To buy a redeemable tax deed in South Carolina you bid on the property at a county auction run by the county. The deed is yours at the sale. The former owner then keeps a statutory window to take the parcel back by paying you a redemption penalty, so your title stays defeasible until that window closes.
Each step below is drawn from South Carolina statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.
New here? There is no certificate step in South Carolina. You bid on the property itself, so the money is at risk on the parcel from day one and the research has to happen before the auction, not after. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Learn the timeline and lien priority
South Carolina property taxes are due and payable between September 30 and January 15 following assessment. A 3 percent penalty is added if the taxes are not paid before January 16, or before thirty days after the tax notices were mailed, whichever date is later. Another 7 percent is added if the bill is still unpaid on February 2, and another 5 percent if it is still unpaid on March 17, so a delinquent bill carries 15 percent in penalties by mid March. At that point the county treasurer issues his tax execution to the officer authorized to collect delinquent taxes, and collection moves to Chapter 51. A county governing body may also approve using the Chapter 56 setoff procedures as an initial collection step, but the tax sale itself still runs under Chapter 51. Property taxes, assessments, and penalties are a first lien on the property taxed, and that lien attaches on December 31 for the taxes payable during the following year, which is what makes a South Carolina tax sale a senior claim rather than a junior one. Understand this before you commit any money.
Wait out the redemption window
Interest is a lump sum tied to the quarter of the redemption year in which the property is redeemed, and the applicable figure relates back to the beginning of the redemption period. It is not a rate that accrues by the day or by the month, so redeeming on day 1 of a quarter and on the last day of the same quarter cost the same. The interest paid can never exceed the forfeited land commission bid amount under Section 12-51-55. The redemption clock runs twelve months from the date of the sale. Neither more than forty-five days nor less than twenty days before it ends, the delinquent tax officer must mail a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested and restricted delivery, to the defaulting taxpayer and to any grantee, mortgagee, or lessee of record, stating the amount needed to redeem and the date the tax title passes. Certified mail returned undelivered is not grounds to withhold the tax title. If nobody redeems, the officer makes a tax title to the purchaser within thirty days or as soon after that as possible. Personal property sold at a delinquent tax sale has no redemption period at all. A mobile or manufactured home runs on the same twelve-month clock, but it must not be moved from its location during that year without notice to the purchaser and the delinquent tax collector, and the redeeming owner or lienholder also owes the purchaser rent of up to one twelfth of the last completed tax year's taxes for each month between sale and redemption, with a ten dollar monthly minimum. If the official in charge discovers before the tax title passes that a required step was not properly performed, the official may void the sale and refund the bidder the amount paid plus the interest the county actually earned on it. To redeem, the owner pays The delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, plus interest computed on the bid amount under the statutory schedule: 3 percent for the first three months of the redemption period, 6 percent for months four, five, and six, 9 percent for months seven, eight, and nine, and 12 percent for the last three months. Each figure relates back to the beginning of the redemption period, so the tier that applies on the day of redemption applies to the whole period. The interest due can never exceed the bid submitted on behalf of the forfeited land commission under Section 12-51-55. When a parcel is redeemed the officer cancels the sale in the tax sale book and refunds the purchaser the purchase price plus that interest. If they redeem, that payoff is your return; if the window closes without a redemption, the parcel is yours outright.
Learn what sends a parcel to the auction
Taxes still unpaid on March 17 put the treasurer's execution in the hands of the delinquent tax officer. That officer mails a notice of delinquent taxes on April 1 or as soon after that as practicable, takes exclusive possession by certified mail with return receipt and restricted delivery, or by posting a seizure notice on the property when the certified mail comes back, and advertises the parcel once a week for three consecutive weeks. The parcel is then sold at public auction on the advertised date. The officer conducting the sale must submit a bid on behalf of the county forfeited land commission equal to all unpaid property taxes, penalties, assessments, and costs, including taxes levied for the year in which the redemption period begins, and including amounts owed to a special taxing or assessment district. That mandatory bid is the practical opening price: a parcel that draws no higher bid is struck to the commission. The commission is not required to bid on property known or reasonably suspected to be contaminated, and if contamination surfaces after the bid or while the commission holds title, the title is voidable at the commission's election.
Bid at the tax deed auction
The The person officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes, which is the county delinquent tax collector and in some counties the treasurer sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. South Carolina fixes no percentage deposit. The successful bidder pays the full amount of the bid on the day of the sale in legal tender, meaning cash, a cashier's check, a certified check, or a money order. If a defaulting taxpayer has more than one item advertised, the officer stops selling once enough has been raised to cover the delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs. In full on the day of the sale. If the successful bidder fails to remit legal tender within the time specified, the officer cancels that bid and readvertises the property for a later delinquent tax sale date, and the defaulting bidder is liable for up to five hundred dollars in damages, collectible by suit in the name of the taxing authority.
Or buy over the counter
You do not have to wait for an auction. A parcel that draws no bid above the mandatory forfeited land commission bid is struck to that commission, a county body made up of the treasurer, the auditor, and the clerk of court or register of deeds. The commission may assign its bid at any time before the title deed is made, for consideration of no less than the taxes, penalties, and costs the property was sold for. The chairman or a designee may accept sealed bids for assignments for a designated period, after which assignments are made first come, first served, and each county keeps a list of available forfeited land commission properties at a location the commission sets. Once title has passed to the commission, it sells the land on the terms it judges best for the county, with any payment term capped at ten years and secured by a first mortgage on the property sold. An immediate family member of a commission member may not buy from that commission unless the sale runs through a competitive bid process or a public listing open for at least ten days. In practice several counties run the assignments as a scheduled second sale: Charleston County places the parcels that went unsold at the annual tax sale into a sealed-bid silent auction about a month later and posts the list and instructions online only while that sale is open. South Carolina keeps no statewide lands available list. Forfeited land commission holdings are held and sold county by county, and a commission may refuse to accept title to a parcel if taking it would be against the public interest. Property assigned or sold by a commission still carries whatever title defects came with the tax sale, so a county, a commission, or a purchaser may bring an action in the court of common pleas to bar all other claims to the property.
One more step: clear the title
Winning a tax deed does not hand you marketable title. Before you can resell to a normal buyer or insure the parcel, you will usually need a quiet title action, which takes months and costs money. Fold that cost into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed before you bid. A tax deed also does not wipe out everything: select governmental and municipal liens can survive, and a federal tax lien carries a 120-day IRS redemption right, so check what survives a tax deed too.
Buying redeemable tax deeds in South Carolina: common questions
How do you buy a redeemable tax deed in South Carolina?
Can you buy South Carolina redeemable tax deeds online?
More South Carolina answers, including redemption and statute detail, are on the South Carolina tax sale FAQ.
New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full South Carolina walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Aug 6, 2026 against South Carolina statutes.
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.