Dorchester County, SC
In-person delinquent tax sale in St. George, Mon Oct 19 — online registration closes Oct 14
Dorchester County's delinquent tax sale is on Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Lovely Hill Convention Center, 5905 W. Jim Bilton Boulevard in St. George. Bidder registration is online only, from Wednesday, October 1 through 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, and there is no registration on the day of the sale. Real property listings were advertised for three weeks starting September 30 in the Summerville Journal Scene, The Dorchester Leader and on the county website, and mobile homes for two weeks starting October 7, each in the name of the owner of record on December 31 of the year before the tax year. Owners have until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 16 to pay at the Delinquent Tax Office, 201 Johnston Street in St. George — there is no tax office in Summerville, and no tax payments are taken on sale day. The county's Notice and Instructions to Bidders is linked from its delinquent tax page.
The fees Dorchester adds along the way show how a small bill grows before it reaches the auction: a 15% penalty once taxes go delinquent after March 16, a $5 fee after March 31, another $35 on real property ($45 on mobile homes) after May 1, a $35 posting fee after June 30, and an $80 advertising cost after September 25 for real property (October 5 for mobile homes). All of that goes into the opening bid, which South Carolina sets at the taxes, penalties and costs owed (S.C. Code § 12-51-55). What's sold is the property, not a lien: the owner or a mortgage or judgment creditor has twelve months to redeem, repaying the bidder with 3% to 12% interest depending on the quarter, capped at the opening bid (§ 12-51-90), and if nobody does, the Delinquent Tax Office issues a tax deed to the bidder. The office does not take credit cards for redeeming property sold at the tax sale.
South Carolina rules at a glance
South Carolina auctions the property itself, bid up from a mandatory opening bid equal to the taxes, penalties and costs (S.C. Code § 12-51-55). The owner may redeem within twelve months by paying the bid plus a lump sum of 3%, 6%, 9% or 12% depending on the quarter, never more than the opening bid (§ 12-51-90); otherwise the buyer receives a tax title (§ 12-51-130).
The statute, the bidding and what goes wrong for new buyers are on the South Carolina page; every sale date we have sourced for Dorchester County is on the Dorchester County page.
Property & tax profile
The median homeowner in Dorchester County pays $1,851 a year in property tax — above the South Carolina median of $1,251 (U.S.: $3,119). That is roughly what a typical home here owes for each year it goes unpaid — the debt that the opening bid at a deed sale is usually built from, plus interest and costs. Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $2,036; homes owned outright, $1,355.
On a home with a mortgage, the lender has its own reason to pay a delinquent tax bill: the tax lien outranks the mortgage, and a tax deed can wipe out the loan. On a home owned outright, nobody but the owner — or the heirs — has that reason. In Dorchester County, 33.0% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (South Carolina: 42.9%, U.S.: 39.4%). That is less than the state as a whole: more of the delinquent bills here sit on mortgaged homes, where the lender often steps in.
6.9% of all housing units in Dorchester County are vacant. The figure that matters for a buyer at the tax sale is the Census “other vacant” category — not for rent, not for sale, not a holiday home, but a catch-all that includes foreclosures, homes held up by legal proceedings or family reasons, homes needing repairs, and abandoned ones. Here it is 3.3% of all units (South Carolina: 5.3%, U.S.: 3.6%). That is below the state rate: fewer empty properties on the list than elsewhere in South Carolina.
Half of the homes in Dorchester County were built in or before 2000 (South Carolina: in or before 1992). The typical tax bill is 2.4% of the median household income of $78,198 (South Carolina: 1.8%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25077, B25103, B25081, B25002, B25004, B25035, B19013) — see the figures on data.census.gov. Survey estimates with margins of error; anything too uncertain to state is left out.
Before you bid: Register online by October 14 at 5 p.m. — there's no sale-day registration — and read the Notice and Instructions to Bidders for payment terms. Questions go to Delinquent Tax Collector Lourenza G. Thumbtzen at (843) 563-0110 or [email protected].
Official source: dorchestercountysc.gov — checked October 4, 2026
More sales: 41 other county sales are on the calendar in October 2026 — see them by date; or the upcoming sales in South Carolina.
This page reflects publicly posted county auction notices as of publication and is general information, not financial or legal advice. Sale details can change — always confirm current terms with the county directly.