 5 percent penalty attaches 120 days past the due date and repeats every 120 days to a 20 percent ceiling (O.C.G.A. 48-2-44). Buying the house back is not an interest calculation at all. You pay the purchaser the sum bid at the sale, plus any taxes that purchaser has since paid, plus a flat premium of 20 percent for the first year or any fraction of one, then 10 percent for each year or fraction after that (O.C.G.A. 48-4-42). You have at least 12 months from the sale date, and longer until the purchaser serves the barment notice. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Georgia
Where are you with the unpaid property taxes?
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How soon can a Georgia tax commissioner sell my house over unpaid taxes?
There is no waiting period measured in years. The tax commissioner notifies the taxpayer in writing that the taxes are unpaid, and may issue a tax execution 30 days later (O.C.G.A. 48-3-3). After levy, 20 days notice, a 10 day sale notice and four weeks of advertising, the parcel can be sold the same tax year.
How long is the Georgia redemption window after a tax sale?
At least 12 months, measured from the date of the sale, and the right survives past that date. O.C.G.A. 48-4-40 keeps redemption open after the sale until the purchaser forecloses it by giving the notice in O.C.G.A. 48-4-45. So 12 months is a floor, and the real cutoff is the expiration date printed in that notice.
How much is the Georgia premium to redeem a tax deed?
A flat premium, not interest. Twenty percent of the amount for the first year or fraction of a year between the sale and the redemption payment, then 10 percent for each year or fraction after that, added to the sum bid at the sale plus any taxes and special assessments the purchaser has paid since (O.C.G.A. 48-4-42).
When do Georgia property taxes come due and start running penalties?
Unless the law says otherwise, property taxes are due by December 20, though a local governing authority may move that to December 1 or November 15 or bill in installments. Every taxpayer gets 60 days from the postmark of the bill before interest accrues (Georgia Department of Revenue).
What a Georgia sheriff's tax deed does and does not hand the bidder
Property taxes go delinquent in Georgia when a homeowner misses the county's payment date, and the county then adds interest and penalties and can force a sale to collect. The instrument is a redeemable deed. Bidding opens at the taxes plus costs, the sheriff's tax deed rather than the property is struck off to the highest bidder, and sales run on the first Tuesday of the month. The deed is defeasible from the moment it is signed: Georgia tax commissioners say it has about the same effect as a lien until the right of redemption is foreclosed, and the buyer gets no rents, no possession and no eviction. Two further things set Georgia apart. The redemption money goes to the purchaser in United States currency, not to the county. And the purchaser, not the tax office, works out the figure.
A Dougherty County rental house sold in October, redeemed the following June
A landlord owes 2,340 dollars on a small rental house and lets the bill lapse past the county date. Monthly interest runs, a 5 percent penalty attaches at 120 days, a fi. fa. issues, and the sheriff's tax deed is struck off on a first Tuesday in October 2025 for 14,200 dollars. The purchaser then pays the 2026 taxes of 2,410 dollars. In June 2026 the landlord wants it back. The base is 14,200 plus 2,410, or 16,610 dollars. Inside the first year the premium is 20 percent of that, 3,322 dollars, so roughly 19,932 dollars goes to the purchaser, not the tax commissioner. Waiting until after the October anniversary adds 10 percent more, about 1,661 dollars. Only the purchaser's own itemisation is binding.
Relevant Laws
O.C.G.A. 48-5-18 and the December 20 due date (Georgia Department of Revenue)
The Department of Revenue states that property tax returns are due to be filed with the county tax receiver or county tax commissioner between January 1 and April 1 under O.C.G.A. 48-5-18, that the tax commissioner collects property taxes for the county and school, and that unless otherwise specifically stated in the law property taxes are due by December 20, with some counties setting an earlier deadline and some requiring payment in two installments.
The county option on the due date, and 60 days from billing (Georgia Department of Revenue, County Property Tax Facts)
The Department's county fact pages state that even though the official due date for ad valorem tax payment is December 20th, the local governing authority may adopt a resolution changing the official due date to December 1st or November 15th, or may implement installment billing with multiple due dates, and that each taxpayer shall be afforded 60 days from date of postmark of the tax bill to make full payment before interest accrues.
O.C.G.A. 48-2-40 (interest on past due taxes, accruing monthly)
The Department of Revenue's penalty and interest page states that interest on past due taxes accrues monthly from the date the tax is due until the date the tax is paid, and that interest accruing from July 1, 2016 accrues at an annual rate equal to the Federal Reserve prime rate plus 3 percent, reviewed and possibly adjusted each January, citing O.C.G.A. 48-2-40.
Policy Bulletin ADMIN-2026-01 (the 2026 interest rate, 9.75 percent accruing monthly)
The Department's annual notice of interest rate adjustment, effective January 1, 2026, states that for calendar year 2026 the annual interest rate will be 9.75 percent, accruing monthly, determined from the bank prime loan rate in Federal Reserve statistical release H.15 plus 3 percent, and records that the rate was 10.50 percent in calendar year 2025. Authority cited: O.C.G.A. 48-2-7, 48-2-35 and 48-2-40.
O.C.G.A. 48-2-44 (the 5 percent penalty every 120 days, capped at 20 percent)
The Greene County Tax Commissioner states that all taxes remaining unpaid after the due date are delinquent and subject to interest and penalties as mandated by state law, that an annual interest of the annual prime banking rate plus 3 percent is added to the unpaid principal with a 2026 monthly rate of 0.8125 percent, and that a 5 percent penalty is added to the unpaid principal 120 days from the due date with an additional 5 percent every 120 days until a maximum of 20 percent of the original principal has been charged.
O.C.G.A. 48-3-3 and the tax execution (fi. fa.), levy, and four week advertisement
The DeKalb County Tax Commissioner states that a tax lien attaches to the property at its valuation on January 1 under O.C.G.A. 48-2-56, that on December 31 under O.C.G.A. 48-3-3 the tax commissioner must issue an execution against all delinquent taxpayers, that executions direct the levying officer to levy on the property, that sales are scheduled on the first Tuesday of a month on the courthouse steps, and that notice of the sale is published once a week for four weeks immediately preceding the sale in the county legal organ.
O.C.G.A. 48-4-40 and 48-4-42 (the 12 month floor and the stepped premium)
The DeKalb County Tax Commissioner states that the taxpayer or any other person having a right, title, interest in, or lien upon the property may redeem it within twelve months of the sale by paying the redemption price, that the purchaser is not entitled to rents or profits during that period, and that the redemption price is the amount paid for the tax deed at the sale plus any subsequently paid taxes, plus 20 percent of that amount for the first year or fraction thereof, and 10 percent for each additional year or fraction thereof until redemption.
O.C.G.A. 48-4-45 and 48-4-46 (foreclosing the right of redemption, the barment notice)
The Greene County Tax Commissioner states that after 12 months from the date of the tax sale the purchaser may terminate or foreclose on the owner's right to redeem, that to do so notice must be sent by certified mail to the owner of record and to all interest holders which appear on the public record, and that the notice of foreclosure must be published in the newspaper in the county where the property is located once a week for four consecutive weeks. It also states that until the right of redemption has been foreclosed a sheriff's tax deed has about the same equivalent as a lien.
O.C.G.A. 48-4-5 (excess funds, the five year limit and interpleader)
The Chatham County Tax Commissioner states that when a property sells at a tax sale for more than the amount owed the surplus is excess funds held by the tax commissioner until claimed, that pursuant to O.C.G.A. 48-4-5 excess funds are to be paid to the rightful claimants as determined by law, that if no one claims the funds within five years of the tax sale date they are transferred to the Georgia Department of Revenue, and that after that the only way to recover the money is a court order obtained by filing an interpleader action in superior court.
Redemption is from the deed holder, and the deed is not ownership yet
The Chatham County Tax Commissioner states that the owner, their heirs, legal assigns, or anyone with a legal interest may redeem property sold at a tax sale, that the redeemer pays the purchase price plus 20 percent plus any other taxes or legal costs, and that a sheriff's deed does not grant full legal ownership until the redemption right is legally barred, so until then the purchaser may not evict the previous owner or take possession, citing O.C.G.A. 48-4-40 through 48-4-48.
County practice on partial payments, the fi. fa. filing, and the monthly interest divisor
The McDuffie County Tax Commissioner states that property tax bills are mailed by September 15 and due November 15 in that county, that interest is calculated monthly at the prime rate plus 3 divided by 12, that the penalty is 5 percent every 120 days to a 20 percent maximum, that a fi. fa. is filed with the clerk of court 30 days after the bill becomes delinquent, and that partial payments are accepted only by signed agreement set up before the bill becomes delinquent and approved by the tax commissioner.
Regional Variances
Georgia delinquent property tax rules at a glance
Sale mechanism
Hybrid, a redeemable sheriff's tax deed. The tax commissioner issues an execution, the property is levied on, and bidding opens at the taxes plus costs with the sheriff's tax deed, not the property, struck off to the highest bidder on the first Tuesday of the month. A county may instead use judicial in rem tax foreclosure under O.C.G.A. 48-4-75 through 48-4-81, which runs in superior court.
Delinquency date
December 20 by default, with the local governing authority free to adopt a resolution moving the official due date to December 1 or November 15, or to bill in instalments with multiple due dates. Every taxpayer must be given 60 days from the postmark of the bill to pay in full before interest accrues. Check your own county (Georgia Department of Revenue).
Penalty and interest before any sale
Two charges of different kinds. Interest accrues monthly at the bank prime loan rate plus 3 percent under O.C.G.A. 48-2-40, set at 9.75 percent a year for 2026, which county offices publish as 0.8125 percent a month. Separately a 5 percent penalty is added to the unpaid principal 120 days from the due date, and again every 120 days, to a 20 percent ceiling (O.C.G.A. 48-2-44).
Time before sale
No minimum number of years. The tax commissioner must notify the taxpayer in writing that the taxes are unpaid, and may issue the execution 30 days after that notice (O.C.G.A. 48-3-3). One tax commissioner files the fi. fa. 30 days after delinquency; another issues executions against all delinquent taxpayers on December 31. A parcel can reach the block inside the same tax year.
Redemption period and the clock
The clock starts on the date of the tax sale, not on the delinquency date and not on recording. Redemption is open at any time within 12 months from the date of the sale, and at any time after the sale until the right to redeem is foreclosed by the barment notice (O.C.G.A. 48-4-40). So 12 months is a floor. The binding date is the expiration date printed in the purchaser's notice.
Redeemer's charge
A flat stepped premium, not a monthly rate, not an annual rate and not a bid-down rate. Twenty percent of the amount for the first year or fraction of a year between the sale and the redemption payment, then 10 percent for each year or fraction of a year after that (O.C.G.A. 48-4-42). Because a fraction counts as a year, redeeming in week one and in month eleven cost the same.
Other redemption costs
Added to the sum bid: every tax the purchaser paid after the sale, any special assessments, and for sales after July 1, 2016 amounts paid to a property owners, condominium or homeowners association. If redemption comes more than 30 days after the barment notice, add the sheriff's cost of serving it and the publication cost (O.C.G.A. 48-4-42). Levy, title research and advertising costs load the pre-sale balance.
Notice to the owner
Written notice that the taxes are unpaid and that an execution will issue, then 30 days (O.C.G.A. 48-3-3). Twenty days written notice of the levy to the record owner and the record holder of each security deed or mortgage, in person or by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery with return receipt (O.C.G.A. 48-3-9). Ten days written notice of the sale (O.C.G.A. 48-4-1). Four weeks of advertising in the county legal organ.
Where to redeem
Before the sale, the county tax commissioner. After the sale, the purchaser: all amounts are payable in lawful money of the United States to the purchaser at the tax sale or that purchaser's successors (O.C.G.A. 48-4-42), the purchaser determines the amount payable, and county tax offices say they do not assist. On payment the purchaser gives a quitclaim deed (O.C.G.A. 48-4-44). The judicial route instead pays the superior court registry.
Surplus proceeds
Claimable from the officer who sold. Written notice of excess funds goes out by first class mail within 30 days after the sale to the record owner at the time of the sale, each security deed holder and others with a recorded equity interest, and the officer may interplead the funds into superior court. Unclaimed five years after the sale date, they pass to the Department of Revenue and then need a court order (O.C.G.A. 48-4-5).
Payment plan
No statewide statutory right to pay off a delinquency in instalments was located. O.C.G.A. 48-5-23 instead lets a county or municipality elect, by resolution or ordinance adopted by December 31 for the next tax year, to bill and collect that year's taxes in instalments, and unpaid instalments still draw statutory interest. At least one tax commissioner accepts a signed partial payment agreement made before the bill goes delinquent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Georgia guides
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