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DeKalb County

Georgia · Upcoming sale

Sale dateNovember 3, 2026
Sale typeredeemable-deed
PlatformTax commissioner (in-person, courthouse steps, Decatur)
Georgia rate / penalty20% premium in year one, +10% each later year

DeKalb County's tax commissioner holds a tax sale on the first Tuesday of most months from April through December, on the front steps of the courthouse in Decatur. The next one is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and the office has already posted its property list: 69 parcels on October 10. The winner gets a tax deed, but the owner can buy the property back for a year, and longer until you bar that right, by paying your bid plus a 20% premium.

November 3: where, when and the list

The sale takes place on the front steps of the DeKalb County Superior Courthouse, 556 North McDonough Street, Decatur. The office's calendar blocks out 9 to 11 a.m. on November 3. Its Conditions of Tax Sale say bidding begins at 10 a.m., and its flyers put on-site check-in at 9 a.m. The office reserves the right to add or cancel sales, and the next date on its calendar after this one is December 1.

There is no mailing list. The notice runs once a week for the four weeks before the sale in The Champion Newspaper, the county's legal organ, and the same parcels appear on the office's Tax Sale Property Listings, with the parcel ID, levy date, the tax years owed and the total due. When we opened it on October 10, it showed 69 parcels set for November 3. Expect that number to fall: every owner who pays before the sale drops off.

Register for each sale, and bring the right money

DeKalb asks every bidder to pre-register for each sale through its Tax Sale Pre-Registration Portal, a form run by the county's tax sale vendor. For the September sale the flyer set the cutoff at 2 p.m. on the Monday before, and said registration on the day only covers check-in. Check the November flyer for the exact time. A business must bring a copy of its articles of incorporation to the sale.

Bidding is by paddle. Each parcel is called by parcel number, address and legal description, the officer announces the opening bid, and you raise your paddle and say the exact dollar amount. A raised paddle with no amount is not a bid. The opening bid is the original taxes plus the late-payment penalty, interest, the fi. fa. cost, the execution fee and the other legal costs the statute allows. If nobody bids, the county can enter a bid for the opening amount.

Payment is cash, cashier's check or a certified check from an FDIC-insured bank, payable to the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner, and the flyer also accepts a bank wire. Personal and business checks, ACH, third-party checks, money orders and cards are refused. The flyer wants the money in hand by 1:30 p.m. on sale day. A parcel that is not paid for is offered again at 2 p.m., the officer can refuse the defaulting bidder at that second sale, and the bidder can be held liable for the difference between the two prices.

The deed, and the 30 days after the sale

You get a receipt when you pay, and the tax deed is mailed to the address on that receipt within 30 working days. Every bid is binding, and the conditions form you sign repeats it. One exception runs the other way: under O.C.G.A. § 9-13-172.1, the office can set aside a sale within 30 days and refund the bid. The form also tells bidders to do their own research before the sale, because caveat emptor applies to every DeKalb tax sale.

Twelve months of redemption, then barment

The deed does not give you the house. The owner, or anyone with a right, title, interest or lien in the property, can redeem within 12 months of the sale, and you are not entitled to rents or profits in the meantime. The price is what you paid at the sale plus any taxes you paid afterwards, plus 20% for the first year or part of a year and 10% for each year or part of a year after that. Because the premium is charged on the whole bid, a fast redemption on a high bid is the best result the sale can give you.

Take a $15,000 winning bid on a parcel whose opening bid was $6,000. If the owner redeems in month three, you receive $18,000. The $9,000 above the opening bid also earned the premium, but that money was never the county's: it is held as excess funds for the former owner and lienholders.

After twelve months you can start to bar the right of redemption with notices served on everyone with a recorded interest. The sheriff's service and the advertising cost extra. Until then your title is defeasible, and DeKalb's own page tells buyers to bring in a real estate attorney. The statute in full is on our Georgia page.

Excess funds from the sale

If a parcel sells for more than the taxes and costs, the difference is excess funds. Under Georgia law the officer who sold it notifies the owner and every recorded interest holder, the money is paid out in order of priority, and anything unclaimed after five years goes to the Department of Revenue (O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5). DeKalb posts its own excess funds list on its delinquent taxes page. A former owner can claim directly from the tax commissioner, without a recovery company.

The sale in brief is in our Market Pulse note, and every other Georgia county selling the same day is on our November 3 Georgia list.

Four ways people lose money here

  1. 1. Turning up without pre-registering

    DeKalb wants a registration for each sale, through its portal, before the cutoff. On sale day you only check in.

  2. 2. Bringing a money order or a business check

    Neither is accepted. Cash, a cashier's or certified check, or a wire, received by 1:30 p.m., or the parcel is cried again at 2 p.m.

  3. 3. Raising the paddle without calling a number

    The officer only recognizes a bid you say out loud, in dollars. And once recognized, it is binding.

  4. 4. Treating the deed as ownership

    For at least a year the owner can redeem, and you get no rents. Budget for an attorney to bar redemption afterwards.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-10.

County snapshot

Population (2024)770,307
Change since 2020+0.7%
Net migration (2024)-2,464

DeKalb County's population has been roughly flat since 2020 (+0.7%), with net migration of -2,464 in 2024. Stable counties tend to behave predictably: most certificates redeem, few end in a deed.

By population, DeKalb County is the 4th largest of Georgia's 159 counties. It has grown more slowly than the state average (+3.3% across Georgia) — often where the less contested certificates are, and also where the risk sits. Of the 2024 change, 2,464 came from people moving out and 4,816 from births outnumbering deaths.

Counties of similar size in Georgia with a sale on our calendar: Cobb County, Gwinnett County, Fulton County. Useful if this county's sale has already closed and you want the next comparable one.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Census population estimates. Population figures are estimates, not a count.

Property & tax profile

Median home value$357,800
Median tax / year$3,310
Tax / home value0.9%
Owned outright29.9%
“Other vacant”5.9%
Median year built1984

The median homeowner in DeKalb County pays $3,310 a year in property tax — above the Georgia median of $2,341 (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 $3,483; homes owned outright, $2,873.

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 DeKalb County, 29.9% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (Georgia: 36.6%, 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.

13.2% of all housing units in DeKalb 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 5.9% of all units (Georgia: 4.6%, U.S.: 3.6%). That is above the state rate, so expect more empty properties on the delinquent list: the ones least likely to redeem, and the most likely to need work if the deed ends up yours. Drive by before you bid.

Half of the homes in DeKalb County were built in or before 1984 (Georgia: in or before 1992). The typical tax bill is 4.1% of the median household income of $80,644 (Georgia: 3.0%).

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.

Note

Calendar lists Nov 3 and Dec 1, 2026, 9–11am; bidding from 10am. 69 parcels on the Nov 3 list on Oct 10. Pre-register for each sale; certified funds by 1:30pm.

View official source ↗

Unclaimed surplus from past sales

DeKalb County publishes an official list of surplus left over from its tax sales: "Excess Funds List", from the Tax Commissioner. If a former owner or an heir is on it, they can claim the money from that office.

Open the official list ↗·How claiming works in Georgia

Quick answers

When is the DeKalb County tax sale?+

The DeKalb County, Georgia tax sale is scheduled for November 3, 2026, hosted via Tax commissioner (in-person, courthouse steps, Decatur).

Is DeKalb County a good county to buy tax deed properties in?+

DeKalb County's population has been roughly flat since 2020 (+0.7%), with net migration of -2,464 in 2024. Stable counties tend to behave predictably: most certificates redeem, few end in a deed. Population in 2024: 770,307. These are U.S. Census Bureau estimates, not a recommendation — the county's own delinquency and redemption history matters more, and only the Georgia treasurer publishes that.

How much is the property tax in DeKalb County?+

The median homeowner in DeKalb County pays $3,310 a year, about 0.9% of the median home value of $357,800 (Georgia: 0.8%). Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $3,483, homes owned outright $2,873. These are U.S. Census Bureau survey estimates (American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates); the exact bill for a parcel depends on its assessed value and local rates, and the county tax collector has it.

What type of sale is it?+

DeKalb County holds a redeemable tax deed sale. Georgia's statewide system: redeemable deed. What the buyer earns: 20% premium in year one, +10% each later year.

What's the redemption period in DeKalb County?+

DeKalb County follows Georgia's statewide redemption period: 12 months, then until barment notice.

Other Georgia sales near this date

Every Georgia page →

Other sales in November 2026

All November 2026 sales →

Our write-up of the DeKalb County sale: Nov 3, 2026.

Want the full statutory picture for Georgia, not just DeKalb County? Read the Georgia state page for the rate, redemption period, and every other county we've sourced.

See every other scheduled sale on the full auction calendar, every sale in November 2026, the upcoming Georgia sales, or sign up for deal alerts to hear about new Georgia dates as soon as we add them.

This page is general information, not financial or legal advice. Auction dates get postponed, cancelled, or rescheduled — always confirm against the official source above before showing up or bidding. Verified 2026-10-10.