National reference
Redeemable deed states
A redeemable deed sits between a tax lien and a straight tax deed. You buy the deed at the sale, but the former owner keeps a set window to reclaim the property by paying your bid plus a fixed penalty. If they redeem, you earn the penalty. If they do not, you keep the property.
Penalty, not interest
The difference from a lien state is that the return is a flat penalty, not interest that accrues over time. A 20 percent penalty is 20 percent whether the owner redeems on day 2 or month 11, so a fast redemption can annualize into a very high rate, while a slow one earns the same flat amount. Read tax lien vs tax deed for how the two instruments compare.
| State | Penalty | Redemption window | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 18% penalty | 6 months from the sale date (statewide default); shortened to 60 days if the property was abandoned or meets blight/vacancy conditions adopted by local ordinance | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-157(f) |
| Delaware | 15% penalty | 60 days from Superior Court confirmation of the sale | Del. Code Ann. tit. 9, § 8729 (Redemption by owner) |
| Georgia | 20% penalty | 12 months minimum; the right survives past 12 months until the purchaser affirmatively forecloses it | O.C.G.A. § 48-4-42 (Amount payable for redemption; additional costs), Official Code of Georgia Annotated via the LexisNexis-hosted free public portal (state-designated official publisher); look up § 48-4-42 by citation (no per-section deep link). |
| Hawaii | 12% penalty | 1 year from the date of the tax sale, extended to 1 year from the date of recordation if the tax deed is not recorded within 60 days of the sale | Maui County Real Property Tax Office – Tax Sale FAQ (citing Maui County Code §3.48.270) |
| Massachusetts | 16% penalty | 12 months minimum from sale/taking before a foreclosure petition may be filed (extended from 6 months by the Nov. 1, 2024 reform); the actual right to redeem continues until the Land Court enters final judgment of foreclosure, often well beyond 12 months | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 60, § 62 (Redemption; interest) |
| Rhode Island | 10% penalty | 1 year minimum (earliest a foreclosure-of-redemption petition may be filed); RIHMC-held titles: 5 years | R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-9-19 (Right of redemption from city or town) |
| South Carolina | 12% penalty | 12 months from date of sale | S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-90(B); cap referenced in 12-51-55 |
| Tennessee | 12% penalty | 12 months by default (property delinquent 5 years or less); shortened to 180 days if delinquent more than 5 but fewer than 8 years; 90 days if delinquent 8+ years; and 30 days for property meeting the statutory vacant/abandoned standard (regardless of delinquency length), all measured from entry of the chancery court's order confirming the sale, with courts also able to order a different period case by case. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2701, "Procedure for redemption of property", Tennessee Code Annotated free public access hosted by LexisNexis (the publisher the Tennessee General Assembly / capitol.tn.gov directs the public to); the portal has no per-section deep link, so § 67-5-2701 must be looked up by citation. |
| Texas | 50% penalty | 180 days (6 months) for most real property; extends to 2 years for a residence homestead, agricultural-use land, or a mineral interest (see homestead_nuance) | Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(a), (e), redemption premium provisions |
| Vermont | 12% penalty | 1 year from the date of sale | 32 V.S.A. § 5260 (Redemption) |
Penalty and window are the statutory baseline. Some states add tiers or extend the window for owner occupied property, so confirm the current terms with the county before you bid.
See every state's redemption window
Compare redemption periods across lien, deed, and redeemable deed states in one sourced table.