Chattooga County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Chattooga County, seat of Summerville: 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 Chattooga County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Chattooga County Tax Commissioner (Joy Cooper Hampton, Tax Commissioner)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No sale calendar is published on the county site. The office's own excess funds list (headed "EXCESS FUNDS AS OF 6/30/2026") records a "TAX SALE DATE" for each parcel sold, and every date is the first Tuesday of a month: 9/2/2025 and 5/6/2025, 9/3/2024 and 5/7/2024, 8/1/2023 and 5/2/2023, 5/3/2022, and 9/7/2021, 7/6/2021 and 6/1/2021. Recent years show roughly two sales a year, most often in May and September, matching Georgia's first-Tuesday sale rule. Confirm any specific date with the office before planning to bid.
Registration and deposit
The Tax Commissioner's website publishes no bidder registration form, deposit rule, or pre-registration deadline. Call the office at 706-857-0703 ahead of a sale to confirm what is required and to request the current sale advertisement.
Chattooga County runs a Georgia redeemable tax deed sale under O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4. The sale is conducted in person by the Tax Commissioner's office. Nothing on the county's official pages references an online auction platform, a bidding portal, or an online registration system, so treat this as a courthouse sale in Summerville and verify the location in the published advertisement. The FAQ states that "If the property taxes remain unpaid, the Tax Commissioner has the right and responsibility to levy on the property for non-payment," and the news page warns that "Any property having a delinquent bill is subject to being levied upon and ultimately sold." No upcoming sale list or delinquent tax list is posted online. The only sale-related document the office publishes is the excess funds list, a one-page PDF current as of 6/30/2026 showing 27 parcels and $89,129.80 in unclaimed overage from sales dating back to 2021. That list is a useful record of when the county actually sells, but it is a post-sale document, not a bidding list. Buyers take a redeemable deed: the owner keeps a 12-month right of redemption at a 20% premium, and the buyer must foreclose that right by barment to get clear title. Property taxes are billed around December 1 each year, and the office noted 2025 bills were due December 10.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Chattooga County Tax Commissioner
Courthouse Annex, 120 Cox Street, Summerville, GA 30747 (mailing address: P.O. Box 517, Summerville, GA 30747-0517)
Official websiteNotes for Chattooga County
- The Tax Commissioner's office has no dedicated tax sale page. Sale specifics have to come from the office by phone or from the legal advertisement.
- Office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The office is closed on Wednesdays and most major holidays.
- Fax is 706-857-0748. General questions and open records requests go to [email protected].
- Every tax sale date on the county's excess funds list falls on the first Tuesday of a month, consistent with the statutory Georgia sale day.
- Recent sale cadence is about twice a year. May and September are the recurring months in 2024 and 2025.
- Parcel and assessment research runs through the Board of Assessors at https://qpublic.net/ga/chattooga/, linked from the Tax Commissioner home page. Assessor phone is 706-857-0737.
- Tax liens (fi. fa.) are recorded with the Clerk of Superior Court in the Chattooga County Courthouse, per the office FAQ.
- The county government site at chattoogacounty.gov carries no tax sale content and simply links out to chattoogatax.com.
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 Chattooga County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Chattooga County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Chattooga 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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