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Tax Sale Information

Annual Delinquent Tax Sale

The Marion County Tax Collector will hold the annual Delinquent Tax Sale for unpaid real estate and mobile home property taxes on the first Monday in November. The sale will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the location. (please see advertising list)

The last day to pay delinquent property taxes in 2022 is November 4, 2022. Property owners who have delinquent real estate or mobile home property involved in the upcoming sale are asked to contact the Delinquent Tax Office at (843) 423-8228 or psteele@marionsc.org also tbarr@marionsc.org.

Anyone interested in bidding at this year’s tax sale can find the current list of properties, frequently asked questions and answers, online bidder registration and tax sale instructions http://www.marionsc.org. Please visit Tax Collector's page.

Bidders  can also register in person  on or before November 4, 2022 at the Marion County Tax Collector's Office in the Marion County Administration Building, Room 105. No bid numbers will be given on the day of the sale.

Registration is $5.00, and you do not have to register to attend the sale. For questions regarding the Delinquent Tax Sale, contact the Delinquent Tax Office by phone at (843) 423-8228 or by e-mail at psteele@marionsc.org  or tbarr@marionsc.org
 
Tax Sale Procedures

Property will be sold in alphabetical order and follow fairly closely the format used in the advertisements placed in the newspaper.                 

State law limits the amount of property to be sold in each case so it may be that  not all property which was advertised will be sold.
All real property upon which a successful bid is made is subject to a 12 month redemption  period. This allows the property owner or his/her designee to redeem (or return the property to the delinquent taxpayer) the property as bid. “Section 12-51-90 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina is amended to read, Interest is due on the whole amount of the delinquent tax sale based on the month during the redemption period the property is redeemed according to the following schedule: first three months-three percent; months four, five and six-six percent; months seven, eight and nine-nine percent; last three months-twelve percent. However, in every redemption, the amount of interest due must not exceed the amount of the bid on the property submitted on behalf of the Forfeited Land Commission pursuant to Section 12-51-55.”

Real property is conveyed by virtue of a deed transferring whatever interest Marion County has to convey. We make no representations as to title or value of property. You may wish to review the state law or seek advice of your attorney regarding your bid. 

All successful bids must be paid in CASH or CERTIFIED CHECK and picked up by 4:30 P.M. each day of the sale. Any bids not paid for will be resold at a subsequent sale with the bidder, who failed to remit, held responsible for additional cost of sale. The defaulting bidder shall be liable for no more than three hundred dollars ($500.00) damages upon such default.

The process of sale for each item will be as follows:

  • Bidding until a high bid is ultimately reached
  • The successful bidder will show his or her bidder number. The   amount of the bid, along with the unique bid number, will be noted on the scroll retained by the Tax Collector’s staff. This scroll will constitute the official record for bid amount purposes
  • Bidders shall tender CASH or CERTIFIED CHECK payment at the Tax Collector’s  Office in the County Office Building for the permanent receipt which must be retained until the real property  is  redeemed or deeded. A tax receipt, with notation, is given to the bidder  in the case of personal property. These receipts must be held as they represent the successful bidder’s claim to the property bid upon. 
  • Bidders are responsible for paying for all successful bid(s) no later than 4:30 P.M. the date of the bid(s). Any bids remaining unpaid will be subject to resale and allocation of costs as set out in item number 7 above. The Tax Collector’s Office assumes no responsibility for notifying a bidder if he/she has any outstanding bids.
 
Official may void sales ( SC Code of Laws Section 12-51-150): In the case that the official in charge of the tax sale discovers before a tax title has passed, the failure of any action required to properly performed, the official may void the tax sale and refund the amount paid to the successful bidder. This means that the bidder will not receive any interest.

If you should have questions regarding any aspect of the Tax Sale, please direct those to the Tax Collector during breaks. Any advice or answers you receive from any other person whether or not they are working for the Tax Collector shall not represent the Tax Collector. The best source for accurate information is the Tax Collector as he/she is the person in charge of the tax sale. He/she cannot and will not be bound by any other person’s representations unless he/she first directs you to them and occurs in their response.