Tax delinquent properties for sale in Alabama are listed two places: with the county tax collector where the property sits, and with the Alabama Department of Revenue for parcels that went unsold at the county level and were taken in by the state. County lists appear in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks before the sale and on most county revenue office websites. The state’s inventory is posted online and updated weekly.
Where the County Lists Are Published
Alabama Code 40-10-12 requires the tax collector to publish notice of the sale in a local newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks before the sale date.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-12 – Notice of Sale For tax lien auctions, the collector must also mail notice to the delinquent taxpayer at least 30 days before the auction.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-182 – Tax Liens Subject to Public Auction or Sale; Notice The printed lists show up in the legal notices section of whatever paper the county uses for official advertisements.
Most county revenue offices now also post the list on their websites, usually under a heading like “Tax Sale” or “Delinquent Taxes.” If a county has no online version, the list is available for inspection at the tax collector’s office. Start with the county where you want to buy; that county-level list is where parcels appear first, before they are exposed to sale.
Where the State List Is Published
Parcels that draw no bids at the county auction get bid in to the State of Alabama. The Alabama Department of Revenue keeps a statewide inventory of these state-held parcels on its website, organized by county, with transcripts updated weekly.3Alabama Department of Revenue. Tax Delinquent Property and Land Sales The transcripts do not list physical addresses. You’ll need the parcel identification number from the transcript to look the property up in the county’s GIS or mapping system.
What a Listing Tells You, and What It Doesn’t
Each published notice identifies a parcel by its parcel identification number, its legal description (typically township, range, and section), and the name of the owner of record. It also breaks out the base tax, accumulated interest, and county fees. Those numbers are the minimum you’d pay at auction.
The listing does not tell you where the property physically is, what it looks like, what it’s zoned for, or what other claims are attached to it. Use the parcel identification number in the county GIS portal to find the location and boundaries. Search the probate office records — online where available, in person otherwise — for mortgages, easements, and other liens already recorded against the parcel. Landlocked lots, deeply encumbered properties, and unusable slivers show up on these lists constantly, and the listing itself won’t warn you.
Are You Buying a Lien or the Property?
Alabama gives each county’s tax collector sole authority to decide whether the county will sell tax liens or sell the properties themselves, and that choice applies to all real property in the county for the year.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-180 – Purpose; Choice of Remedy by Tax Collecting Official The decision must be made by October 1, when property taxes become due.5Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 810-4-6-.01 – Clarification of Procedures for Tax Lien Auction and Tax Lien Sale
The distinction changes what you own. In a tax lien sale, you buy the right to collect the debt plus interest from the property owner. You do not own the property. In a property sale under Article 1 of Chapter 10, the county sells the property itself to satisfy the tax debt. Most Alabama counties now use the lien method, so most of what shows up on today’s lists is liens.
How the Tax Lien Auction Works
Tax lien auctions are conducted electronically. Bidding opens at a 12 percent interest rate and moves downward in half-percent increments. The lien goes to whoever accepts the lowest interest rate, so you are competing to earn less, not to pay more.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-184 – Auction Procedures; Winning Bids; No Extinguishment of Restrictions, Covenants, Etc. In competitive counties, winning rates drop well below 12 percent.
Registration requires identification and contact information, and online auctions require an account with a linked payment method. Get registered several days early. If you win, the full amount of taxes, interest, penalties, and fees is due immediately.7Madison County, AL. Tax Sale Information for Madison County Failure to pay promptly can get you barred from future auctions. Once you pay, the collector issues a tax lien certificate on a form prescribed by the Department of Revenue.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-187 – Tax Lien Certificate That certificate is proof of your investment. It is not a deed.
The Redemption Period Is the Catch
After you buy a tax lien certificate, the original owner keeps the right to redeem. Redemption means paying back the taxes, penalties, fees, and interest at the rate on your certificate. The owner can redeem at any time before a court enters a foreclosure judgment, including after you’ve begun legal proceedings.
You cannot file a foreclosure action until at least three years after the auction date, and you must file within ten years. If the lien is not redeemed in that window, you can bring a quiet title and foreclosure action in the circuit court of the county where the property sits.9Macon County Revenue Commission. Alabama Code 40-10-197 – Action to Foreclose Right of Redemption That lawsuit brings attorney fees and court costs on top of your original bid.
You don’t control the property during the redemption period. You can’t move in, rent it out, or develop it. You’re a creditor waiting to see whether the owner pays you back with interest or lets the property go. Redemption returns your money plus interest, which can be a reasonable return but is not a windfall. Non-redemption plus a successful foreclosure gets you title, but that title comes with its own complications.
Buying State-Held Parcels from the Land Commissioner
Parcels bid in to the state can be sold at private sale by the State Land Commissioner three years after the sale date. The minimum price is the original tax amount plus 12 percent annual interest from the sale date, plus all taxes accrued since, also with 12 percent interest.10Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-132 – List and Sale of Bid in Lands Owned by State
Starting in 2025, properties held by the state for at least five years without being redeemed or sold can also be offered through an online public auction conducted by a nationally recognized auction company. Those auctions sell the state’s tax interest for the best price obtainable, regardless of the back taxes owed.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-134 – Manner of Sale of Bid in Lands Owned by State
To pursue the private sale route, apply through the Department of Revenue’s online portal by creating an account and applying for a specific parcel.12Alabama Department of Revenue. Apply For Tax Delinquent Property The system takes one application per user account per property. The Land Commissioner issues a price quote and gives you a set window to accept and pay. Once you pay, the Land Commissioner executes a deed conveying the state’s interest to you without warranty or covenant of any kind.13Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-135 – Deed of State on Sale of Land Bid in by State The state is not guaranteeing clean title. It is transferring whatever interest it holds.
Title, Federal Liens, and Bankruptcy
Buying at a tax sale doesn’t produce clean, marketable title on its own. Title insurers are reluctant to cover tax-sale properties, because a procedural defect in the sale can void it years later. Some won’t insure for 20 years after the sale date.
The constitutional problem behind that reluctance is due process. Owners must receive adequate notice before losing property. If the county’s notice was defective — wrong address, thin service attempts, a shortcut in the procedure — a court can set the sale aside. Courts are often sympathetic to owners who lost real property for a fraction of its value.
The practical fix is a quiet title action in circuit court, asking a judge to determine the rightful owner and extinguish competing claims. It’s essentially required for anyone who wants to sell, develop, or finance a tax-sale property. Plan on an attorney, filing fees, and a wait of months. Those costs commonly run into the low thousands, so the real cost of a tax-sale property is well above the auction price.
Two federal issues can also disrupt the purchase. If the former owner owed federal taxes, the IRS may hold a federal tax lien on the property and can redeem property sold at a local tax sale when the sale price was below fair market value. If the owner files bankruptcy before or after the sale, the automatic stay under Section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code can freeze enforcement, and actions taken in violation of the stay can be void from the start, even if the county didn’t know about the filing. Checking for federal tax liens at the county recorder’s office and running a bankruptcy search through PACER before you bid are cheap and standard for experienced buyers.