How the clock works
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.
Who can redeem
The defaulting taxpayer, any grantee from the owner, or any mortgage or judgment creditor. The owner or lienholder of a mobile or manufactured home may also redeem on the same terms.
What the owner pays to redeem
The delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, plus interest computed on the bid amount under the statutory schedule: 3 percent for the first three months of the redemption period, 6 percent for months four, five, and six, 9 percent for months seven, eight, and nine, and 12 percent for the last three months. Each figure relates back to the beginning of the redemption period, so the tier that applies on the day of redemption applies to the whole period. The interest due can never exceed the bid submitted on behalf of the forfeited land commission under Section 12-51-55. When a parcel is redeemed the officer cancels the sale in the tax sale book and refunds the purchaser the purchase price plus that interest.
How your return accrues
Interest is a lump sum tied to the quarter of the redemption year in which the property is redeemed, and the applicable figure relates back to the beginning of the redemption period. It is not a rate that accrues by the day or by the month, so redeeming on day 1 of a quarter and on the last day of the same quarter cost the same. The interest paid can never exceed the forfeited land commission bid amount under Section 12-51-55.
How the bidding works
There is no rate to bid down in South Carolina, because no certificate is sold. Bidders compete on price at a public auction, and the buyer's return is the statutory redemption interest owed if the property is redeemed: 3 percent of the bid amount in the first three months of the redemption period, 6 percent in months four through six, 9 percent in months seven through nine, and 12 percent in the last three months. One cap matters more than the headline rate. In every redemption the interest due must not exceed the bid submitted on behalf of the forfeited land commission under Section 12-51-55, which is the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs. Bid far above that opening figure and the extra dollars earn nothing.
What happens when it ends
The purchaser receives a receipt at the sale, not a deed. If the parcel is not redeemed, the delinquent tax officer makes a tax title to the purchaser or the purchaser's assignee within thirty days after the redemption period ends, or as soon after that as possible. Before the deed is delivered to the clerk of court or register of deeds for recording, the purchaser pays the actual cost of preparing the tax title, the recording fees, and the documentary stamps. Delivery of the tax title to that office counts as putting the purchaser in possession. The deed does not issue at the sale: it issues to you only if the redemption window closes unredeemed.
What the deed conveys
A tax deed is prima facie evidence of good title in the holder and of regular proceedings, but it is not a warranty deed and it is not insurable on its own. An action to recover land sold under Chapter 51, or to recover possession of it, must be brought within two years from the date of the sale. Separately, the tax deed becomes incontestable on procedural or other grounds once the twelve-month redemption period and a further twelve months have passed. A county, a forfeited land commission, or a tax sale purchaser may bring an action in the court of common pleas to bar all other claims and clear the tax title.
A redemption repays your price plus the statutory penalty, which is what makes the wait profitable; see how redemption periods work across states. The deed does not issue at the sale: it issues to you only if the redemption window closes unredeemed. What the South Carolina tax deed conveys is set by statute, in the card above; budget for a quiet title action if an insurer will not accept that title.
Verified Aug 6, 2026 against South Carolina statutes.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the office that runs the sale before you bid.