How Does the Lexington County Tax Sale Work?

The Lexington County tax sale is an annual public auction where properties with unpaid prior-year taxes are sold to the highest bidder. The 2026 sale is scheduled for November 2 at 10:00 AM at the Barr Road Sports Complex, 213 Barr Road, Lexington, SC 29072.¹ The Lexington County Delinquent Tax Collector runs the whole process under South Carolina Code Title 12, Chapter 51, and the rules around bidding, redemption, and title transfer carry real financial consequences on both sides of the transaction.

Registering and Paying on Sale Day

Prospective bidders complete a Bidder Registration form and show a valid government-issued photo ID. The county also collects a Social Security Number or Federal Tax Identification Number so it can report any interest earnings to the IRS; if a property you buy is later redeemed, the collector issues a 1099-INT when cumulative interest paid to you during the calendar year reaches $600 or more.

Bring cash, a cashier’s check, certified check, or money order. Those are the only accepted forms of payment, and the full amount is due the same day you win a bid.² The Delinquent Tax Office does not take payments on sale day; everything happens at the sale venue.¹ The list of properties can shrink right up until the morning of the auction as owners pay off their balances, so expect last-minute changes.

How the Bidding Works

Every property starts with an opening bid submitted on behalf of the Forfeited Land Commission. That bid equals the total of all delinquent taxes, penalties, assessments, and costs, including the current year’s taxes.³ Bidders compete upward from that floor, and the collector accepts the highest offer on each parcel.

Once you win, you pay in certified funds before the deadline on sale day. If you fail to pay, the collector cancels your bid, readvertises the property, and can sue you for up to $500 in damages per property.⁴ The receipt you receive confirms your interest in the property but does not give you ownership or any right to enter it. That only happens later, after the redemption period runs out and a tax deed is recorded in your name.

If no private bidder tops the Forfeited Land Commission’s opening bid, the property goes to the Commission by default. The Commission is not required to bid on property known or reasonably suspected to be contaminated, and if contamination turns up after a bid, it can void its title.³

What To Check Before You Bid

Every property sells as-is. The county makes no promises about physical condition, boundaries, or existing encumbrances, so the homework falls entirely on you.

Title search. Check the Lexington County Register of Deeds for mortgages, liens, and easements. A mortgage lender with a lien can redeem during the 12-month window, which returns your money with interest but ends the investment.
Tax status. Confirm which years are delinquent and whether municipal liens exist. Any overbid surplus first goes to satisfy outstanding municipal tax liens before the former owner sees a dollar.
Federal liens. If the IRS has a tax lien on the property, the federal government has its own right to redeem (covered below).
Environmental issues. Properties near contaminated sites, floodplains, or protected wetlands can trigger cleanup costs that dwarf the purchase price.
Physical inspection. Drive by. You cannot enter the property, but you can look at it from the road and check whether structures are standing, occupied, or obviously damaged.

The 12-Month Redemption Period

After the sale, the original owner keeps legal title and possession for a full 12 months. During that window, the defaulting taxpayer, any grantee from the owner, or any mortgage or judgment creditor can redeem the property by paying all delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs plus interest.⁵ If someone redeems, the collector cancels the sale, asks you to return your receipt, and refunds your full bid plus the statutory interest.⁶

Interest depends on when the owner redeems. The rate is a flat lump sum on the entire bid amount, not an annualized percentage:

Months 1–3: 3% of the bid amount
Months 4–6: 6% of the bid amount
Months 7–9: 9% of the bid amount
Months 10–12: 12% of the bid amount

There’s a ceiling. The interest you receive can never exceed the Forfeited Land Commission’s opening bid, which equals all delinquent taxes, penalties, assessments, and costs.⁵ This cap matters most when the winning bid far exceeds the taxes owed. If the FLC opening bid was $2,000 and you won with a $20,000 bid, 12% of your bid would be $2,400, but the cap limits your interest to $2,000.

You can also assign your interest to someone else during the redemption period. The statute allows the tax deed to issue to the purchaser or the purchaser’s assignee, so you are not locked in if you want to sell your position before the 12 months expire.⁷

Surplus Funds From Overbids

When a winning bid exceeds the total of delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, the extra money does not vanish. The surplus first goes to satisfy any outstanding municipal tax liens on the property. Anything left belongs to the person who was owner of record immediately before the redemption period ended.⁷

Former owners have five years from the auction date to claim or assign their surplus. If no one claims the money within that window, it escheats to the general fund of the local governing body. Until then, the county holds unclaimed overages in a separate interest-bearing account.⁷ If you lost a property at a tax sale and the winning bid exceeded the taxes you owed, check with the Lexington County Delinquent Tax Collector’s office.

If the IRS Has a Lien

If the IRS has a recorded tax lien on a property sold at the Lexington County tax sale, the federal government gets its own redemption right. Under federal law, the IRS can redeem within 120 days of the sale or the period allowed under state law, whichever is longer.⁸ Since South Carolina’s 12-month window is longer than 120 days, the federal right runs alongside the state period in most cases. A federal lien can also survive the tax sale if the IRS was not properly notified, which is why checking for federal liens before bidding matters.

Receiving the Tax Deed

If no one redeems within 12 months, the collector begins the formal transfer. Between 45 and 20 days before the redemption period ends, the collector mails a certified notice (return receipt requested, restricted delivery) to the defaulting taxpayer, any grantee of record, and any mortgagee or lessee in the county’s public records.⁹ This last-chance notice tells the owner exactly how much is owed and the deadline to redeem.

Once the deadline passes, the collector has 30 days (or as soon after as possible) to prepare and deliver a tax title to you or your assignee.⁷ You pay the actual cost of preparing the deed, the documentary stamps, and the recording fee before the collector files it with the Lexington County Register of Deeds. Recording the deed is what officially puts you in possession.

Under South Carolina law, the tax deed serves as prima facie evidence of good title and that all sale procedures were followed correctly.¹⁰ Anyone wanting to challenge the sale must file a lawsuit within two years of the original sale date, not two years from the deed’s recording.

Clearing Title After Purchase

A tax deed gives you record title, but most title insurance companies will not insure it without a court order confirming your ownership. Without title insurance, the property is effectively unmarketable. Lenders will not accept it as collateral and most buyers will not touch it. That is where a quiet title action comes in.

A quiet title lawsuit asks a court to extinguish all competing claims from former owners, lienholders, and other interested parties. In South Carolina, anyone in possession of real property or claiming title to vacant property can bring this action against anyone who claims or may claim an interest. The process involves formally serving notice on every potential claimant and obtaining a court judgment that settles ownership.

Budget for legal fees, court filing costs, and process server charges. An uncontested action, where no former owner or lienholder fights back, is the simplest scenario, but it still requires a lawsuit. If someone contests, costs and timelines increase. Liens that survived the tax sale because the holder was not properly notified, including certain federal and municipal liens, may need to be addressed separately.

The two-year statute of limitations on challenging the sale works in the buyer’s favor. Once that window closes, the legal foundation under your deed is considerably stronger, and title companies become more willing to insure. Many tax sale investors treat the quiet title action and the two-year wait as standard costs of doing business.

1
County of Lexington. Delinquent Taxes
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 12 Chapter 51 – Section 12-51-50
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 12 Chapter 51 – Section 12-51-55
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 12 Chapter 51 – Section 12-51-70
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-90 – Redemption of Real Property; Assignment of Purchaser’s Interest
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 12 Chapter 51 – Section 12-51-100
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 12 Chapter 51 – Section 12-51-130
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7425 – Discharge of Liens
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-120 – Notice of Approaching End of Redemption Period
10
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-160 – Deed as Evidence of Good Title