DeKalb County tax sales

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DeKalb sells monthly in season, generally April through December, on the first Tuesday, and it posts its sales as dated county events with a live property listing. Bidding starts at taxes and costs; if nobody bids, the county itself may enter a bid at the starting figure, which is why DeKalb parcels can cycle through more than one sale.

Selling office: DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office. The Tax Commissioner issues the execution (fi. fa.) on December 31 of each year against delinquent taxpayers (O.C.G.A. 48-3-3), and the levying officer sells.

Next sale: Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (posted county event). The county has posted the December 1, 2026 tax sale as a dated event, and its official Tax Sale Property Listings are populated with parcels dated 01-DEC-2026. One wording conflict to respect: the Tax Sales page describes sales as scheduled at 12:00 p.m. or sooner, while the posted event runs 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and the Delinquent Taxes page states legal tax sale hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The dated event listing is the specific posting; treat 9:00 a.m. as the start and confirm on the Tax Sales page before you travel.

The December 1, 2026 listing is live on the county's public access site; parcel counts change as owners pay, and the listing controls.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (posted county event)
Sale pattern	Each month, generally from April through December, on the first Tuesday of the month, on the courthouse steps. The county reserves the right to add or cancel sales according to business needs.
Opening bid	Bidding starts at the taxes and costs: the levy, recording, advertising and commission costs on top of the taxes due. If there are no bidders, the county may enter a bid equal to the starting bid.
The list	The official Tax Sale Property Listings are on the Tax Commissioner's public access site, linked from the Tax Sales page. The sale is also published once a week for four weeks before the sale in the county's legal organ, presently The Champion Newspaper.
Format	In person, courthouse steps: In person, on the DeKalb County Courthouse steps, 556 N McDonough St, Decatur, GA 30030 (venue as posted on the county's December 1 sale event listing).
Selling office	DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's Office. The Tax Commissioner issues the execution (fi. fa.) on December 31 of each year against delinquent taxpayers (O.C.G.A. 48-3-3), and the levying officer sells.

Sources: DeKalb County Tax Commissioner, Tax Sales. DeKalb County Tax Commissioner, Tax Sale event, December 1, 2026. DeKalb County Tax Commissioner, Delinquent Taxes. DeKalb County Tax Commissioner, Tax Sale Property Listings. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and owners can pay and stop a sale at any point before it starts.

Research DeKalb County parcels before you bid

A sale list gives you the parcels, the date, and the opening terms. It does not give you the owner, the value, or the rest of the picture: liens, foreclosure status, and parcel history. PropertyRadar is the data platform for that layer. It carries owner records, assessed and market values, foreclosure and tax data, and property history for parcels across DeKalb County, searchable by address, owner, or county, including parcels that never reach a sale list.

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How Georgia tax sales work

Taxes go delinquent and the lien attaches. Georgia taxes are a lien on the property. After the statutory notice, the county tax commissioner issues a tax execution, the fi. fa., against the owner and the property (O.C.G.A. 48-3-3) and delivers it to the levying officer: the sheriff, or the tax commissioner acting as ex officio sheriff, which is how most counties in this set run their sales.
The levy is advertised for four weeks. The levying officer advertises the sale once a week for four consecutive weeks in the county's legal organ newspaper, and most counties in this set also post the sale list on the tax commissioner's site. Owners keep paying and parcels keep dropping out until sale day; the list you research is not the list that sells.
Sale day is the first Tuesday. Sales under execution are held on the first Tuesday of the month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., at the courthouse or the place the county designates (O.C.G.A. 9-13-161 and 48-4-1). Bidding is by public outcry, in person, and it starts at the amount due on the execution plus the costs of levy and sale. Some counties in this set sell only in months when a sale is planned, so the first Tuesday is a frame, not a promise: the county page tells you whether your county has a dated sale.
The winner pays and takes a tax deed. Payment timing and accepted forms are county rules, stated on each county page; where they are published they are same day rules, measured in hours. The winner receives a tax deed. Money bid above the execution amount becomes excess funds, held for the owner and lienholders under O.C.G.A. 48-4-5; it is not a discount and it is not the buyer's.
The deed is redeemable for at least 12 months. The owner, or anyone holding an interest in or a lien on the property, may redeem by paying the purchase price, plus any taxes and special assessments the purchaser paid, plus a premium of 20 percent of that amount for the first year or fraction of a year and 10 percent for each year after (O.C.G.A. 48-4-40 and 48-4-42). The purchaser cannot take possession during the redemption period. After 12 months the purchaser may bar the right of redemption with the statutory notice (O.C.G.A. 48-4-45); marketable title after that usually takes a quiet title action. Exception in this set: counties running judicial in rem sales (Chatham, Richmond, Bibb and Clayton publish the track) redeem in 60 days on that track, with no 20 percent premium stated.

How registration works in DeKalb County

Complete the Tax Sale Pre-Registration Portal if you plan to bid (linked from the Tax Sales page). The Delinquent Taxes FAQ adds that bidders must register in advance, either online through the portal or in person on the morning of the sale.

Registration is the real deadline where a county requires it. Fulton closes registration the Monday before the sale and will not register you on sale day; Gwinnett registers in person and closes when the sale starts. Read your county's rule above before you travel.
Payment is a sale day event. Every county in this set that publishes a payment rule wants certified funds the same day, in windows as short as two hours. Arrive with the money arranged, not with a plan to arrange it.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, DeKalb County	No deposit to bid is published on the county pages read.
Payment, DeKalb County	A bidder payment deadline is not published on the county's Tax Sales page. For payments on properties scheduled for tax sale, the Delinquent Taxes page accepts only cash, a bank issued cashier's check, or bank wire transfer, payable to DeKalb County Tax Commissioner; personal, business and third party checks, money orders and cards are not accepted in that context. Confirm the winning bidder's payment window with the Tax Commissioner's office before the sale, not after it.
What is sold	A tax deed, not a tax lien certificate. Georgia counties do not hold lien auctions: the property itself is levied and sold, and the buyer takes a deed that stays defeasible while the right of redemption lasts.
The opening bid	The amount due on the tax execution (taxes, interest and penalties) plus the costs of levy, advertising and sale. Bidding runs up from there by public outcry.
Redemption (sheriff style sales)	At least 12 months from the sale date. The redemption price is the amount paid at the sale, plus taxes and special assessments the purchaser paid afterward, plus a premium of 20 percent for the first year or fraction of a year and 10 percent for each year or fraction of a year after (O.C.G.A. 48-4-42). The 20 percent is owed in full even if the owner redeems the week after the sale.
After the year	The right to redeem does not simply expire at 12 months: it continues until the purchaser bars it with the statutory barment notice (O.C.G.A. 48-4-45). Only after barment, and usually a quiet title action, does the tax deed behave like a marketable title.
Excess funds	Any amount bid above the execution and costs is excess funds under O.C.G.A. 48-4-5, payable to the owner and lienholders in priority order. Overbidding does not buy better title; it buys a bigger redemption check if the owner redeems.

When a parcel draws no bid

DeKalb's published answer is the county bid: with no bidders, the county may enter a bid equal to the starting bid. No separate county held or leftover list is published on the Tax Sales page read; parcels the county takes cycle through its later monthly sales in season.

Before you bid

Know which track the parcel is on. A sheriff style sale carries a 12 month redemption and a 20 percent premium if the owner redeems; a judicial in rem sale in the counties that run one redeems in 60 days with no premium. The deed, the wait and the return are different products.
Check the list in sale week. Owners pay and parcels drop until the morning of the sale. The four week advertisement is the starting list, never the selling list.
Price the redemption year. On a sheriff style deed you cannot take possession for at least 12 months, and the right to redeem continues after that until you bar it. Your capital is committed for the whole period either way.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your resale or hold value to the highest bid you can pay, with the costs shown.

Every Georgia county in this set

One page per county, each verified against its own tax commissioner, sheriff or official sale source. Georgia has 159 counties; this set is the top 20 by population and sale activity.

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The free Max-Bid Calculator works backwards from your resale price to the highest hammer bid you can pay, with the fees shown line by line.

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New York tax sales · Florida tax deed sales · Texas tax sales · Pennsylvania tax sales