Butler County, AL tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Butler County, seat of Greenville: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Alabama tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Butler County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Butler County Revenue Commission (Revenue Commissioner Annie Glenn Braden), acting as the county tax collecting official
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The county's published property tax schedule runs: "October 1st - Taxes become due"; "January 1st - Taxes are delinquent"; "March 1st - Notice of Tax Lien Auction mailed to delinquent property owners. Delinquent list advertised on website"; and "April 17th - Tax lien auction will be held online at govease.com beginning at 10:00 am." The schedule prints the April date without a year, so confirm the current-year date and start time with the Revenue Commission or on GovEase before planning to bid.
- Next expected
- between March 1 and June 15, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only through GovEase. Per GovEase's Alabama tax lien auction documentation, bidders create an account at govease.com and then, during the county's designated registration window, "electronically submit county-specific registration documents to the county via the GovEase Auction Portal," including a W-9. GovEase notes that for Alabama counties "ALL payments and payment arrangements MUST be made through the county tax office," so winning bidders settle with the Butler County Revenue Commission rather than the platform. Alabama auctions are bid-down-interest: bidding opens at 12% simple interest annually, prorated monthly, in 1% decrements down to 0%, and "the winner is determined by the lowest interest bid placed." Ties at 0% are broken by random selection; ties above 0% go to the first bidder. GovEase also runs a pre-bid period before the live auction.
Butler County sells tax LIENS, not tax deeds. The Revenue Commission's own notice cites Title 40-10-180(b), Code of Alabama, and states: "As the tax collecting official for Butler County, this is my public notice made on August 26th, 2020, to conduct a Tax Lien Auction and Sale for the collection of delinquent taxes for the year 2020-2021 forward." That election applies to all property in the county for that year and future years unless changed by later notice. The sale is fully online at govease.com; there is no in-person courthouse auction under this regime. The county website links to GovEase as "GovEase Online Tax Lien Auction" but does not host a standalone parcel list URL, so the auction inventory is published through GovEase and the delinquent list is advertised on the county site. Parcels that went to tax sale before the county switched to lien auctions may sit in state-held inventory; the Alabama Department of Revenue Property Tax Division sells those separately by application and price quote, noting that if "the state has held a tax sale certificate less than three years, the purchaser will be issued an assignment of the certificate" and if held over three years "a tax deed will be issued," with neither conveying clear title. Note that butlercountyal.com does not resolve; butlercogov.com is the live official county domain.
Register on GovEaseFrom lien to deed
- Run by
- Circuit court of the county; the circuit clerk executes the deed
- Frequency
- none (court action, not a scheduled auction)
- Typical timing
- Not scheduled. A certificate holder may file no earlier than four years after the tax lien auction and no later than ten years after it
Alabama counties on the tax lien auction method hold no separate tax deed auction. Title passes only through a circuit court action to foreclose the right to redeem and quiet title, which ends in a circuit clerk's deed. A person entitled to redeem can answer that action by demanding a public auction instead, in which case the court sets a minimum bid equal to the redemption amount plus back taxes and allowed costs, and any surplus goes to the owner. A county that instead elects the Article 1 property tax sale sells the land itself at the courthouse and the judge of probate issues a deed after three years. Confirm which method your county uses.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Liens that draw no bid at the auction stay with the county. At any time after the auction date the tax collecting official may sell an unsold lien at private sale for no less than all taxes, interest, penalties, costs and fees due, plus any amount owed to a prior certificate holder. The rate is agreed with the tax collecting official and cannot exceed 12 percent, so over-the-counter liens often carry the full rate. Ask the county for its list of unsold liens.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Butler County
- Butler County elected the tax lien auction route under Code of Alabama 1975, § 40-10-180(b) by public notice dated August 26, 2020, covering delinquent taxes for 2020-2021 forward.
- Sale is 100% online at govease.com starting at 10:00 am; no in-person courthouse bidding under the lien-auction regime.
- County-published calendar: taxes due October 1, delinquent January 1, tax lien auction notices mailed and delinquent list advertised March 1, auction April 17 (year not printed on the county schedule).
- Alabama bid-down-interest mechanics on GovEase: opens at 12% simple annual interest, 1% decrements to 0%, lowest interest bid wins.
- Payments and payment arrangements go through the Butler County Revenue Commission, not GovEase.
- Office hours per the county site: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm; Wednesday 8:00 am to 12:00 pm; closed weekends.
- Alabama Department of Revenue lists a fax of 334-382-0385 for the Butler County Revenue Commissioner.
- Property tax lookup and online payment run through the county's third-party portal at ingproperty.com/butler_revenue/, which carries no delinquent or tax lien search.
- Pre-2020 tax-sale parcels may be state-held; those are bought by application through the Alabama DOR Property Tax Division, not through the county auction.
Alabama statewide rules
- Redemption
- A tax lien can be redeemed at any time before the circuit court enters judgment in a foreclosure action, and the holder cannot file that action until four years after the auction or the tax official's private sale. If the holder does not commence a foreclosure action within ten years of the auction or sale, the certificate expires and the lien becomes void. A certificate holder has no right to enter or possess the property, make repairs, or charge rents before it receives the circuit clerk's deed. In a county that uses the Article 1 property tax sale instead, land sold to a purchaser other than the state may be redeemed within three years from the date of sale, and land bid in for the state may be redeemed at any time before title passes out of the state.
- Surplus proceeds
- In a court-ordered auction the proceeds pay the cost of the auction first, then the certificate holder up to the redemption amount plus taxes it paid before filing and the court-allowed costs and fees. Any surplus goes to the owner or the owner's heirs or successors as the court determines, and Alabama's unclaimed property law applies to whatever is left. In a county that instead uses the Article 1 property tax sale, the excess over the decree is held in a separate county account for three years for a party who redeems, and Section 40-10-28 opens later windows in which the owner or a redeeming party can claim it.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Butler County, Alabama sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Butler County follows Alabama's tax lien state system.
When is the Butler County tax certificate sale?
- The county's published property tax schedule runs: "October 1st - Taxes become due"; "January 1st - Taxes are delinquent"; "March 1st - Notice of Tax Lien Auction mailed to delinquent property owners. Delinquent list advertised on website"; and "April 17th - Tax lien auction will be held online at govease.com beginning at 10:00 am." The schedule prints the April date without a year, so confirm the current-year date and start time with the Revenue Commission or on GovEase before planning to bid.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does Butler County hold tax deed sales?
- none (court action, not a scheduled auction). Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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