Spartanburg County, SC
In-person delinquent tax sale at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, Dec 8–9 from 10 a.m.
Spartanburg County's 2026 delinquent tax sale is set for December 8 and 9 in the Arena, on the lower level of the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium at 385 North Church Street, across from the county's administrative offices; parking is behind the building. It starts at 10:00 a.m. on December 8 and continues until all the delinquent taxes and costs are covered, picking up again at 9 a.m. on the next business day if a second day is needed. Real estate and mobile homes are sold together, in alphabetical and item-number order. To bid, you read the county's Notice to Bidders of Terms and Conditions, turn in a Bidder Registration Form and an IRS W-9 to the Tax Collector's office and receive a bidder number; the county's 2026 tax sale page also has an online registration link. The final 2026 sale list wasn't posted yet when we checked.
Every parcel opens with a bid made for the county's Forfeited Land Commission, equal to all the delinquent taxes, penalties and costs plus the current year's taxes (S.C. Code § 12-51-55), and the bidding goes up from there. Once one taxpayer's items have raised enough to cover everything that taxpayer owes, the rest of that taxpayer's items aren't sold. Bids are paid by the end of the sale in cash, cashier's check, certified check or money order; a bidder who doesn't pay is charged $500 per bid, and overpayments are refunded within 10 business days. Everything is sold as is, where is, with no refunds. The owner, a grantee or a mortgage or judgment creditor can redeem within twelve months, and the high bidder can't take possession until that period is over and a tax deed has been issued; under South Carolina law the redemption repays the bid plus 3% to 12% depending on the quarter, capped at the opening bid (§ 12-51-90). A bid can be assigned before redemption ends with the county's notarized Assignment of Bid form.
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 Spartanburg County is on the Spartanburg County page.
Property & tax profile
The median homeowner in Spartanburg County pays $1,274 a year in property tax — close to 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 $1,422; homes owned outright, $1,000.
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 Spartanburg County, 40.0% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (South Carolina: 42.9%, U.S.: 39.4%). About the same as the state as a whole.
8.7% of all housing units in Spartanburg 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 5.2% of all units (South Carolina: 5.3%, U.S.: 3.6%). Close to the state rate.
Half of the homes in Spartanburg County were built in or before 1990 (South Carolina: in or before 1992). The typical tax bill is 1.9% of the median household income of $66,234 (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: Lots are sold by item number, so settle any questions about size or location before the sale — the Tax Collector makes no representation about title or value. Contact the Spartanburg County Tax Collector at (864) 596-2597, and check the 2026 tax sale page for the final list.
Official source: spartanburgcounty.gov — checked October 4, 2026
More sales: 19 other county sales are on the calendar in December 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.