Toombs County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Toombs County, seat of Lyons: 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 Toombs County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Toombs County Tax Commissioner's Office (Tax Commissioner Anna Holcombe)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- The Tax Commissioner posts one sale date at a time. The tax sales page states: "Tax Sale Date 12-2-2025 @ 10am on the courthouse steps." December 2, 2025 was the first Tuesday of the month, matching Georgia's first-Tuesday sale day, and 10 a.m. is the posted start time. No later date had been posted at the time of this check, so confirm the next date with the office.
Registration and deposit
No online bidder registration or pre-registration is published. The sale is cried in person on the courthouse steps at 10 a.m., and the office publishes no deposit, payment, or bidder-qualification terms on its site. Call (912) 526-8575 to confirm terms before a sale.
Toombs County runs an in-person sale on the courthouse steps in Lyons, not an online auction, so there is no bidding platform to register with. What the winning bidder receives is a redeemable tax deed under O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4: the owner or other interested party can redeem for 12 months at a 20 percent premium, and the purchaser must foreclose the right of redemption to get clear title. The Tax Commissioner does not post the sale list online. The tax sales page states: "The Tax Sale Listing is available for viewing in our office only at this time." The office FAQ explains the path to sale: taxes unpaid more than 30 days past due draw a tax fi. fa. (lien) recorded with the Clerk of Superior Court, and "If the property taxes remain unpaid, the Tax Commissioner has the right and responsibility to levy on the property for non-payment." Because the only date published is the December 2, 2025 sale, treat the calendar as stale and call the office for the current date. In person, on the Toombs County courthouse steps in Lyons
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Toombs County
- Tax Commissioner is Anna Holcombe. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (tc_home).
- Sale venue and time come straight from the office page: "Tax Sale Date 12-2-2025 @ 10am on the courthouse steps." (tc_tax_sales)
- No sale list is published online. The office states the tax sale listing can be viewed in its office only (tc_tax_sales).
- The office FAQ confirms the levy path: a tax fi. fa. is recorded with the Clerk of Superior Court after 30 days delinquent, and the Tax Commissioner may then levy on the property (tc_faq).
- The county's own departments page points to the Tax Commissioner's website and lists the same phone number, (912) 526-8575, which cross-confirms toombscountypay.com as the official office site (county_departments).
- The county's quick reference list also shows Tax Commissioner 526-8575 and Tax Assessor 526-8698 (county_quick_ref).
- The older county domain toombscountyga.gov has no tax sale content, and its /tax-commissioner/ page is an empty stub. Newer county content sits at toombscountyga.org.
- No online auction platform is used. Do not attach a platform URL to this 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 Toombs County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Toombs County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Toombs 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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