Richland County, SC

Richland County holds its 2026 delinquent tax sale in person at the Township Auditorium, 1703 Taylor St., Columbia, on Monday, November 2 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Tuesday, November 3 (9 a.m. until it concludes). Bidders must register online through the county's Tax Sale Bidder Application by October 26 and pay a $50 registration fee, and owners have until 5 p.m. on Friday, October 30 to pay in cash or certified cashier's check and pull their property off the list.

South Carolina isn't a lien-certificate state: the parcel itself is auctioned, and the bidding goes up, not down. Every parcel opens with a bid the county must place on behalf of its Forfeited Land Commission, equal to the unpaid taxes, penalties, assessments and costs (S.C. Code § 12-51-55). The owner or a mortgage or judgment creditor then has twelve months from the sale to redeem (§ 12-51-90). If they do, the winning bidder gets the bid back plus a lump sum of 3%, 6%, 9% or 12% of it, depending on which quarter of that year the redemption falls in. That interest can never exceed the county's opening bid, so on a parcel you win far above the opening figure, the 12% is capped well below 12%. If nobody redeems, the collector issues a tax title (§ 12-51-130), sold as is and without warranty.