The Spartanburg delinquent tax sale list is published each fall in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal and on the Spartanburg County Tax Collector’s website, once a week for three consecutive weeks before the auction.1Spartanburg County. Tax Sale Procedures The 2025 sale ran November 18–19, and the county follows the same general timeline year to year.
Where to Find the List
Two places carry the official list: the Herald-Journal (the county’s newspaper of record) and the Tax Collector’s site. The digital version is the one to watch. The county maintains a dedicated page for each year’s sale, and for 2025 that page linked to downloadable property lists along with the sale dates.2Spartanburg County. 2025 Delinquent Tax Sale Lists Check the Tax Collector’s site in early fall to find the equivalent page for the current year.
The list shrinks daily. Owners and lienholders can pay right up until the auction, so a property you see one morning may be gone the next. If you are tracking a specific parcel, refresh often in the final week.
How to Read an Entry
Each listing carries a Tax Map Sequence number (TMS), which is the parcel’s unique identifier in county records. You also get the name of the owner of record as of December 31 of the prior tax year, since that is the control date the county uses for all real estate tax billing.3Spartanburg County, SC. Assessor Property Records Search A brief legal description and the total delinquent taxes, penalties, and costs finish out the entry.
The dollar figure is the minimum needed to satisfy the lien. It is not the market value of the property, and treating it as one is the fastest way to overpay or underestimate what you are stepping into. Use the TMS to pull the parcel through the county assessor and the Register of Deeds before you decide anything.
How a Property Ends Up There
On April 1 or shortly after, the officer collecting delinquent taxes mails a notice to the defaulting taxpayer at the best address available, warning that unpaid taxes will lead to seizure and sale.4South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-40 – Default on Payment of Taxes; Levy of Execution by Distress and Sale; Notice of Delinquent Taxes; Seizure of Property; Advertisement of Sale If the taxes remain unpaid after 30 days, the county takes legal possession by sending a second notice via certified mail with restricted delivery. If that certified mailing comes back undeliverable, the county physically posts a seizure notice on the property.
Only after those steps does the parcel land on the advertised sale list. Any shortcut in this notice sequence can later become grounds to challenge the sale, which matters to bidders as much as to owners.
If You Are the Owner Trying to Get Off the List
Pay the delinquent amount at the Tax Collector’s office before the auction and the property comes off. Owners, grantees, and any mortgage or judgment creditor can also redeem the property after the sale during a twelve-month redemption period, discussed below.
If the property does sell and it goes for more than the taxes, penalties, and costs owed, the collector holds the surplus. Once the tax deed is issued, the collector must notify the former owner and the owner of record in writing that excess funds are available.5South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-60 – Payment by Successful Bidder If you never heard from the county about a surplus, contact the Tax Collector’s office directly to ask.
If You Want to Bid
Register First
You cannot show up on sale day and bid. Every prospective bidder must complete a Bidder Registration Form and an IRS Form W-9 before the auction, and the name and address on both forms must match exactly.6Spartanburg County. Bidder Registration Procedures Businesses must authorize a representative on the registration form. Submissions go to the Tax Collector’s office online, and incomplete forms get rejected. Once approved, you receive a bidder number to use during the auction. The W-9 is what the county uses to report any interest income you earn if the former owner redeems, so accuracy on that form matters later.
How the Auction Runs
The sale is a live, open-outcry auction. For each parcel, the county enters an opening bid on behalf of the Forfeited Land Commission equal to all unpaid taxes, penalties, assessments, and costs, plus the current year’s taxes.7South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-55 – Required Bid on Behalf of Forfeited Land Commission When Property Sold for Ad Valorem Taxes Bidding moves up from that floor. If nobody bids higher, the property transfers to the commission instead of a private buyer, which happens more often than newcomers expect with vacant lots, landlocked parcels, or properties with known environmental issues.
Payment on the Day
Winning bidders pay the full bid amount on the day of the sale. The county accepts cash, cashier’s checks, certified checks, and money orders. No personal checks, no exceptions.8Spartanburg County. Notice to Bidders of Terms and Conditions Fail to pay before the close of the sale and the property can be re-auctioned. Bring more funding than you plan to spend so you are not caught short after winning an early parcel.
What You Actually Buy: The Twelve-Month Redemption Period
Winning does not hand you the property. A twelve-month redemption period begins on the date of sale, during which the former owner, any grantee, or any mortgage or judgment creditor can reclaim it by paying your bid plus interest.9South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-90 – Redemption of Real Property; Assignment of Purchasers Interest The interest rate rises the longer they wait:
- 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
These are lump-sum figures, not monthly rates. If the owner redeems in month five, you receive 6% of your entire bid as a single payment.9South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-90 – Redemption of Real Property; Assignment of Purchasers Interest That interest is taxable income in the year it becomes available to you, whether or not you receive a Form 1099-INT.10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 403, Interest Received
If no one redeems within twelve months, the collector prepares a tax deed and delivers it to the purchaser within 30 days of the deadline or as soon as possible after.11South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-130 – Execution and Recording of Tax Title The deed is prima facie evidence of good title, but that presumption is rebuttable, and any action to recover the land must be brought within two years of the sale.12South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-160 – Deed as Evidence
Do Your Homework Before the Auction
A tax deed clears the previous owner’s interest. It does not automatically wipe out every encumbrance, and the auction offers no warranties about condition, habitability, or contamination.
Title and Federal Liens
Run a title search through the Spartanburg County Register of Deeds for any outstanding liens, easements, or encumbrances. Federal tax liens deserve special attention. Under federal law, the IRS must receive written notice at least 25 days before a tax sale for the sale to affect its lien, and even with proper notice the IRS retains a 120-day right of redemption after the sale or the period allowed under state law, whichever is longer.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7425 – Discharge of Liens If the IRS exercises that right, you get your money back but lose the property.
Bankruptcy
The federal automatic stay generally prevents the county from selling property owned by someone in bankruptcy, and a sale conducted in violation of the stay can be voided.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay The county pulls parcels once it learns of a filing, but the process is not instantaneous. Check federal bankruptcy court records through PACER on any parcel you are serious about.
Physical Condition and Zoning
You generally cannot inspect the interior of a tax sale property before the auction. Check assessor records for zoning classification and any building permits, and drive by the parcel. What you see from the street is what you get until you take possession.
A Note on Mobile Homes
Mobile and manufactured homes appear on the delinquent list and follow slightly different rules. South Carolina classifies a mobile home as personal property unless the owner has removed the title certificate through the statutory process. Owners and lienholders keep redemption rights, and the home cannot be moved during the twelve-month redemption period unless the landowner requires it; moving it in violation is a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.15South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-96 – Conditions of Redemption for Mobile Homes
If a former owner redeems a mobile home, they owe the purchaser monthly rent for the interim, equal to one-twelfth of the prior year’s property taxes (excluding penalties, costs, and interest), with a floor of $10 per month.15South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-96 – Conditions of Redemption for Mobile Homes If the home sits on land you do not own, plan on coordinating access with the landowner or park manager.