Union County, GA tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Lee Knight is the Union County Tax Commissioner and took office January 2, 2013. Jennifer Dyer Kerr is Deputy Tax Commissioner (uctc@uniongov.com).
• •Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Second phone line 706-439-6018. Fax 706-439-6019. Email taxcommissioner@uniongov.com.
• •Union County's government website has no tax sale page of its own. Its Tax Commissioner page sends visitors to uniongatax.com, the office's site of record.
• •Real estate and business personal property taxes are due December 20. The office states that unpaid bills accrue 1% interest per month, and that "After becoming 90 days delinquent, the Tax Commissioner's Office may begin tax sale proceedings."
• •At more than 90 days delinquent a tax fi. fa. (lien) is recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Union County Courthouse, 65 Courthouse Street, Blairsville, GA 30512.
• •The August 4, 2026 sale sold all six listed parcels for roughly 6 to 12 times the taxes due. Four were adjacent parcels held by one estate (map/parcel 072A010 through 072A013), and one buyer won all four.
• •The office keeps a running excess tax sale funds list covering all years, showing sale date, former owner, map/parcel, purchaser and unclaimed balance. As posted it carries 15 unclaimed records from sales held 2021 through 2026.
• •The office's News page links a scanned Right to Redemption handout at https://www.uniongatax.com/content/files/0545_001.pdf. Read it before bidding, because the deed is subject to redemption.
• •For pre-bid due diligence, the office's Links page points to the Union County Tax Assessor property search at qpublic.net/ga/union. The Tax Assessor is at 65 Courthouse Street, Blairsville. Property is assessed at 40% of fair market value under O.C.G.A. 48-5-7.
• •Union County is rural north Georgia mountain land. Timber has its own reporting regime (DOR form PT-283T) and standing timber is not taxed until sold or harvested, which matters when valuing wooded parcels bought at a tax sale.

Georgia 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.O.C.G.A. 48-4-40, who may redeem and when (2024 Code of Georgia)O.C.G.A. 48-4-40Verified Jul 30, 2026

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.O.C.G.A. 48-4-1, Procedures for sales under tax levies and executions (2024 Code of Georgia)O.C.G.A. 48-4-1Verified Jul 30, 2026

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.O.C.G.A. 48-4-5, Payment of excess (2024 Code of Georgia)O.C.G.A. 48-4-5Verified Jul 30, 2026

Governing statute

O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4Official Code of Georgia Annotated, public access published for the Georgia General Assembly by the Georgia Code Revision CommissionO.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 4Verified Jul 25, 2026

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.

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