Thomas County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Thomas County, seat of Thomasville: 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 Thomas County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Thomas County Tax Commissioner (Alicia Hester)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Thomas County publishes no fixed sale calendar. The Tax Commissioner's home page states, under the heading "Tax Sale Parcels": "Pease call the office for the correct amount due prior to the tax sale." and "Tax sales are executed at the discretion of the Tax Commissioner, once or twice a year. Please, feel free to contact our office for the date(s)." No sale date, month, or parcel count is posted on any Thomas County page. Georgia levy sales run on the first Tuesday of the sale month during the legal hours of sale under O.C.G.A. 48-4-1, but the specific month varies here, so call (229) 225-4136 for the current date.
Registration and deposit
No bidder registration process, deposit rule, or payment term is published. The Tax Commissioner's own Tax Sales page at thomascountytax.com/tax-sales.html loads with only the office contact block and carries no sale notice, no parcel list, and no bidder instructions. The county directs prospective bidders to phone the office for sale dates and for the correct payoff amount due before a sale, which the home page notes changes on the 16th of each month for delinquent bills. Call (229) 225-4136 to confirm terms before bidding.
Thomas County runs its redeemable tax deed sale IN PERSON. No Thomas County page names an online auction platform, and no online bidding registration exists on the county's sites, so do not expect a hosted auction portal. Sales are infrequent: the Tax Commissioner states they happen at her discretion, once or twice a year, rather than every first Tuesday. The county's own Tax Sales page is a shell with no posted sale information, so the parcel list and sale terms reach the public only through the statutory legal-organ advertisement and by calling the office. Delinquent payoff amounts change on the 16th of each month, which matters when computing a bid or a redemption figure. The Board of Commissioners department page for the Tax Commissioner carries no sale content either; it only describes the office as "solely responsible to enfore the timely collection of county and school board property taxes" and links out to thomascountytax.com. Note the two address sets in circulation: the Tax Commissioner's own site gives the main office at 225 N. Broad St, Thomasville, GA 31792 with mailing address P.O. Box 2175, Thomasville, GA 31799 and phone (229) 225-4136, while the county government site lists the general county address at 116 West Jefferson Street with the county switchboard at (229) 225-4100. Use the Tax Commissioner's own numbers for sale questions. Seven municipalities in the county bill their own city taxes (Barwick, Boston, Coolidge, Meigs, Ochlocknee, Pavo, and Thomasville), so a parcel can carry separate city delinquency outside the county sale.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Thomas County Tax Commissioner
225 N. Broad St, Thomasville, GA 31792 (mailing: P.O. Box 2175, Thomasville, GA 31799)
Official websiteNotes for Thomas County
- Tax Commissioner is Alicia Hester; office hours Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; fax (229) 225-4123.
- The Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page (thomascountytax.com/tax-sales.html) exists but currently contains no sale notice, parcel list, dates, or bidder instructions; it renders only the office contact block.
- Sales are held once or twice a year at the Tax Commissioner's discretion, not on a fixed monthly schedule; the office must be phoned for dates.
- No online auction platform is named on the Tax Commissioner site, the county government site, or the Georgia DOR county page, so bidding is in person.
- Property taxes are due November 15 each year; delinquent bill amounts change on the 16th of each month, and mobile home penalties are added April 2.
- Barwick, Boston, Coolidge, Meigs, Ochlocknee, Pavo, and Thomasville collect their own city taxes and are contacted separately (Thomasville: (229) 227-7000).
- The county property records search runs on qPublic at qpublic.net/ga/thomas for pre-bid parcel research.
- The Board of Commissioners lists the county Tax Commissioner's Office at 116 West Jefferson Street, Thomasville, GA 31799 with phone (229) 225-4100, which differs from the Tax Commissioner's own published main office at 225 N. Broad St and direct line (229) 225-4136.
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 Thomas County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Thomas County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Thomas 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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