Abbeville County, SC tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Delinquent Tax Collector is a separate office from the Treasurer. The Treasurer collects current taxes, and after March 16 all unpaid property and personal property accounts other than autos are turned over to the Delinquent Tax Collector's Office for collection. The Delinquent Tax Collector page adds that taxes go delinquent March 17th unless that date falls on a holiday or weekend.
• •Delinquent taxes cannot be paid online or over the phone in Abbeville County. The county's online portal covers current property and vehicle taxes only, though delinquent balances can be searched and viewed at no charge.
• •The Forfeited Land Commission is administered through the Treasurer's office. Sealed bids are addressed to ATTN: Abbeville County FLC Sealed Bids, Abbeville County Treasurer, 903 W. Greenwood Street, Suite 1300, Abbeville, SC 29620. The Treasurer's phone is (864) 366-5312, ext. 58.
• •The FLC minimum bid reflects all delinquent and current taxes plus penalties and costs. The commission will not accept bids until its research and review of the sale is complete, and it reserves the right to refuse any bid that does not meet its guidelines.
• •Bidder default carries real cost. Citing S.C. Code Section 12-51-70, the county states a defaulting bidder is charged $500.00 for the bid default plus court costs, may be barred from future tax sales, and may be required to post a $500 deposit with any future bid.
• •The county advises researching FLC parcels in its online GIS system before bidding and warns that the quit claim deed conveys only whatever interest the FLC acquired, so a quiet title action by an attorney is advised.
• •Under S.C. Code Section 12-51-50, once enough has been raised to cover a defaulting taxpayer's full obligation the county stops selling that taxpayer's remaining items. The county notes the bidder is entitled only to the property actually sold, not to the additional parcels the bid amount also covered.
• •The email address printed on the Delinquent Tax Collector page does not match the address behind the link, so use the published phone number to reach the office.

South Carolina rules

Redemption

The redemption clock runs twelve months from the date of the sale. Neither more than forty-five days nor less than twenty days before it ends, the delinquent tax officer must mail a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested and restricted delivery, to the defaulting taxpayer and to any grantee, mortgagee, or lessee of record, stating the amount needed to redeem and the date the tax title passes. Certified mail returned undelivered is not grounds to withhold the tax title. If nobody redeems, the officer makes a tax title to the purchaser within thirty days or as soon after that as possible. Personal property sold at a delinquent tax sale has no redemption period at all. A mobile or manufactured home runs on the same twelve-month clock, but it must not be moved from its location during that year without notice to the purchaser and the delinquent tax collector, and the redeeming owner or lienholder also owes the purchaser rent of up to one twelfth of the last completed tax year's taxes for each month between sale and redemption, with a ten dollar monthly minimum. If the official in charge discovers before the tax title passes that a required step was not properly performed, the official may void the sale and refund the bidder the amount paid plus the interest the county actually earned on it.S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-90, the twelve-month redemption right and the quarterly interest scheduleS.C. Code Ann. 12-51-90Verified Aug 6, 2026

Deed deposit

South Carolina fixes no percentage deposit. The successful bidder pays the full amount of the bid on the day of the sale in legal tender, meaning cash, a cashier's check, a certified check, or a money order. If a defaulting taxpayer has more than one item advertised, the officer stops selling once enough has been raised to cover the delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs.S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-50, public auction of the advertised property and accepted tenderS.C. Code Ann. 12-51-50Verified Aug 6, 2026

Surplus proceeds

If the sale produces more cash than the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, the overage first pays any outstanding municipal tax liens on the property. What remains belongs to the owner of record immediately before the end of the redemption period, to be claimed or assigned according to law. Those sums are payable ninety days after execution of the deed unless another claimant files a judicial action inside that window, and they escheat to the general fund of the governing body if neither claimed nor assigned within five years of the sale. Once a tax deed has been issued, Section 12-51-60 requires the delinquent tax collector to notify the defaulting taxpayer and that owner of record in writing that an excess is due, mailed the same certified way the officer took possession, and the cost of that notice counts as a cost of the sale.S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-130, delivery of the tax title, purchaser-paid costs, and the overage rulesS.C. Code Ann. 12-51-130Verified Aug 6, 2026

Governing statute

S.C. Code Ann. Title 12, Chapter 51South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 12, Chapter 51 (Alternate Procedure for Collection of Property Taxes)S.C. Code Ann. Title 12, Chapter 51Verified Aug 6, 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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