Macon County, NC tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Macon County, seat of Franklin: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how North Carolina tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- No fixed annual sale date; foreclosure sales are scheduled case by case after judgment.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- No advance registration.
- County office
- (828) 349-2148
On this page
How Macon County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Court-appointed Commissioner, usually the foreclosing attorney from Ridenour & Goss, P.A. (contracted by Macon County), on referral from the Macon County Tax Department (Tax Administrator's Office)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No fixed annual sale date; foreclosure sales are scheduled case by case after judgment.
- Registration
- No advance registration.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
No advance registration. Bid in person at the courthouse sale to the highest bidder for cash. The high bidder deposits 5% of the bid with the Clerk of Superior Court in cash or certified funds. The sale then stays open 10 days for upset bids filed with the Clerk; the minimum raise is the greater of $750 or 5% of the prior bid, and each upset bidder posts a 5% deposit. The balance is due when the court confirms the sale and the Commissioner's Deed is recorded and delivered.
Sale format and venue
Macon County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Macon County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Macon County Foreclosures page (current Notices of Sale) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No fixed annual sale date; foreclosure sales are scheduled case by case after judgment. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Court-appointed Commissioner, usually the foreclosing attorney from Ridenour & Goss, P.A. (contracted by Macon County), on referral from the Macon County Tax Department (Tax Administrator's Office) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Macon County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Macon County Foreclosures page (current Notices of Sale). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
No advance registration. Bid in person at the courthouse sale to the highest bidder for cash. The high bidder deposits 5% of the bid with the Clerk of Superior Court in cash or certified funds. The sale then stays open 10 days for upset bids filed with the Clerk; the minimum raise is the greater of $750 or 5% of the prior bid, and each upset bidder posts a 5% deposit. The balance is due when the court confirms the sale and the Commissioner's Deed is recorded and delivered.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the North Carolina due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County notes
- Macon County posts each Notice of Sale as a PDF on its Foreclosures page rather than keeping a standing auction calendar; the June 2025 notice set the sale at the SE entrance of the Macon County Courthouse at 10:00 a.m.
- Ridenour & Goss, P.A. of Sylva, phone (828) 586-3131 on the June 2025 notice, is the contracted foreclosure firm; its FAQ says it also serves Jackson and Haywood counties and the towns of Canton and Sylva, so it is the firm to call for payoff or sale questions.
- The Tax Department's general line is (828) 349-2181 and Collections is (828) 349-2142; the foreclosure contact block lists Tax Administrator Abby Braswell at (828) 349-2148.
- Notice publication runs in the Franklin Press for Macon County sales, two consecutive weeks, with the last run no more than 10 days before the sale date.
- The delinquent tax list is published as a ZIP download on the Tax Department page and was last updated August 6, 2026.
North Carolina rules
- Redemption
- 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.
- Deed deposit
- 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.
- Surplus proceeds
- Sale proceeds are applied first to the costs of the action, including the commissioner's and attorneys' fees, then to the taxes, penalties, and interest of the foreclosing unit, then to special assessments and the taxes of other taxing units. Any surplus is paid as the court directs or held by the clerk of superior court, where the former owner, junior lienholders, and other claimants can file a special proceeding under G.S. 1-339.71 to establish ownership of the funds.
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 Macon County, North Carolina sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Macon County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Macon County tax sale list?
Verified Aug 18, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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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