Each step below is drawn from North Carolina statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.
New here? Most beginners start with a certificate (the lien path). The deed steps below apply once you hold a certificate long enough to force a sale, or you bid directly at a tax deed auction. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Learn the timeline and lien priority
Property taxes are due September 1 of the fiscal year and can be paid without interest through January 5. They become delinquent on January 6, when interest begins at 2 percent for the period January 6 to February 1 and three-fourths of one percent a month after that until paid. The lien for the year's taxes attached to the parcel back on January 1, the annual listing date, and it is superior to all other liens, assessments, charges, rights, and claims of any kind regardless of when they arose, which is why a completed tax foreclosure can deliver clean title. Understand this before you commit any money.
Collect interest or wait out redemption
Not applicable to investors. Interest on delinquent taxes, 2 percent for the period January 6 to February 1 and three-fourths of one percent a month thereafter, accrues to the taxing unit, not to a private certificate holder. The buyer at a North Carolina tax foreclosure sale earns no interest; the return comes from the property itself. North Carolina has no fixed redemption period of the certificate-state type and no post-sale redemption right. In a G.S. 105-374 foreclosure, redemption is allowed before confirmation of the foreclosure sale: paying the taxes, penalties, interest, and costs discontinues the action, and the clerk may confirm the sale once 10 days pass after the report of sale with no upset bid or exception. In an in rem foreclosure, payment in full of the docketed judgment with interest and costs requires the tax collector to certify the payment and cancel the judgment. Because every sale also sits through the 10-day upset bid window, an owner in either path retains a last window to pay after the auction itself but before the sale is final. To redeem, the owner pays At least all taxes on the real property that have become due to the foreclosing unit at the time of the discontinuance, plus penalties, interest, and costs. Delinquent taxes carry interest at 2 percent for the period January 6 to February 1 and three-fourths of one percent a month thereafter. Once an in rem judgment is docketed, the full judgment amount plus interest and costs accrued to the date of payment is required. If they redeem, that payoff is your return; if they never do, the certificate becomes your path to the property.
Apply for a tax deed
Taxes become delinquent on January 6. From then on the taxing unit can enforce its lien through either judicial path. Under G.S. 105-374 it files a foreclosure action in the nature of a mortgage foreclosure in the county's General Court of Justice. Under G.S. 105-375 the tax collector files a certificate of taxes owed with the clerk of superior court no earlier than 30 days after the tax liens were advertised; docketing the certificate creates a valid judgment against the property, and execution may issue at any time after three months and before two years from the indexing of the judgment. Either remedy must be started within 10 years from the date the taxes became due. Article 26 sets no statutory minimum opening bid. The judgment orders the sale of the real property, or as much as necessary, to satisfy the taxes, penalties, interest, and costs, and in practice the opening bid at most sales approximates that judgment amount plus the costs of the action.
Bid at the tax deed auction
The Court-appointed commissioner (G.S. 105-374 foreclosure) or the county sheriff (G.S. 105-375 in rem execution sale); many counties retain a private foreclosure firm to manage the docket and conduct sales sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. At a G.S. 105-374 sale the commissioner may require the successful bidder to make a deposit of up to 20 percent of the bid; no deposit may be required of a taxing unit. An upset bidder always files a deposit of 5 percent of the upset bid, minimum $750, with the clerk. State law fixes no uniform statewide deadline for paying the balance. The winning bid becomes payable once the final upset bid period runs out and the sale is confirmed, on the terms the commissioner or sheriff announced for that sale. Confirm settlement deadlines and accepted payment methods with the office conducting the sale before bidding.
One more step: clear the title
Winning a tax deed does not hand you marketable title. Before you can resell to a normal buyer or insure the parcel, you will usually need a quiet title action, which takes months and costs money. Fold that cost into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed before you bid. A tax deed also does not wipe out everything: select governmental and municipal liens can survive, and a federal tax lien carries a 120-day IRS redemption right, so check what survives a tax deed too.
New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full North Carolina walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Aug 16, 2026 against North Carolina statutes.
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.