Macon County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Macon County, seat of Oglethorpe: 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 Macon County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Macon County Tax Commissioner's Office (Wendy M. Hannor, Tax Commissioner)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No specific date is published. The Tax Commissioner's site states only: "Upcoming tax sale is scheduled for 2026." and directs buyers to "Contact the Tax Commissioner for more details or keep a watch on the local newspaper (The Citizen & Georgian)."
Registration and deposit
No bidder registration instructions are published on the Tax Commissioner's site. Buyers are told to contact the office at (478) 472-7031 or watch the county legal organ, The Citizen & Georgian, for the sale advertisement.
Macon County is a small rural county and publishes very little tax sale detail online. The Tax Commissioner's dedicated Tax Sales page exists but currently renders empty: its content is injected by a script that calls a Government Window API endpoint returning HTTP 404, so no property list, sale date, terms, or excess funds list is posted at this time. No online auction platform is named anywhere on the county or Tax Commissioner site, and no platform URL could be verified, so treat this as an in person sale conducted by the Tax Commissioner's office and confirm date, time, and location directly with the office before planning to bid. The Tax Commissioner's FAQ confirms the enforcement path: taxes unpaid more than 30 days after the due date are subject to a tax fi. fa. recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, and if taxes remain unpaid "the Tax Commissioner has the right and responsibility to levy on the property for non-payment." Real estate and business personal property taxes are due December 20 each year, with 1% per month interest after the due date and a 10% penalty on taxes unpaid within 90 days of the deadline.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Macon County
- Tax Commissioner: Wendy M. Hannor. Main office at 100 Macon Street, Oglethorpe, GA 31068, mailing address P.O. Box 485. Phone (478) 472-7031, fax (478) 472-7036. Office hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
- The county's official government site at maconcountyga.gov links the Tax Commissioner out to tax.maconcountypay.com and hosts no tax sale page of its own. Its Notices page carries no tax sale advertisements.
- Sale advertising runs in The Citizen & Georgian, the local newspaper the Tax Commissioner points buyers to for sale details.
- The Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page is currently blank because the Government Window feed that populates it returns a 404. Investors should call the office rather than rely on the page.
- The Board of Tax Assessors handles values and is reachable at (478) 472-6560. Assessor maps and parcel data are at qpublic.net/ga/macon.
- No online bidding platform is advertised by the county. Do not assume an internet auction without direct confirmation from the Tax Commissioner.
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 Macon County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Macon County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Macon 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.
Explore all 159 Georgia counties
Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.