Walker County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Walker County, seat of LaFayette: 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 Walker County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Walker County Tax Commissioner (Sharon J. Evans), acting as Levying Officer and Ex-Officio Sheriff
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- First Tuesday of the month when a sale is held. The county's Delinquent Tax Sales Information guide states: "Tax sales (when held) occur on the first Tuesday of the month between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm at the Walker County Agriculture Center, 10052 Hwy 27, Rock Spring, GA 30739. In the event that the first Tuesday of the month falls on a legal holiday, the sale may be held on the following day (Wednesdays)." Sales are not held every month.
- Sale list
- Tax Sales (Tax Commissioner)
Registration and deposit
No online registration or pre-registration is published. Bidders attend the sale in person and bid at public outcry. The county guide states: "Bidding on a piece of property is a binding agreement between the Levying Authority and the bidder/purchaser. Once the Levy Officer recognizes a bid, it is then considered an official bid and a binding agreement." The opening bid covers all applicable taxes, penalties and costs, and the property goes to the highest bidder. The winning bidder signs a statement attesting to the purchase and pays in full by cash, certified check or money order, with the time to remit set on the day of the sale.
Walker County runs its tax sale in person, not on an online auction platform, so there is no bidding portal. Sales are cried by the Tax Commissioner as Levying Officer and Ex-Officio Sheriff, and the venue named in the county's own guide is the Walker County Agriculture Center at 10052 Hwy 27, Rock Spring, rather than the courthouse steps. Properties are advertised in the county legal organ once a week for four consecutive weeks, so the newspaper notice is the operative property list; the Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales web page hosts the sale-procedure guide and the excess funds list but did not post a current sale list or upcoming sale date when checked (its most recent dated entry reads "November 7, 2023 Tax Sale"). Buyers receive a Sheriff's Tax Deed conveying defeasible title, recorded within 30 days of the sale, and the Levy Officer reserves the right to rescind a sale within 30 days with a full refund of the bid. Redemption runs 12 months at the sale price plus any taxes and special assessments paid by the purchaser plus a 20 percent premium for the first year or fraction of a year and 10 percent for each additional year (O.C.G.A. 48-4-42). The purchaser cannot take possession, collect rents or improve the property during the redemption period, and may bar the right to redeem after 12 months. Confirm the next sale date and any venue change by phone before traveling.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Walker County
- Sharon Evans is the Walker County Tax Commissioner; the office lists [email protected] as its contact email.
- Two office locations: the Rock Spring office at 122 Hwy 95, Rock Spring, GA 30739 (fax 706-638-1001) and the Rossville office at 2012 McFarland Gap Road, Rossville, GA 30741 (fax 706-866-1802). Both are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.
- The county seat is LaFayette, but the Tax Commissioner's main office and the published tax sale venue are both in Rock Spring.
- An excess funds (tax sale overages) list covering 2017 through 2025 is linked from the Tax Sales page for parties claiming surplus proceeds under O.C.G.A. 48-4-5.
- The county's guide flags these as buyer beware sales under O.C.G.A. 9-13-167 and warns that a tax deed is not a fee simple deed; title must be quieted by barring redemption or by ripening by prescription (four years from recordation for deeds executed on or after July 1, 1996, per O.C.G.A. 48-4-48).
- Municipal tax sales in Walker County follow the same procedures as county tax sales, per the county guide.
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 Walker County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Walker County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Walker 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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