Charlton County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Charlton County, seat of Folkston: 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 Charlton County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Charlton County Tax Commissioner (Debra T. Mizell)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No sale calendar is published. The Tax Commissioner's News page states: "Tax Sale: For dates and times of our county tax sale, please contact our office." The office's excess funds record shows that past Charlton County tax sales all fell on the first Tuesday of a month, most recently May 5, 2026, and before that April 1, 2025, April 2, 2024, May 2, 2023 and September 6, 2022. The record shows roughly one sale per year rather than a monthly sale.
Registration and deposit
Registration terms are not published online. The Tax Commissioner's office instructs prospective bidders to call (912) 496-2057 for sale dates and times.
Charlton County sells a Georgia redeemable tax deed. No online auction platform is advertised anywhere on the Tax Commissioner's site or the county website, so plan on an in-person sale at the courthouse in Folkston under the O.C.G.A. Title 48 Chapter 4 procedure. The Tax Commissioner's own Tax Sales page is a stub with no dates, no bidder terms and no property list, and no delinquent or upcoming-sale list is posted online, so a phone call is the only way to get the current sale date and the levied-property list. The General Information page confirms the enforcement path: "If taxes are not paid on the property, it may be levied upon and ultimately sold." The FAQ adds that unpaid taxes trigger "a tax fifa (lien) being recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court" and that "the Tax Commissioner has the right and responsibility to levy on the property for non-payment." Real property and business personal property bills are due December 20, with 1% monthly interest after that date and a 10% penalty on taxes unpaid within 90 days. The office publishes an excess funds policy under O.C.G.A. 48-4-5: it accepts claims only from the claimant or a Georgia-licensed attorney, refuses asset recovery firms and non-attorney third parties, and transfers unclaimed funds to the Georgia Department of Revenue five years after the sale date.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Charlton County
- County seat is Folkston. The Tax Commissioner's office sits at 68 Kingsland Drive, Suite A, and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fax is 912-496-2059 and the posted office email is [email protected].
- Fi. fa. records and post-sale deed research run through the Clerk of Superior, State and Juvenile Courts at 1520 Third Street, Suite A, Folkston, GA 31537, phone 912-496-2354.
- The Georgia Department of Revenue's county property tax facts page for Charlton points to www.charltontax.com as the official Tax Commissioner site and charltoncountyga.us as the county government site, which confirms both domains.
- The Tax Commissioner's payment portal is Government Window (charltoncountyga.governmentwindow.com). That is a tax payment and search system, not an auction platform, and it returned HTTP 403 on direct fetch.
- Property values and parcel research go through the Charlton County Board of Tax Assessors, phone 912-496-7437, per the Tax Commissioner FAQ.
- The published excess funds table lists nine parcels with surplus from the May 5, 2026 sale, ranging from about $1,900 to about $17,500, a useful signal of typical overbid depth in this rural county.
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 Charlton County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Charlton County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Charlton 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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