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Tax Sale Atlas

Grainger County, TN tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Grainger County, seat of Rutledge: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Tennessee tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
No sale date is published on any official Grainger County page.
County office
865-828-4436
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 18, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Grainger County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

Tennessee counties enforce the tax lien through a delinquent tax suit and sell the property itself; no tax lien certificates are auctioned.

Tax deed sale

Run by
Clerk & Master, Grainger County Chancery Court
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
No sale date is published on any official Grainger County page.
When it runs
No sale date is published on any official Grainger County page. The county's Clerk & Master page states the office "is also responsible for delinquent tax collection and conducting delinquent tax sales" but posts no schedule, no notice archive, and no upcoming sale date, so the next sale date is not yet set publicly and has to be confirmed with the office by phone.
Registration and deposit

Bidders register with the clerk that runs the sale under its published terms, either at the clerk and master's office for an in-person auction or on the county's online platform. The court orders the sale for cash, certified funds, cashier's check, money order, or ACH transfer, and Tennessee sets no statewide deposit percentage, so confirm the county's payment deadline and accepted funds before bidding.

Sale format and venue
Grainger County's official pages confirm which office runs the sale but publish no sale logistics. The Clerk & Master page carries the officeholder, physical and mailing addresses, phone, fax, and office hours, plus a single sentence assigning delinquent tax collection and delinquent tax sales to that office. It does not name an auction platform, does not post bidder registration steps, and does not link a delinquent or sale property list. Grainger County does not appear on GovEase's Tennessee county list, so an online auction is not confirmed and no platform URL is recorded here. Small Tennessee counties commonly hold the redeemable deed sale live at the courthouse, but that format is not verified for Grainger and should be confirmed with the Clerk & Master before planning a bid. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701 the redemption period runs from entry of the order confirming the sale and the redeemer repays the purchase price with 12 percent per annum interest.
Source: Grainger County Clerk & Master, Chancery Court (official county site)· Verified Aug 18, 2026

Grainger County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Grainger County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.

  1. Get the advertised list

    A county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the office and platform details on this page before relying on a copied list.

  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.

  3. Sale day

    No sale date is published on any official Grainger County page. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Clerk & Master, Grainger County Chancery Court as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Grainger County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    The county sale-list URL is still being verified. Use the county office contacts below and confirm the advertised parcels directly before you price a bid.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidders register with the clerk that runs the sale under its published terms, either at the clerk and master's office for an in-person auction or on the county's online platform. The court orders the sale for cash, certified funds, cashier's check, money order, or ACH transfer, and Tennessee sets no statewide deposit percentage, so confirm the county's payment deadline and accepted funds before bidding.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Tennessee due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.

  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases

Parcels struck to the county at the tax sale can be bought from the county afterward. Each county mayor must publish a list of county-held parcels by July 1 every year, and any person may file a written offer for one. The county advertises the offer, competing bidders have ten days to raise it by 10 percent or more, and the highest offer wins, sometimes through an online resale. A parcel bought before the redemption period expires stays subject to redemption. Ask the county mayor's office or the clerk and master where the current list is posted.

County-held parcel listings are published per county under Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2511; find the current list on the county's website or newspaper of record

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax sale office

Clerk & Master, Grainger County Chancery Court (Vickie B. Greenlee)

865-828-4436

270 Justice Center Drive, Ste. 107, Rutledge, TN 37861; mailing address P.O. Box 160, Rutledge, TN 37861

Official website

County notes

  • Clerk & Master office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday 8:30 a.m. to noon, closed 12:00 to 1:00 for lunch. Fax is 865-828-8714 and the deputy clerk is Lisa Jarnigan. The UT CTAS county directory lists the Clerk & Master's email as [email protected].
  • The Grainger County Trustee (Rena Greer) collects current property taxes at the Grainger County Courthouse, 8095 Rutledge Pike, Suite 104, Rutledge, TN 37861, phone 865-828-3514, mailing address P.O. Box 213, Rutledge, TN 37861. The Trustee's page covers current tax payment, satellite collection days, and state tax relief only, and says nothing about delinquent tax sales, so the Clerk & Master is the office to contact about the sale.
  • Grainger County is not listed among GovEase's Tennessee county auctions, which cover Hamblen, Hawkins, Henry, Lawrence, Madison, Montgomery, Obion, Sullivan, Washington, Wayne, Coffee, Decatur and the City of Jackson. Absence from one platform does not by itself prove the sale is held in person, so verify the format with the Clerk & Master.
  • The Grainger County Journal is listed as a Grainger County publication in the Tennessee Press Association's statewide public notice system, which is where a statutory delinquent tax sale notice for the county would run. No delinquent tax sale notice is currently posted on the newspaper's own site, so watch both the paper and the Clerk & Master's office for the next sale.
  • Data quality is medium rather than high: the responsible office and its contact details are verified from the county's own page, but the sale date, auction platform, bidder registration process, and property list were not published anywhere on the official county sources and were deliberately left unrecorded rather than estimated.

Tennessee rules

Redemption
The right to redeem vests when the court enters the order confirming the sale and never runs longer than one year from that date. The court sets each parcel's period before the sale on a statutory scale: one year when the taxes were delinquent 5 years or less, 180 days when delinquent more than 5 but less than 8 years, 90 days when delinquent 8 years or more, and 30 days when the court finds the property vacant and abandoned. To redeem, an interested person files a motion in the same lawsuit and must first pay the clerk the full redemption amount; the purchaser then has 30 days after notice to ask the court for additional reimbursements. When the court declares the redemption complete, title divests from the purchaser and the clerk refunds the purchase money plus everything owed. During the redemption period the purchaser owes no duty to insure the parcel and is not liable for damage to it except from the purchaser's own intentional acts. Separately, a suit attacking the validity of the sale itself must normally be filed within one year of the confirmation order, with an absolute three-year outer limit.
Deed deposit
No statewide deposit percentage exists. The statute fixes the form of payment (cash, certified funds, cashier's check, money order, or ACH transfer) and each court sets its own payment terms. Davidson County takes cashier's checks only, Rutherford County requires payment by close of business the day after the sale, and counties selling through GovEase collect payment through the platform. Confirm the terms with the clerk and master that runs the sale before bidding.
Surplus proceeds
Sale proceeds pay the delinquent tax attorney, then court costs, then the taxing entities. Any excess is claimed by motion in the same case: remaining taxes are paid first, then lienholders in order of priority (pre-sale liens before post-sale liens), then the former owner. Filing the motion ends any remaining redemption period as to the movant. Excess proceeds nobody claims pass to the state under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.
Governing statute
Tenn. Code Ann. Title 67, Chapter 5, Parts 25-27

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 Tennesseerules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Grainger County, Tennessee sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. Tennessee sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Grainger County hold tax deed sales?

Grainger County holds its tax deed sale once a year. No sale date is published on any official Grainger County page. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Tennessee's redemption rule: Up to 1 year from entry of the order confirming the sale, tiered by how long the taxes were delinquent. Call the Clerk & Master, Grainger County Chancery Court as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Verified Aug 18, 2026 against official county and state sources.

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 county office before you bid.

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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

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