Barrow County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Barrow County, seat of Winder: 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 Barrow County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Barrow County Tax Commissioner (Jessica Garrett), Main Office, 30 N. Broad Street, Winder, GA 30680. The county's Tax Sales page sits on the Tax Commissioner's official site, and the office staffs a dedicated Delinquent Tax Collector position. Georgia tax levies are cried by the Tax Commissioner as ex officio sheriff under O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Barrow County does not publish a sale date or month on its official site. The only timing statement on the Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page is, quoted exactly: "All tax sale parcels are run in the Barrow Journal four weeks prior to sale." Georgia redeemable tax deed sales under O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4, Article 1 are held on the first Tuesday of the month. Barrow does not confirm which month or months it uses, so confirm the next sale date with the Tax Commissioner at (770) 307-3106 or watch the Barrow Journal legal notices for the four-week advertising run.
Registration and deposit
No bidder registration process, deposit rule, or payment deadline is published on the Barrow County Tax Commissioner site. The Tax Sales page carries no registration link, no bidder form, and no online bidding account. Call the Tax Commissioner at (770) 307-3106 before a sale to confirm registration and settlement terms.
Verified from the county's own pages only. The Barrow County Tax Commissioner maintains a dedicated Tax Sales page, but its entire published content is the advertising statement that all tax sale parcels run in the Barrow Journal four weeks before the sale. No online auction platform is named anywhere on the Tax Commissioner site, and no platform link exists on the Tax Sales page, so this research found no evidence Barrow uses an online bidding vendor. Treat the sale as a traditional Georgia courthouse proceeding until the office confirms otherwise, and do not assume an online platform. No delinquent list, advertised parcel list, or sale list is posted online; the Barrow Journal legal notices are the published list channel. On the collection path, the FAQ states that if property taxes remain unpaid the Tax Commissioner has the right and responsibility to levy on the property for non-payment, and that when taxes remain unpaid for more than 30 days after their due date they are subject to a tax fifa (lien) being recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court. Real estate and business personal property taxes are due November 15 each year, with 1 percent monthly interest after the due date and a 10 percent penalty on taxes unpaid within 90 days of the deadline. Post sale, Barrow County has partnered with Weissman Excess Funds Management to administer excess funds resulting from tax sales, and the county states it does not release any excess funds to third parties.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Barrow County
- County seat is Winder. The Barrow County Historic Courthouse is at 30 North Broad Street, Winder, GA 30680, the same address as the Tax Commissioner's main office.
- Tax Commissioner office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
- The Tax Commissioner's office lists a Delinquent Tax Collector, Marisol Dominguez, as the staff contact for delinquent collections.
- The Clerk of Superior Court, Janie Jones, is at 652 Barrow Park Drive, Suite B, Winder, GA 30680, phone 770-307-3035. Tax fi. fa. liens are recorded there, and deed records are kept in the courthouse deed room.
- The Barrow County Board of Tax Assessors is at barrowassessor.org, phone (770) 307-3108, for property values and parcel research before bidding.
- The Barrow Journal is the advertising venue named by the county for tax sale parcels. Georgia Public Notice lists both Barrow Journal and Barrow County News as Barrow County publications, and under O.C.G.A. 9-13-140 et seq. only notices published in the county's official legal organ are official.
- Excess funds inquiries go to Weissman Excess Funds Management at [email protected], with lists updated on the 1st and 15th of each month.
- The county's Tax Sales page loads its content from a Government Window API rather than static HTML, so a plain page scrape returns an empty section. Any future re-scrape must render the page or call the endpoint with the barrowgatax.org session and referer.
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 Barrow County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Barrow County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Barrow 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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