Saluda County, SC tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •In Saluda County the Delinquent Tax Collector is its own department, separate from the Treasurer. The office describes its role as collecting delinquent taxes once a bill goes into execution, and lists among its duties that it "plans, conducts, and manages the yearly tax sale" and "issues tax deeds at the end of the redemption period each year." The Tax Collector is Angie S. Saxon.
• •Two different county addresses matter here. The Delinquent Tax Collector sits at 111 Law Range Street, while the Treasurer is in the courthouse at 100 East Church Street, Suite 5, Saluda, SC 29138, phone 864-445-4500 ext. 2211. Delinquent payments, redemptions and bidder registration all go to the Law Range Street office. The county page adds that anyone redeeming a property "must see the Delinquent Tax Collector and cannot just drop the payment in the box."
• •The Treasurer's page states that payments can be made online "however, delinquent property can NOT be paid online." Redemptions have to be handled directly with the Delinquent Tax Collector.
• •A bill is deemed delinquent on March 17 each year, at which point the debt goes into execution and the Treasurer forwards it to the Delinquent Tax Office for collection, which the county ties to S.C. Code 12-51-40. The published timeline for the December 2026 sale shows execution notices in April 2026, certified letters in May 2026, and a yellow notice posted on delinquent properties in July or August 2026.
• •Not every delinquency feeds the real property sale. Saluda County has contracted with American Financial Credit Services to collect delinquent mobile home and business personal property taxes, and states that 2025 and older mobile home and business personal tax notices "can no longer be paid at a county office." Real property remains with the Delinquent Tax Collector and the annual sale.
• •No Forfeited Land Commission page was found on the Saluda County website. South Carolina law puts parcels that draw no bid with the county Forfeited Land Commission, so contact the Delinquent Tax Collector's office directly for any list of forfeited or no-bid parcels rather than assuming an online inventory exists.
• •Cash or exact-amount certified funds are the only accepted forms of payment for a winning bid, so arrange certified funds before the sale. Bidder information excluding the Social Security number is public record on request.

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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