Bibb County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Bibb County, seat of Macon: 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 Bibb County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Macon-Bibb County Tax Commissioner (S. Wade McCord, Tax Commissioner and Ex-Officio Sheriff)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Monthly, first Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. The Q&A states: "The Tax Commissioner has a monthly Judicial In Rem Tax Sale on the first Tuesday of each month. The sale starts at 11:00 am." The brochure adds: "When held, Judicial-in-Rem tax sales are on the first Tuesday of the month at 11:00 at the United Building located at 206 7th Street, Macon, GA 31201. If the first Tuesday of the month falls on a legal holiday, the sale may be held on the following day." The property page repeats the schedule as first Tuesday "(for months in which a tax sale is planned), at 11 AM." The most recent posted flyer lists "Auction Date: Tuesday, 7/07/2026, Start Time: 11:00 AM."
Registration and deposit
No bidder registration is required to attend or bid. The current auction flyer states: "No Registration is required to participate in this auction. The properties up for sale, have already been selected, through the registration process to bring them to auction." The registration step in Bibb County is instead how a buyer nominates a parcel from the Judicial In Rem list into the court process, or joins the sale email distribution list; the Q&A points to https://bibbcountyga.governmentwindow.com/tax_sale_registration.html for that (the page blocked automated fetching, so it is not listed as a fetched source). Selecting a property means stating you will pay the minimum bid for it. Winning bidders pay in full on sale day: the brochure requires "payment in full within two hours of the conclusion of the tax sale" by "wire transfer, certified check, or money order in the exact amount of the bid," and the Q&A notes the office starts accepting payments one hour after the close of the sale.
Bibb County runs its tax sale in person on the first Tuesday of the month at 11:00 a.m., not on an online auction platform. The Tax Commissioner holds the sale at the United Building at 206 Seventh Street, Macon, GA 31201; the current flyer describes the same address as "The Standard Building, located at the entrance of Central City Park at 206 Seventh Street, (aka 100 Willie Smokie Glover Drive)." The county's active program is a judicial in rem tax foreclosure under O.C.G.A. 48-4-75 et seq., which shortens the owner's redemption window: the Q&A says judicial in rem "reduces the redemption period to 60 days," and the brochure states "For 60 days after the sale, the delinquent owner can pay the redemption amount, which is the minimum bid price." That is the key difference from a standard Georgia non-judicial sale and its 12-month redemption. Opening bid is the total taxes, penalties, interest and costs due. The deed is filed and mailed to the winning bidder after the 60-day redemption period expires and payment clears. If the property is redeemed, the high bidder is refunded within 10 to 15 business days. The Macon-Bibb Land Bank Authority partners with the Tax Commissioner and makes the opening bid; if it is the only bidder it re-auctions the parcel after the redemption period, and the property list states "LAND BANK AUTHORITY AUCTION BIDS START AT $3,250.00." Sales are advertised for four consecutive weeks in The Macon Telegraph, the county legal organ. In person, live public outcry. No online bidding platform.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Bibb County
- Sale format is in person on the first Tuesday of the month at 11:00 a.m. at the United Building, 206 Seventh Street, Macon, GA 31201. No online auction platform is used.
- Bibb County's active program is a judicial in rem tax foreclosure (O.C.G.A. 48-4-75 et seq.), so the redemption period is 60 days from the sale, not the 12 months that applies to standard Georgia non-judicial tax sales. Title vests in the purchaser without a separate barment or quiet-title action.
- No bidder registration is required to bid. The Tax Commissioner's registration page is used to nominate a listed parcel into the court process or to join the sale email distribution list.
- Two lists matter: the standing Judicial In Rem List of Properties (rp.pdf, refreshed regularly, statuses shown as blank or "Sale Process Started"), and the auction flyer posted before each monthly sale with that month's parcels and opening bids.
- Payment is due in full within two hours of the close of the sale, by wire transfer, certified check or money order, payable to the Macon-Bibb County Tax Commissioner. Payments are taken at 188 Third Street starting one hour after the sale closes.
- The Macon-Bibb Land Bank Authority makes the opening bid at the Tax Commissioner's sale and steps aside if outbid. If it takes the property, it re-auctions with bids starting at $3,250.00 after the 60-day redemption period; the Q&A says LBA auctions run the last Wednesday of each month.
- Sales are advertised four consecutive weeks in The Macon Telegraph, the county legal organ, per O.C.G.A. 9-13-140 to 9-13-142.
- For delinquent parcels not on the published sale list, the Tax Commissioner's page directs buyers to call (478) 621-6500 and ask for the Levy Department.
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 Bibb County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Bibb County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Bibb 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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