Monroe County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Monroe County, seat of Forsyth: 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 Monroe County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Monroe County Tax Commissioner (Lori Andrews)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No sale date or recurring month is published on the county's own pages. The Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page (https://www.monroecountytax.com/tax-sales.html) is the county's dedicated sale page, and as of July 2026 it carries no scheduled sale and no property list. The FAQ confirms the office does run the levy and sale process, warning taxpayers to pay in person "especially if legal action (levy and advertisement of tax sale) has already started." Georgia's statutory first-Tuesday-of-the-month sale schedule under O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4 is state law, not a timing statement found on any Monroe County page. Call (478) 994-7020 to confirm whether a sale is calendared.
Registration and deposit
Not published. The Tax Commissioner's site gives no bidder registration process, deposit requirement, or payment terms for tax sales. The FAQ does rule out over-the-counter lien purchases: "Can I purchase FiFas 'over the counter'? No. Our office does not sell tax liens." Contact the Tax Commissioner's office at (478) 994-7020 for sale terms when a sale is advertised.
Monroe County is a small middle-Georgia county (seat: Forsyth) and its Tax Commissioner runs a redeemable tax deed sale under O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4. No online auction platform is named or linked anywhere on the Tax Commissioner's site or the county government site, so no platform_url is reported here. The Tax Sales page loads its sale list dynamically and currently resolves to an empty list, meaning no sale is posted at the time of research. The county's only online transaction portal is the Government Window "Search & Pay" tax payment system, which handles current bill payment and is not an auction platform. Fi. fa. liens are recorded on the General Execution Docket with the Clerk of Superior Court. Investors should treat the sale as locally administered and verify the date, location, and terms directly with the Tax Commissioner's office and the county legal organ advertisement.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Monroe County Tax Commissioner
38 W. Main Street, Forsyth, GA 31029 (mailing: P.O. Box 357, Forsyth, GA 31029)
Official websiteNotes for Monroe County
- Tax Commissioner: Lori Andrews, in office since January 2009. Office hours Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm.
- The Tax Commissioner's dedicated Tax Sales page exists at https://www.monroecountytax.com/tax-sales.html but publishes no sale calendar, no bidder rules, and no property list as of July 2026.
- No online auction platform (GovEase, Bid4Assets, RealAuction, or similar) is referenced on any official Monroe County page, so the platform is unverified and deliberately omitted.
- FAQ is explicit that the county does not sell tax liens over the counter: "Can I purchase FiFas 'over the counter'? No. Our office does not sell tax liens."
- FAQ confirms the office levies and advertises tax sales for delinquent accounts, and that unpaid tax past 90 days becomes a fi. fa. recorded on the General Execution Docket with the Clerk of Superior Court.
- Property values and appeals are handled separately by the Monroe County Board of Tax Assessors at (478) 994-7038; assessment records are on qPublic at https://www.qpublic.net/ga/monroe.
- Delinquent penalty structure per the FAQ: monthly interest at the January prime rate plus 3%, plus a 5% penalty at 120 days past due recurring every 120 days to a 20% maximum.
- Research limitation: the session's web search budget was exhausted, so this county was researched by direct fetches of the official Tax Commissioner and county government sites rather than by search. A follow-up pass should re-check the Tax Sales page for a posted sale and check the county legal organ for advertised sales.
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 Monroe County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Monroe County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Monroe 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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