GuidesAlabama
How to buy tax-sale property in Alabama (2026)
This state runs more than one kind of tax sale, so the rules depend on which sale you enter. The owner has 3 years from the sale to pay you back. Bidding drives the rate down, and you earn up to 12% a year. You win by offering the lowest interest rate. Sales are held once a year, typically in March, April, May and June.
How Alabama tax sales work
Alabama runs a dual system. A county's tax collecting official chooses between the traditional sale of land and the tax-lien auction, and that choice applies to all real property in the county for the year. The lien auction runs in the March, April, May and June window, and the lien is sold to the person who pays the taxes, interest, penalties, fees and a $45 administrative fee, and bids the lowest interest rate starting at no more than 12 percent.
SourceAla. Code 40-10-180Ala. Code 40-10-184Ala. Code 40-10-181(3)
Online auctions (GovEase)
The statute lets the tax collecting official run the auction either online or in person at that official's discretion. GovEase is one platform used for Alabama tax sales, but the county registry does not yet verify platform assignments for Alabama, so a specific county's online host should be confirmed before you register.
Registration and deposits
The statute does not set out bidder registration, deposits or acceptable payment forms, so those vary by tax collecting official. The winning bidder does not post a separate deposit: the full amount bid is paid, and payment is due not later than one hour before close of business on the auction date, or, for an online auction, by close of business two days after the auction.
- Payment acceptable to the tax collecting official (40-10-186(b): form of payment is that 'acceptable to the tax collecting official')
- Tax assessing/collecting officials, judges, clerks, and their employees may not knowingly have a direct or indirect financial interest in the purchase of a tax lien sold for delinquent taxes in their jurisdiction (40-10-200); a sale in violation is void
Interest and redemption
Over-the-counter liens
The registry documents the auction and the existing certificate holder's first right to purchase a subsequent-year lien between five and 30 days before the auction, but it does not document an over-the-counter purchase window. Treat over-the-counter availability as varying by county and confirm it with the tax collecting official.
Steps
How to bid here · Alabama
Hybrid- 1.Confirm the remedy the county's tax collecting official chose for the year (sale of a tax lien or sale of property); it applies to all real property in the county for that year (40-10-180(b), (c))
- 2.Find the tax lien auction list, which must be prepared and maintained at least 30 days before the auction (40-10-183)
- 3.Holders of existing tax lien certificates may exercise a first right to purchase the lien on a subsequent delinquency between five and 30 days prior to the auction date (40-10-191(a))
- 4.Bid at the public auction for the sale and transfer of delinquent tax liens; the lien is sold to the person who pays all taxes, interest, penalties, and fees due, a $45 administrative fee, and bids the lowest interest rate on the redemption amount, starting at no more than 12 percent (40-10-182(b)(1), 40-10-184(b))
- 5.Pay the purchase price: not later than one hour before close of business on the auction date, or, for an online auction, by close of business two days after the auction (40-10-186(b))
- 6.Receive a tax lien certificate from the tax collecting official upon receipt of the purchase price (40-10-187(a))
- 7.If the lien is not redeemed, foreclose the right to redeem and quiet title in circuit court not less than four and not more than ten years after the auction; the certificate expires if no action is brought within ten years (40-10-197(a), (j))
- Registration
- Required: UnknownUnknown
Not verified from a source yet.
- Deposit
- Required: UnknownUnknown
Not verified from a source yet.
- Forms
- Bidder ID card: UnknownW-9: Unknown
Payment acceptable to the tax collecting official (40-10-186(b): form of payment is that 'acceptable to the tax collecting official')
- Eligibility
- Residency required: UnknownNo delinquent taxes: Unknown
Tax assessing/collecting officials, judges, clerks, and their employees may not knowingly have a direct or indirect financial interest in the purchase of a tax lien sold for delinquent taxes in their jurisdiction (40-10-200); a sale in violation is void
- Payment
- Unknown
Not verified from a source yet.
Alabama's modern delinquency remedy (Article 7, Code of Alabama 1975, Chapter 10) is the sale of tax liens at a public auction run by the county tax collecting official, either online or in person at that official's discretion, with existing certificate holders holding first rights for subsequent-year liens. The winning bidder pays the full amount bid (taxes, interest, penalties, fees and costs, plus a $45 administrative fee) rather than a separate deposit, and receives a tax lien certificate bearing the interest rate bid; the amount to redeem is paid back by the owner with that interest. Bidder registration requirements, acceptable payment forms, and deposit rules are not set out in the statute and vary by tax collecting official. Property-sale (tax deed) counties may follow Article 1's judicial sale instead, whose bidder steps differ.
FAQ
- Does Alabama sell tax liens or deeds?
- It depends on the county: the tax collecting official chooses between a tax-lien auction and the traditional sale of land, and the choice applies county-wide for the year. Ala. Code 40-10-180
- How long is redemption in Alabama?
- 36 months from the sale. Ala. Code 40-10-120
- Can you buy Alabama tax liens over the counter?
- The registry does not document an over-the-counter window, so treat availability as varying by county and confirm it with the tax collecting official. (Existing certificate holders do get a first right before the auction.)
- What do I actually buy at a Alabama tax sale?
- The state runs more than one kind of sale, so the outcome depends on which sale a parcel goes through.
- How long does the owner have to redeem the property in Alabama?
- 36 months (3 years) from the sale date
- What interest or penalty do I earn on a Alabama tax sale?
- Bidding starts at a maximum rate of 12% per year and goes down.
- How is the winning bidder chosen in Alabama?
- Bidders compete by offering the lowest interest rate rather than the highest price.
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