South Carolina Tax Deed & Lien Auctions Addresses & bids
South Carolina tax sale properties, straight from county records. Last refreshed Oct 13, 2026. Auction dates and opening bids can change at the county. Check the county link on a listing before you bid.
South Carolina sells the property at auction, but the former owner can still buy it back for a set time after the sale by repaying your price plus a premium set by state law. You own it outright only after that window closes (subject to certain surviving liens and title clearing requirements).
Redemption Period
1 yr
Property sold at the Delinquent Tax Sale subject to a 12-month redemption from the sale date (SC Code 12-51-90); the tax deed issues only if the owner does not redeem. If the owner redeems, you get your bid back plus 3%, 6%, 9% or 12% of it depending on the quarter of the redemption year, but never more than the opening bid amount. Property nobody bids on goes to the county Forfeited Land Commission: buying its bid during those 12 months still leaves the owner the rest of the year to redeem, while land the Commission sells after the year has ended carries no redemption.
Forfeited Land Commission property: if you buy the Commission's bid before the 12-month redemption year ends, the owner can still redeem until it ends; only land the Commission already holds title to sells with no redemption. Ask the county which one you are buying.
Avg Property Tax Rate
0.57%
Below the national average (1.1%). Lower tax rates often mean smaller opening bids and lien amounts.
Homestead Rules
Special Rules Apply
Homestead exemption for 65+.
Words used on this page
Redemption period
A window after the sale when the old owner can pay up and take the property back.
Homestead exemption
A tax break on an owner's main home. It changes what the minimum bid includes.
Opening bid
Where bidding starts. It is not a price or a value. Often it is just the tax owed.
Tax deed
The county sells the property itself. The winner owns it.
Before you bid in South Carolina
What can survive the sale and become yours
IRS federal tax liens
Other things to check
South Carolina is a redeemable-deed state.
The winning bid is paid in full on sale day, and the owner, a later owner, or a mortgage or judgment creditor can redeem for 12 months from the sale (SC Code 12-51-90).
Interest is a one-time amount on your bid: 3% in months 1-3, 6% in months 4-6, 9% in months 7-9, 12% in months 10-12, but never more than the opening bid (the taxes, penalties and costs the county bid for the Forfeited Land Commission), so on a large overbid your return is far below 12%.
If the owner does not redeem, the county issues you a tax title that does not guarantee clear title, and any suit to take the land back must be brought within two years of the sale (12-51-90(C), 12-51-160).
Forfeited Land Commission property: an assignment of the Commission's bid bought during the redemption year can still be redeemed until that year ends; land the Commission already holds title to sells with no redemption left.
How we rate these
Every listing says one of four things. Next to it is how many facts we hold
for it, and what that much evidence is good enough for.
Worth a look
We hold the four basics (what is being sold, when, for how much, and what the property is) and nothing we hold argues against it. A claim about our record, not a promise about the property.
Needs review
We hold the basics, but a named finding wants a human first: a possible lien under the owner's name, a flood or environmental record, no mapped public road, a property check that fired, an opening bid at or above the value we hold for the parcel, or a sale the county reports as postponed.
Screened out
We hold positive evidence of a problem: recorded debt or an IRS lien that survives the sale, a lot too small to be a real parcel, a sale the county reports as over, or a sale date already past. The card names it.
Not enough data yet
One of the four basics is missing. This is not a bad rating: missing data can never produce a negative verdict.
N of 12 facts on file
How many of the 12 facts we track for this parcel we actually hold: sale kind, auction date, entry price, property class, value, lot size, living area, legal description, road access, title search, condition, sale terms. The same count on the board, the deal page and in Flexy. Hover the bar on any card to see which are still missing.
One number cannot say both how good a parcel looks and how much we actually know
about it, and a low number reads as a verdict. So we do not print one.
“Not enough data yet” is not a judgement about the property.
South Carolina is a tax deed state. Property sold at the Delinquent Tax Sale subject to a 12-month redemption from the sale date (SC Code 12-51-90); the tax deed issues only if the owner does not redeem. If the owner redeems, you get your bid back plus 3%, 6%, 9% or 12% of it depending on the quarter of the redemption year, but never more than the opening bid amount. Property nobody bids on goes to the county Forfeited Land Commission: buying its bid during those 12 months still leaves the owner the rest of the year to redeem, while land the Commission sells after the year has ended carries no redemption.
During those 12 months the owner (or a later owner, mortgage holder or judgment creditor) keeps the property by paying the delinquent taxes, penalties and costs plus the interest owed to the winning bidder; the county then refunds the bidder's bid plus that interest.
DeedFlex aggregates South Carolina tax sale listings from county auction platforms and gives each property a plain-English verdict: Worth a look, Needs review, Screened out, or Not enough data yet. Next to it is how far the research has got on it. Start with Pro ($59/mo, flat) to browse all available South Carolina properties with full deal analysis.
Key risks include: IRS federal tax liens. SC is a redeemable-deed state. The winning bid is paid in full on sale day, and the owner, a later owner, or a mortgage or judgment creditor can redeem for 12 months from the sale (SC Code 12-51-90). Interest is a one-time amount on your bid: 3% in months 1-3, 6% in months 4-6, 9% in months 7-9, 12% in months 10-12, but never more than the opening bid (the taxes, penalties and costs the county bid for the Forfeited Land Commission), so on a large overbid your return is far below 12%. If the owner does not redeem, the county issues you a tax title that does not guarantee clear title, and any suit to take the land back must be brought within two years of the sale (12-51-90(C), 12-51-160). Forfeited Land Commission property: an assignment of the Commission's bid bought during the redemption year can still be redeemed until that year ends; land the Commission already holds title to sells with no redemption left.
Opening bids vary widely by county and property. South Carolina has an average property tax rate of 0.57%, which influences opening bid amounts. DeedFlex shows the opening bid for every listed property. Where we hold a market value we can stand behind, we show it; where we do not, we say so rather than print a number we cannot support.
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