Lexington County tax sales, South Carolina

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Lexington County runs its sale out of the Treasurer's office, where Treasurer Jim Eckstrom also serves as tax collector, and the county publishes a full schedule of events on its Delinquent Taxes page: execution notices in April 2026, certified letters in May, posting of delinquent properties from September 21, 2026, three weekly advertisements, and the sale itself. The sale is live and in person at the Barr Road Sports Complex, but registration is online only, through a registration link the county posts on the delinquent taxes page. The legal notice for the 2026 sale states the properties sell to the highest bidder for cash, with immediate compliance, and that the starting bid includes the current year (2026) tax. No registration fee, deposit, or parcel count was published on the official pages read, so those items are marked unverified here.

Selling office: Lexington County Treasurer and Tax Collector, Delinquent Tax Department

Next sale: 2026 sale already run: Monday, November 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Barr Road Sports Complex; next sale expected in November 2027 on the county pattern for even years. The county Delinquent Taxes page and the published legal notices confirm the 2026 Delinquent Tax Sale began at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 2, 2026, at the Barr Road Sports Complex, 213 Barr Road, Lexington, SC 29072, for both real estate and mobile homes. Advertisements ran October 15, 22 and 29, 2026 in the Chronicle and the Twin City News. A county procurement document states the pattern behind the date: delinquent tax auctions are held on the first Monday in December of odd years and in November of even years. Online bidder registration for 2026 ran September 14, 2026 through October 29, 2026.

Lexington's 2026 sale is completed as of November 2, 2026, and its redemption year now runs to November 2027. The county pattern, stated in its own auction services procurement, is a first Monday in December sale in odd years and a November sale in even years, so watch the Delinquent Taxes page in the fall of 2027 for the next registration window. Treasurer's office: 212 South Lake Drive, Suite 101, Lexington, SC 29072, (803) 785-8217; Delinquent Tax Department (803) 785-8345.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	2026 sale already run: Monday, November 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Barr Road Sports Complex; next sale expected in November 2027 on the county pattern for even years
The sale	The 2026 sale was held Monday, November 2, 2026, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the Barr Road Sports Complex, 213 Barr Road, Lexington, SC 29072, selling real estate and mobile homes to the highest bidder for cash, with immediate compliance, per the county legal notice. No tax sale payments were taken in the Delinquent Tax Office on sale day, and delinquent tax payments at the sale site were taken only until 10:00 a.m.
The list	Properties were advertised in the Chronicle and the Twin City News on October 15, 22 and 29, 2026, under SC Code 12-51-40(d), with the real estate and mobile home files linked from the county Delinquent Taxes page. Posting of delinquent properties began Monday, September 21, 2026. No list cost or parcel count was published on the official pages read.
Registration	Online bidder registration only. Registration was available September 14, 2026 through October 29, 2026 through the link on the county Delinquent Taxes page at lex-co.sc.gov/treasurer/delinquent-taxes. Bidding itself is in person at the sale; there is no online bidding.
Bidding and payment	The legal notice states the sale is to the highest bidder, for cash, with immediate compliance, and the starting bid includes the current year (2026) tax. Under SC Code 12-51-55 the collector submits the opening bid for the Forfeited Land Commission equal to all unpaid taxes, penalties, assessments and costs including taxes levied for the year the redemption period begins, and under SC Code 12-51-60 the winner pays in full on the day of the sale and receives a receipt, not a deed. A bidder who fails to pay is liable for up to $500 in damages under SC Code 12-51-70.
Redemption	The defaulting taxpayer, a grantee from the owner, or a mortgage or judgment creditor may redeem within twelve months from the date of the sale under SC Code 12-51-90, paying the taxes, assessments, penalties and costs plus lump sum interest on the whole successful bid of 3 percent in months one to three, 6 percent in months four to six, 9 percent in months seven to nine, and 12 percent in the last three months, capped at the Forfeited Land Commission bid. The legal notice states real property is conveyed by deed after redemption expires, and mobile homes are conveyed by bill of sale. The collector mails notice of the approaching end of redemption no more than 45 and no less than 20 days before the period ends, under SC Code 12-51-120.
Unsold parcels	Parcels nobody outbids the Forfeited Land Commission on are taken in by the Commission. The county Forfeited Land Commission page states that at the end of the redemption period, properties held by the Commission will be disposed of under the policy and procedures established by the Commission in the best interest of the county, and the page links a list of available FLC properties and an FLC offer form.
Format	In person only; registration online only: In person at the Barr Road Sports Complex, 213 Barr Road, Lexington, SC 29072; bidder registration online through the county delinquent taxes page
Selling office	Lexington County Treasurer and Tax Collector, Delinquent Tax Department

Sources: Lexington County, Delinquent Taxes. Lexington County, 2026 Delinquent Tax Sale legal notice, real estate. Lexington County, 2026 Delinquent Tax Sale legal notice, mobile homes. Lexington County, Forfeited Land Commission. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and parcels are pulled up to sale day.

Research Lexington 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 Lexington County, searchable by address, owner, or county, including parcels that never reach a sale list.

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How South Carolina tax sales work

The debt builds fast, then the county takes possession on paper. Taxes unpaid after January 15 take penalties under Section 12-45-180: 3 percent, then 7 percent more on February 2, then 5 percent more on March 17. The treasurer issues an execution, and the officer charged with collecting delinquent taxes mails the delinquency notice on April 1, takes exclusive possession by certified mail or posting, and advertises the sale once a week for three consecutive weeks under Section 12-51-40.
The sale is a public auction, and the county opens every parcel. Under Section 12-51-50 the property is sold at public auction at the courthouse or another convenient place in the county on the advertised date; the statute sets no statewide date, and counties in this set sell between October and December. The officer must open each parcel with a bid for the county Forfeited Land Commission equal to all unpaid taxes, penalties, assessments and costs, including the taxes levied for the year the redemption period begins (Section 12-51-55). Public bidding starts at that amount.
The winner pays in full that day and leaves with a receipt. Section 12-51-60 requires payment of the full bid on the day of the sale, in cash, cashier's check, certified check or money order, and the buyer receives a receipt, not a deed. A bidder who fails to pay has the bid cancelled, faces up to 500 dollars in damages, and the property is readvertised (Section 12-51-70). Any part of the bid above the taxes, penalties and costs is held by the collector and belongs to the former owner, who is notified of the excess after the tax deed issues.
Redemption runs twelve months and pays a lump sum, not a rate. The defaulting taxpayer, a grantee from the owner, or a mortgage or judgment creditor may redeem within twelve months of the sale under Section 12-51-90, paying the debt plus interest on the whole successful bid: 3 percent if redeemed in the first three months, 6 percent in months four to six, 9 percent in months seven to nine, 12 percent in the last three months. The interest charged may never exceed the amount of the Forfeited Land Commission bid, so money bid above the county's opening bid earns no interest at all.
The deed comes after the year runs, and unsold parcels sit with the Commission. If nobody redeems, the collector issues a tax title to the purchaser under Section 12-51-130, and after one more year that deed is incontestable (Section 12-51-90(C)). Parcels the Forfeited Land Commission takes in, because nobody outbid its opening bid, are held through the same redemption period; the Commission then holds title and sells forfeited lands through its own posted sale process, which is the year round leftover channel in every South Carolina county.

How bidding works in Lexington County

Registration is online only, through the link on the Lexington County Delinquent Taxes page. For the 2026 sale, online registration was available September 14, 2026 through October 29, 2026. There is no registration at the sale site for bidding, and no online bidding; the auction itself is in person at the Barr Road Sports Complex.

Bid the redemption math, not the parcel. If the owner redeems, your entire return is the quarter's lump sum percentage, capped at the county's own opening bid. Every dollar bid above that opening bid earns zero interest in the redemption outcome and is handed to the former owner in the deed outcome. The rational bid ceiling in South Carolina is set by Section 12-51-90, not by the parcel's market value.
Full payment is due before you leave the room. South Carolina sales settle on the spot, in legal tender, and a failed payment cancels the bid, readvertises the parcel, and exposes the defaulting bidder to up to 500 dollars in damages (Section 12-51-70). Registered bidders bring certified funds sized to their maximum bid, not to their expected bid.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Lexington County	No bidder registration fee or deposit was published on the official pages read, and none is claimed here. The county legal notice and Delinquent Taxes page state the registration window and the online only route, and publish no fee.
Payment, Lexington County	The county legal notice states the properties sell for cash, with immediate compliance. The state frame, SC Code 12-51-60, is payment in full on the day of the sale by cash, cashier's check, certified check or money order, with a receipt issued to the purchaser. Which of those forms beyond cash the county accepted at the 2026 sale site was not published on the official pages read, so treat the exact accepted forms as unverified and confirm with the Delinquent Tax Department at (803) 785-8345.
What is sold	The property itself, but title does not move on sale day. The winning bid buys a receipt and a claim: if the owner redeems within twelve months the sale unwinds, and only if nobody redeems does the collector issue a tax title. There is no lien certificate in South Carolina at any stage.
The opening bid	Set by statute, not by the market. Under Section 12-51-55 the officer bids for the Forfeited Land Commission in an amount equal to all unpaid taxes, penalties, assessments and costs, including the taxes levied for the year in which the redemption period begins. Every public bid is measured against that floor.
Excess bid	Any part of the winning bid above the taxes, penalties, assessments and costs is held by the delinquent tax collector, and once the tax deed has been issued the collector must notify the former owner of the excess due (Section 12-51-60). Money bid above the debt is never bidder profit in either outcome: on redemption it earns no interest, and without redemption it belongs to the former owner.
Redemption	Twelve months from the date of the sale, by the defaulting taxpayer, a grantee from the owner, or a mortgage or judgment creditor, paying the debt plus lump sum interest on the whole successful bid: 3 percent in the first three months, 6 percent in months four to six, 9 percent in months seven to nine, 12 percent in the last three months, and never more than the amount of the Forfeited Land Commission bid (Section 12-51-90).
The tax title	Issued by the collector after the redemption period ends if nobody redeems (Section 12-51-130), and incontestable after one additional year (Section 12-51-90(C)). A tax title is not a title insurance policy: owners of record, occupants, and surviving interests are the buyer's homework, and a quiet title action is the usual finishing step.
Costs on top of the bid	The full bid is due on sale day in legal tender; there is no financing window and no deposit installment structure in the statute. Current year taxes are already inside the opening bid. After the sale the costs are time and process: twelve months of redemption to wait out, then deed and recording charges as the county publishes them.

Unsold parcels: the Forfeited Land Commission

Under SC Code 12-51-55 the collector bids for the Forfeited Land Commission at every sale, and parcels that draw no higher bid go to the Commission. The county Forfeited Land Commission page explains that Title 12, Chapter 59 creates the commission, that its purpose is to effect the sale of forfeited land, and that at the end of the redemption period properties held by the Commission will be disposed of under the Commission's own policy and procedures in the best interest of the county. The same page links a how to guide, a list of available FLC properties, and an FLC offer form, which is the county's posted route for buying forfeited lands.

Before you bid

Price the year, not just the parcel. Every South Carolina purchase includes twelve months of illiquidity before a deed can issue, and the owner can unwind the sale at any point in that year. Decide in advance whether you are buying the redemption return, the deed, or both, because the right bid is different for each.
Verify the venue and the registration close. South Carolina sales are live events, and registration closes days before the sale in most counties, sometimes with a fee and never on sale day in the larger ones. The registration deadline, not the sale date, is the gate that decides whether you bid at all.
Read the Forfeited Land Commission list after the sale. Parcels nobody outbids are taken in by the Commission and return through its own sale process after redemption runs. That list, published by each county's Commission, is the second chance at the same inventory, priced by the Commission's rules.
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.

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