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Tax Sale Atlas

Tuscaloosa County, AL tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the Tuscaloosa County, AL tax sale, one of 2,553 counties in 30 states. Alabama sells tax lien certificates paying up to 12%. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Jul 27, 2026.

How tax lien sales work in Tuscaloosa County, seat of Tuscaloosa: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Alabama tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
Not scheduled.
Format
GovEase
Registration
Registration is required before the online sale and bidders must be approved on GovEase.
County office
(205) 464-8230
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Tuscaloosa County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Alabama holds no routine county tax deed auction under the tax lien regime. A holder of all the sold, unexpired, outstanding tax lien certificates on a parcel may file an action in circuit court to foreclose the right to redeem and quiet title, but only once four years have passed since the tax lien auction and no later than ten years after it. The holder must mail a notice of intent at least 30 days and no more than 180 days before filing, to the owner of record, every recorded lienholder, the tax collecting official, and anyone else who may reasonably be believed to hold an interest.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

GovEase
Run by
Tuscaloosa County Tax Collector's Office
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual, last week of April.
Registration
Registration is required before the online sale and bidders must be approved on GovEase.
Next expected
between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Delinquent Tax Listing (tax lien auction list)
When it runs
Annual, last week of April. The Tax Collector's tax lien sale page states "A Tax Lien Auction will be held the last week of April at 10:00 am." The Tax Lien Sale FAQ gives "Last week of April" and "Auction starts at 10:00 AM (CST) and will continue until 2:00 PM (CST) until the auction is complete." The county's live Delinquent Tax Listing sets the current cycle, for the 2025 tax year, at April 29, 2026 at 9:00 AM CST on govease.com. That published 9:00 AM start conflicts with the 10:00 AM start in the FAQ, so confirm the exact time with the office each year.
Registration and deposit

Registration is required before the online sale and bidders must be approved on GovEase. The FAQ states "Bidder registration will be available three weeks prior to the tax lien auction. You may register as a bidder by going to GovEase.com". The tax lien sale page states "Registration is required prior to the online sale. Registration begins a few weeks prior to sale in April. Go to GovEase.com to register and get approved." Bidding is a bid-down-the-interest auction: "Anyone wishing to purchase a tax lien property must, once approved, go online and bid interest percents. The lowest bid interest wins." The FAQ sets 1% increments and states "The beginning interest rate bid shall not exceed a rate of 12%." Each lien is open for bidding 30 seconds, and the clock resets for an additional 10 seconds if a bid lands in the final 10 seconds. If the rate reaches 0% and more than one bidder remains, the winner is picked by random number generator. Auction costs total $45.00 per lien: a $20 origination fee, a $20 auction fee, and a $5 tax lien certificate fee.

Sale format and venue
Tuscaloosa County sells tax lien certificates, not deeds, and the auction is fully online on GovEase. There is no in-person courthouse auction. After payment, the FAQ states "a tax lien certificate will be prepared and mailed to the purchaser within 10 business days of the close of the tax lien auction." Liens that draw no bid stay with the county and are available over the counter: "Tax liens that are not sold at auction are held by Tuscaloosa County. Remaining liens can be purchased over-the-counter at the Tax Collector's office for no less than all taxes, interest, penalties, costs, and fees; the interest rate may not exceed 12%." The Delinquent Tax Listing notes a $45 administrative fee per Alabama Code 40-10-184. Redemption carries "a $10 redemption fee" and the FAQ says redemptions "can be made any time following the close of the auction, before judgment of foreclosure is entered"; the FAQ does not state a redemption period length, so use the Alabama state rule. Property taxes are "DUE on October 1st and become DELINQUENT after December 31st of each year," with delinquent amounts accruing 1% of the tax per month plus a $5.00 per parcel delinquency fee beginning January 1. Caution: the tax lien sale page carries stale example text ("Listed properties will be published April 2022") and the FAQ still says a list would post "no later than March 25, 2022", so treat the live Delinquent Tax Listing as controlling.
Register on GovEase
Source: Tuscaloosa County Tax Collector, Tax Lien Sale Frequently Asked Questions· Verified Jul 27, 2026

Tuscaloosa County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Tuscaloosa County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Delinquent Tax Listing (tax lien auction list) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Registration is required before the online sale and bidders must be approved on GovEase. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Not scheduled. Bidding runs on GovEase; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Circuit court of the county; the circuit clerk executes the deed as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Tuscaloosa County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent Tax Listing (tax lien auction list). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Registration is required before the online sale and bidders must be approved on GovEase. The FAQ states "Bidder registration will be available three weeks prior to the tax lien auction. You may register as a bidder by going to GovEase.com". The tax lien sale page states "Registration is required prior to the online sale. Registration begins a few weeks prior to sale in April. Go to GovEase.com to register and get approved." Bidding is a bid-down-the-interest auction: "Anyone wishing to purchase a tax lien property must, once approved, go online and bid interest percents. The lowest bid interest wins." The FAQ sets 1% increments and states "The beginning interest rate bid shall not exceed a rate of 12%." Each lien is open for bidding 30 seconds, and the clock resets for an additional 10 seconds if a bid lands in the final 10 seconds. If the rate reaches 0% and more than one bidder remains, the winner is picked by random number generator. Auction costs total $45.00 per lien: a $20 origination fee, a $20 auction fee, and a $5 tax lien certificate fee.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Alabama due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases

Liens that draw no bid at the auction stay with the county. At any time after the auction date the tax collecting official may sell an unsold lien at private sale for no less than all taxes, interest, penalties, costs and fees due, plus any amount owed to a prior certificate holder. The rate is agreed with the tax collecting official and cannot exceed 12 percent, so over-the-counter liens often carry the full rate. Ask the county for its list of unsold liens.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Alabama calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Tuscaloosa County Tax Collector's Office

(205) 464-8230

714 Greensboro Ave, Room 124, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

Official website

County notes

  • Tuscaloosa County runs a tax LIEN auction, not a tax deed sale. Investors buy tax lien certificates and bid down the interest rate.
  • The sale is fully online on GovEase at https://www.govease.com/. There is no in-person courthouse auction.
  • Current cycle per the county's live Delinquent Tax Listing: tax lien auction for the 2025 tax year on April 29, 2026 at 9:00 AM CST on govease.com.
  • Susan Jones is the elected Tuscaloosa County Tax Collector. Office email is collector@tuscco.com and office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm except holidays. The Delinquent Tax Listing also gives 205-464-8232 as a second verification line, and the office home page lists (205) 263-1573 for online payment.
  • Bidding mechanics per the FAQ: 1% increments, a starting rate that cannot exceed 12%, a 30-second window per lien extended 10 seconds by a late bid, and a random number generator to break ties at 0%.
  • Total auction cost is $45.00 per lien: a $20 origination fee, a $20 auction fee, and a $5 tax lien certificate fee. The Delinquent Tax Listing cites the same $45 administrative fee under Alabama Code 40-10-184.
  • Unsold liens are retained by the county and sold over the counter at the Tax Collector's office for no less than all taxes, interest, penalties, costs and fees, at a rate not exceeding 12%.
  • The Tax Collector also publishes an Insolvent Listing for the 2025 tax year and a list of 2025 parcels for sale after the tax sale as PDFs linked from the office pages.
  • Data-quality caveat: the county's tax lien sale page and FAQ mix current rules with stale 2022 example dates, and the FAQ's 10:00 AM CST start time conflicts with the 9:00 AM CST time on the live Delinquent Tax Listing. Re-verify timing annually against the Delinquent Tax Listing.
  • The county pages omit a redemption period length or a bidder deposit amount, so those must be taken from the Alabama state rules or confirmed with the office.

Alabama rules

Max interest rate
12% per year, bid down at auction
Minimum return
No statutory minimum; interest accrues at your bid rate
Redemption
A tax lien can be redeemed at any time before the circuit court enters judgment in a foreclosure action, and the holder cannot file that action until four years after the auction or the tax official's private sale. If the holder does not commence a foreclosure action within ten years of the auction or sale, the certificate expires and the lien becomes void. A certificate holder has no right to enter or possess the property, make repairs, or charge rents before it receives the circuit clerk's deed. In a county that uses the Article 1 property tax sale instead, land sold to a purchaser other than the state may be redeemed within three years from the date of sale, and land bid in for the state may be redeemed at any time before title passes out of the state.
Surplus proceeds
In a court-ordered auction the proceeds pay the cost of the auction first, then the certificate holder up to the redemption amount plus taxes it paid before filing and the court-allowed costs and fees. Any surplus goes to the owner or the owner's heirs or successors as the court determines, and Alabama's unclaimed property law applies to whatever is left. In a county that instead uses the Article 1 property tax sale, the excess over the decree is held in a separate county account for three years for a party who redeems, and Section 40-10-28 opens later windows in which the owner or a redeeming party can claim it.
Governing statute
Ala. Code § 40-10-180

A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.

See the full Alabamarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Tuscaloosa County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Alabama investors buy the lien, not the property; the County tax collecting official runs the sale.

When is the Tuscaloosa County tax certificate sale?

Annual, last week of April. The Tax Collector's tax lien sale page states "A Tax Lien Auction will be held the last week of April at 10:00 am." The Tax Lien Sale FAQ gives "Last week of April" and "Auction starts at 10:00 AM (CST) and will continue until 2:00 PM (CST) until the auction is complete." The county's live Delinquent Tax Listing sets the current cycle, for the 2025 tax year, at April 29, 2026 at 9:00 AM CST on govease.com. That published 9:00 AM start conflicts with the 10:00 AM start in the FAQ, so confirm the exact time with the office each year. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the County tax collecting official before the sale.

How often does Tuscaloosa County hold tax deed sales?

Tuscaloosa County holds its tax deed sale none (court action, not a scheduled auction). Not scheduled. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Alabama's redemption rule: Redeemable until the circuit court enters judgment; the holder cannot file to foreclose until 4 years after the tax lien auction, and the certificate expires 10 years after it. Call the Circuit court of the county; the circuit clerk executes the deed as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Tuscaloosa County tax sale list?

Tuscaloosa County posts its tax sale list at altags.com. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.

Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.

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