If you need to know whether a property appears on the Calhoun County delinquent tax list, the fastest check is the Revenue Commissioner’s online search at altags.com, where you can look up any parcel by owner name or parcel number and see the amount owed. The list feeds directly into the county’s annual tax lien auction, with the next sale scheduled for May 5, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. through the GovEase online platform.1Calhoun County. Delinquent Tax Listing – Calhoun County If a parcel you own or care about shows up there, the clock is already running on interest, fees, and eventually the loss of the property to a lien buyer.
How to Check the List
The online portal at altags.com is the primary tool. Search by owner name or parcel number and the current delinquent balance appears for each matching property.1Calhoun County. Delinquent Tax Listing – Calhoun County Parcel-level property records and GIS mapping are available separately at gis.calhouncounty.org.2Calhoun County Revenue Commission. Calhoun County Revenue Commission
You can also review the list in person at the Revenue Commissioner’s office at 1702 Noble Street, Suite 104, Anniston, AL 36201.2Calhoun County Revenue Commission. Calhoun County Revenue Commission Before the auction, state law requires the tax collecting official to notify delinquent taxpayers at least 30 days in advance by first-class mail, and to publish the list by newspaper, on the county website, or by courthouse posting.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 40-10-182 – Tax Liens Subject to Public Auction or Sale Do not count on the mailed notice reaching you; addresses on county rolls are often out of date, which is one of the main reasons owners discover a lien only after the sale.
What Each Entry Shows
Every entry identifies a specific parcel and the debt attached to it. You will see the owner’s name, a legal description, the parcel identification number, and the tax year that remains unpaid. The base figure is the original assessment, with accumulated penalties added as the auction approaches, plus a $45 administrative fee that attaches once a parcel is placed on the tax lien auction list.1Calhoun County. Delinquent Tax Listing – Calhoun County
One important wrinkle: the owner’s name does not have to be correct, or even present, for the lien to be valid. If the legal description and parcel number are enough to identify the property, the lien can be sold even where the name is wrong or listed as unknown.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 40-10-185 – Tax Lien Not Required to Be Listed Against Specific Person A misspelling or missing name is not a defense against a sale. Always search by parcel number as well as by name.
When a Property Lands on the List
Alabama property taxes are due October 1 and become delinquent after December 31 of the same year.5Alabama Department of Revenue. When Are My Property Taxes Due? After that date, the unpaid balance accrues interest at 12 percent per year, which keeps running until the taxes are paid or the lien is sold.6Cornell Law Institute. Alabama Admin Code Rule 810-4-6-.02 – Reduction of Interest Rate on Delinquent Property Taxes There is no additional grace period, and the county does not send a sequence of warnings before adding a parcel to the delinquent roll.
The May 5, 2026 Tax Lien Auction
Calhoun County sells tax liens rather than the properties themselves.2Calhoun County Revenue Commission. Calhoun County Revenue Commission At auction, the debt changes hands, not the deed. The owner still holds title, but a new party now holds a legal claim secured by the parcel. The 2026 sale will run online on GovEase on May 5 at 8:30 a.m.1Calhoun County. Delinquent Tax Listing – Calhoun County
A buyer receives a tax lien certificate recording the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, fees, and costs paid, together with the interest rate the purchaser will earn on that balance.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 40-10-187 – Tax Lien Certificate Liens that go unsold at auction and are later picked up through a private sale carry an interest rate capped at 12 percent.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 40-10-199 – Retention of Tax Liens Not Auctioned or Sold
Paying Before the Auction
The first move is to call the Revenue Commissioner’s office at 256-241-2840 or email revenue@calhouncounty.org and request a current payoff statement.2Calhoun County Revenue Commission. Calhoun County Revenue Commission Interest accrues daily, so a payoff figure pulled a week before you actually pay will leave a short balance behind. Ask for a figure dated as close to your payment day as possible.
Payments can be made in person at the Noble Street office or by mail. As the auction approaches, the county may require certified funds such as a cashier’s check or money order rather than a personal check. Online card payments, where accepted, typically carry a processing fee of roughly 2 to 3 percent.
Before you pay, confirm no investor has already bought the lien at a previous auction. If a certificate holder already owns it, your payment still goes through the Revenue Commissioner, who forwards it to redeem the certificate, but the total owed will be higher because it has to cover the certificate holder’s interest and any taxes they have paid since.
What Happens If the Lien Is Sold
A lien sale does not end ownership. Alabama gives the owner a right of redemption: you can reclaim the property by paying the full amount on the certificate, including interest, penalties, fees, and costs, plus any later taxes the certificate holder has covered. Payment goes through the Revenue Commissioner’s office, not directly to the lien buyer.9Macon County Revenue Commission. Alabama Code Title 40-10-193 – Redemption
The hard deadline sits on the far side of a waiting period. A certificate holder cannot sue immediately. They must wait at least four years after the auction before filing a quiet-title action in circuit court to foreclose the right to redeem, and they have up to 10 years from the auction to do so. If the court finds the sale was valid, notice was proper, and the lien was never redeemed, it enters judgment transferring full ownership and directs the circuit clerk to execute a deed.10Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 40-10-197 – Action to Foreclose the Right to Redeem Four years sounds generous, but owners who never knew a lien was sold can burn through it without noticing, and the redemption cost grows every year the balance sits.
Exemptions That Can Keep You Off the List
Several Alabama exemptions reduce a property tax bill, sometimes to zero. Applying before the October 1 due date is the cleanest way to stay off the delinquent roll in the first place. None applies automatically; a claim has to be filed with the Calhoun County Revenue Commissioner.
- Owners aged 65 and older are exempt from the state portion of property tax on a homestead of up to 160 acres. County taxes may still apply, so the bill is not always eliminated.11Alabama Department of Revenue. I Am Over 65 – Do I Have to Pay Property Taxes?
- Owners who are permanently and totally disabled qualify for the same state-portion exemption at any age, provided they own and occupy the property as their primary residence.11Alabama Department of Revenue. I Am Over 65 – Do I Have to Pay Property Taxes?
- Owners who are blind qualify under the same terms, regardless of age.11Alabama Department of Revenue. I Am Over 65 – Do I Have to Pay Property Taxes?
The homestead exemption covers a single-family, owner-occupied dwelling on up to 160 acres, and you must occupy the property as your primary residence on the first day of the tax year.11Alabama Department of Revenue. I Am Over 65 – Do I Have to Pay Property Taxes? If you qualify but have never filed, contact the Revenue Commissioner before October 1 to apply.