Chester County, SC tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Tax Collector is its own department under Tax and Finance, listed separately from the Treasurer. The county page names Suzie Elms as Tax Collector and Brooke Cannon as Deputy Tax Collector. Office hours are listed as 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, with fax (855) 946-0254.
• •Pre-sale timeline from the county calendar: the Treasurer issues the tax execution against the defaulting taxpayer to the Tax Collector on March 17, the first delinquent notice is mailed April 1 or as soon thereafter as practicable followed by a certified notice taking exclusive possession 30 days later, and the county takes physical possession by posting notice on the property between August and October.
• •The county page states that after the sale the defaulting taxpayer has 12 months from the date of sale to pay all taxes, assessments, penalties and costs plus the interest due on the tax sale bid, in which case the property remains as it was before the sale.
• •The Chester County Forfeited Land Commission page states its purpose is to sell and dispose of lands deeded to the Commission as to the best interest of the County, and cites S.C. Code 12-59-10 for a membership of the County Treasurer, County Auditor and Clerk of Court. Members listed are Betty Jo Lawson, Donnie A. Wade and Tommy Darby. The page publishes no inventory of Commission held parcels.
• •The Treasurer's Office is a separate department at the same address, mailing address PO Box 686, Chester, SC 29706, phone (803) 385-2608. Its published duties cover billing and collection and do not include conducting the tax sale.
• •No tax sale event appears on the county events calendar and no tax sale notice, bidder packet or sale list appears in the county website's document library, so the October newspaper advertisement is the primary published list channel.

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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