Baker County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Baker County, seat of Newton: 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 Georgia tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Baker County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Baker County Tax Commissioner's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No sale is currently scheduled. The Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page states in full: "No tax sales at this time." (checked July 2026). Baker County publishes no sale month, no sale date, and no recurring calendar. Georgia tax sales run on the first Tuesday of a month under state law, but Baker County itself publishes no month or time, so treat the sale as occasional and confirm directly with the office.
Registration and deposit
Not published. The Baker County Tax Commissioner site carries no bidder registration form, deposit rule, or bidding instructions on the Tax Sales page or anywhere else in its navigation (General Information, Property FAQ, Quick Links, News). Prospective bidders should call the Tax Commissioner at (229) 734-3010 before relying on any procedure.
Baker County is one of Georgia's smallest counties and does not run a standing tax sale program. Its official Tax Commissioner page for tax sales currently reads only "No tax sales at this time." No online auction platform is advertised anywhere on the county Tax Commissioner site, so do not expect a hosted bidding portal; any sale would follow the ordinary Georgia levy-and-cry procedure conducted by the Tax Commissioner. The county does document its delinquent pipeline on its General Information page: interest accrues "on the 21st of each month at a rate of prime plus 3% divided by 12 months"; "A FIFA will be filed in the Clerk of Courts office 30 days from the date on the delinquent notice"; a 5% penalty is added after 120 days and every 120 days thereafter to a 20% maximum; and unpaid accounts are "turned over to DTSi and admin/levy fees up to $215.00 will be added to your account." The same page states that "the four weeks prior to the sale your property will be advertised in the local newspaper with additional advertising cost added," and that property is posted and photographed before sale. That newspaper advertisement, not a website, is the practical notice channel here. The county's Search and Pay portal at bakerproperty.assurancegov.com is a lookup and payment tool only and publishes no delinquent list, no sale list, and no excess funds list. Address caution: the county government website's Tax & Tag Office page still lists 439 Georgia Hwy 91 NW with phone 229-734-3000 and links to tax.bakercountypay.com, a domain that no longer resolves; the Tax Commissioner's own current site gives 167 Baker Place, Newton, GA 39870 and (229) 734-3010, which is the address and number to use.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
167 Baker Place, Newton, GA 39870 (mailing: Baker County Tax Commissioner, PO Box 450, Newton, GA 39870)
Official websiteNotes for Baker County
- Tax Commissioner is Jessica Craft; Deputy Tax Commissioner is Lashawn McEntyre-Hawkins. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Fax is (229) 734-3021. Email is [email protected].
- The county's own Tax Sales page exists but is empty of specifics: its entire substantive content is "No tax sales at this time." That is why data quality is medium rather than high.
- No online auction platform was found for Baker County. No platform URL is reported because none was verified. Any sale should be assumed to run in person under the Tax Commissioner until the county publishes otherwise.
- Delinquent accounts are outsourced to a third-party levy servicer the county calls DTSi, with admin and levy fees up to $215.00 added to the account. The county site does not give DTSi's full legal name, website, or contact details, so none are reported here.
- Sale notice is given by newspaper advertisement in the four weeks before a sale, per the county's General Information page. There is no email list, RSS feed, or subscribable calendar on the county site.
- Newton is the county seat. The county Board of Commissioners sits at 439 Georgia Hwy 91 NW, Newton, GA 39870, a different address from the Tax Commissioner's office at 167 Baker Place.
- The Georgia Department of Revenue county property tax facts page for Baker carries no county-specific sale logistics; it only points to qpublic.net/ga/baker for assessment data.
- Recommended refresh cadence is high. Because the county publishes sales only when one is pending, the Tax Sales page should be re-checked monthly to catch a listing before the four-week advertising window closes.
Georgia statewide rules
- Redemption
- The right to redeem runs for 12 months from the date of the sale and does not end there. It continues after the year until the tax deed purchaser forecloses it by serving and publishing the statutory barment notice, which cannot be started until 12 months have passed. The purchaser delivers the notice to the sheriff at least 45 days before the redemption deadline named in it, and publishes it once a week for four consecutive weeks in the six months immediately before that deadline. Redemption puts title back in the defendant in fi. fa. subject to the liens that existed at the sale, and the purchaser must execute and record a quitclaim deed. Title under a tax deed recorded on or after July 1, 1996 ripens by prescription four years after recording. Judicial in rem foreclosures under Article 5 run on a different clock: the owner has 60 days after the sale to redeem by paying the minimum bid price into the superior court.
- Deed deposit
- Georgia sets no statewide percentage deposit. A purchaser at a judicial sale may tender cash or a cashier's or certified check drawn for the purchase price and issued or certified by a federally insured financial institution. Counties publish their own payment terms, and many require payment in full at the close of the sale, so confirm the terms with the tax commissioner before bidding.
- Surplus proceeds
- Excess funds left after taxes, costs, and the expenses of the sale belong to the former owner and to recorded lienholders in order of priority. The officer who sold the property must mail notice of the excess funds by first-class mail within 30 days to the record owner at the time of the sale, to the holder of each security deed, and to every other party with a recorded equity interest or claim, and may file an interpleader action in superior court. Funds still unclaimed five years after the sale are paid over to the Georgia Department of Revenue, after which only a court order from an interpleader action releases them.
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 Baker County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Baker County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Baker County hold tax deed sales?
- annual. 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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