Florence County, SC tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Bidding starts at the minimum bid submitted by the Forfeited Land Commission and proceeds in increments of no less than $25, citing S.C. Code Section 12-51-55.
• •Parcels that draw no bid are turned over to the Forfeited Land Commission. The county says an FLC bid assignment list is available in November and directs buyers to the Delinquent Tax Office for details.
• •Redemption runs one year and a day. For the October 5, 2026 sale the county states the owner or mortgage holder may redeem until October 6, 2027 at 5 pm, and that the tax deed or mobile home bill of sale is recorded or issued around the end of March 2028.
• •Interest to the winning bidder accrues quarterly at 3%, 6%, 9% and 12% of the bid amount, capped so total interest never exceeds the Forfeited Land Commission minimum bid.
• •Mobile home purchasers also earn rent from the sale date at one twelfth of the last full year's base tax, with a floor of $10 per month, under S.C. Code Section 12-51-96. Rent is not earned on a combined mobile home and land sale or on a voided sale.
• •A tax deed here is not a warranty deed. Existing liens stay attached to the property, the county does not handle foreclosure, and title is cleared after the second year through an attorney before the Master in Equity.
• •The county warns a sale can be voided at any time before the tax deed issues, or before a SCDMV title issues on a mobile home, in which case the bidder is refunded the bid plus actual interest earned.
• •Delinquent tax payments must be cash, cashier's check, certified funds or money order. Personal and company checks are not accepted.
• •The Treasurer's Office collects current county property taxes and states that redemption of property sold at tax sale must be handled directly with the Delinquent Tax Office.
• •The Delinquent Tax Office also staffs a Lake City location at 345 S. Ron McNair Blvd., Lake City, SC 29560, phone 843-394-3168, though the sale itself is held at the Florence County Complex.

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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