Beaufort County, SC tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Beaufort County Treasurer's Office runs the delinquent tax sale; delinquent collection is not a separate elected office here. The Treasurer states the sale is the forced collection of real property taxes under S.C. Code 12-51-50.
• •Redemption runs one year and a day from the date of the tax sale. The redeeming party pays 12% annualized interest to the bidder, charged quarterly and capped at the minimum bid amount for that property.
• •The Treasurer publishes the quarterly redemption interest schedule: 3% of the winning bid October through December, 6% January through March, 9% April through June, and 12% July through September. The current year's taxes are added March 17, a $250 title search fee is added July 1, and a $150 Treasurer fee is added to the current year's taxes September 1.
• •If a parcel is not redeemed, the delinquent tax sale deed is recorded within roughly 90 days after the redemption period ends, and recording takes another four to six weeks.
• •The Treasurer may void a tax sale at any time before the delinquent tax deed issues under S.C. Code 12-51-150, refunding the bid money, applicable fees, and actual interest earned.
• •Add-on rule: when one winning bid amount covers the minimum bid of that same owner's later parcels, those later parcels are skipped and not auctioned. The winning bidder buys only the one parcel.
• •Personal property sold at the tax sale has no redemption period, and a bill of sale issues to the winning bidder the same day.
• •Forfeited Land Commission parcels are split into two lists. Parcels still in redemption accept only the minimum bid and cannot be titled until redemption ends. Parcels no longer in redemption may be sold for less than the minimum bid by majority vote of the commission and are eligible for immediate title.
• •Tax sales and foreclosure sales are separate in Beaufort County. The Treasurer does not handle foreclosures; those run through the Master in Equity.

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.

See the full South Carolinarules and every county →