Article · September 2026

Redeemable tax deed: deed at sale, redemption after

With a redeemable tax deed, the owner can still redeem after the sale. What the sale gives you and when redemption ends, in four states. Not legal advice.

The Accrella team

In this guide

With a redeemable tax deed, you get a deed at or from the tax sale, but the former owner (or another person with an interest) can still buy the property back for a period afterward. The redemption price usually includes a premium or interest on top of what you paid. That makes it different from a tax lien certificate, and different from a deed sold after redemption has already closed. Below we check four states our education guides label redeemable deed (Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina) against primary sources opened September 30, 2026. For each one, we note what the sale actually hands you, because in two of the four the statute does not describe a deed on sale day. For any other state, start with its education guide. This is not legal advice.

What a redeemable tax deed is

Two facts define the purchase: what the sale gives you, and when redemption ends. In Texas and Georgia, the sources we opened describe the buyer receiving a deed (or, in Camden County’s words, defeasible title), with redemption still open after the sale until a statutory deadline or a notice cuts it off. A tax lien certificate is a different instrument: the sale gives you a claim, and getting the property takes a later process. A deed sold after redemption has already closed is different again. The lien-versus-deed article covers both contrasts for the states it checks. We don’t try to count or list redeemable-deed states here.

Even federal bank regulators stop short of a national rule. OCC Bulletin 2004-39 (August 31, 2004) says the laws governing the redemption and transfer of tax lien certificates vary among states and municipalities. The bulletin is about certificates rather than deeds, but the point carries over.

How it differs from a tax lien and a final tax deed

Tax lien certificate

A tax lien certificate sale gives you a claim, and getting the property takes a later statutory process. The lien-versus-deed article walks through Florida and Arizona as certificate examples, so we don’t repeat those rates or clocks here. If a list calls a certificate state a redeemable deed state, check that article or the state’s education guide first.

Redeemable tax deed

A redeemable tax deed, where the opened source supports that description, is a sale that gives a deed while redemption is still open afterward. Texas Tax Code § 34.01(a) is a sale of real property seized under a tax warrant or ordered sold on foreclosure of a tax lien. Section 34.21 then runs redemption from the filing of the purchaser’s or taxing unit’s deed. Greene County says the purchaser receives a sheriff’s tax deed, and that until the right of redemption has been foreclosed, a sheriff’s tax deed has about the same equivalent as a lien. Camden County says the purchaser receives defeasible title before the redemption period expires. Tennessee and South Carolina are different: their statutes describe a sale followed by redemption, but they do not say a deed or tax title is delivered on sale day.

Tax deed with redemption already ended

Some tax deed sales convey the property after redemption has already ended. The lien-versus-deed article uses California and Nevada as examples and cites their statutes. Check it before you assume a deed state works like the four below.

Tax lien vs tax deed states

Four states checked against the statute

We checked each row against the cited statute or official county page on September 30, 2026. Our guides label all four states redeemable deed, but treat that label as a starting point. Each row reports what the source itself says.

Redeemable tax deed: four states checked September 30, 2026
State	Guide label	What the sale gives you	When redemption ends / what you are paid	Source
Texas	redeemable deed	Section 34.01(a) says real property seized under a tax warrant issued under Subchapter E, Chapter 33, or ordered sold pursuant to foreclosure of a tax lien, shall be sold by the officer charged with selling the property, unless otherwise directed by the taxing unit that requested the warrant or order of sale or by an authorized agent or attorney for that unit. Section 34.21 then assumes a purchaser’s or taxing unit’s deed is filed for record.	Homestead, land designated for agricultural use when the suit or the application for the warrant was filed, or a mineral interest, sold to a purchaser other than a taxing unit: the owner may redeem on or before the second anniversary of the date on which the purchaser’s deed is filed for record. The payment is the bid, the deed recording fee, and the taxes, penalties, interest, and costs the purchaser paid, plus a premium of 25 percent of that aggregate total if the property is redeemed during the first year of the redemption period, or 50 percent of the aggregate total if it is redeemed during the second year. Other real property: the right may be exercised not later than the 180th day following the date on which the purchaser’s or taxing unit’s deed is filed for record, in the same manner and amounts, except the redemption premium payable to a purchaser other than a taxing unit may not exceed 25 percent. The 50 percent premium is the second-year premium in subsection (a). It is not the 180-day premium.	Tex. Tax Code §§ 34.01(a), 34.21(a), 34.21(e)
Georgia	redeemable deed	Greene County says the sheriff’s tax deed, not the property, is sold to the highest bidder, and that the purchaser receives a sheriff’s tax deed. Until the right of redemption has been foreclosed, Greene says a sheriff’s tax deed has about the same equivalent as a lien. Camden County says the purchaser receives defeasible title before the redemption period expires.	Greene County: an owner, creditor, or other person with an interest may redeem within 12 months from the original tax sale date. Greene says the redemption price may include the purchaser’s bid, taxes paid by the purchaser after the sale, any special assessments, plus a 20 percent premium, and that after 12 months the purchaser may foreclose the right by certified-mail notice and newspaper publication once a week for four consecutive weeks. Camden County states the fuller formula: the amount paid for the tax deed plus taxes the purchaser paid afterward, plus 20 percent for the first year or fraction of a year and 10 percent for each later year or fraction. That matches the statewide statute: O.C.G.A. § 48-4-42(a)(3) sets a 20 percent premium for the first year or fraction and 10 percent for each year or fraction after that, for sales after July 1, 2002. Under § 48-4-40, redemption is open for 12 months from the sale and then until the right is foreclosed by the notice in § 48-4-45, which the purchaser can start after 12 months. The deadline is set by that notice, not by the calendar.	O.C.G.A. §§ 48-4-40, 48-4-42(a), 48-4-45(a) (2025 code text); Camden County Redemption page; Greene County Delinquent Property Tax Sale page (update line March 23, 2026)
Tennessee	redeemable deed	In the 2025 compilation, § 67-5-2501(a)(1) says the court shall order a sale of the parcel and that all sales are subject to the equity of redemption. Section 67-5-2501(c)(4) says the clerk’s report of sale, filed with the register, is for notice purposes only and shall not be evidence of transfer of title. Nothing there describes a deed handed over at the auction. For a Tennessee parcel, the confirmation order is the document that counts.	Section 67-5-2701(a)(1)(A) in that compilation says a right to redeem vests on entry of the order confirming the sale, and that the court determines each parcel’s redemption period before the tax sale. The period may also be stated in the confirmation order. The same subsection says the right shall not be exercised more than one year from the date of that order. Subsection (a)(1)(B) says the period is one year unless the court finds sufficient evidence to order a reduced period under the section. So the deadline that counts is the one the court sets for the parcel, which may be shorter than a year. Subsection (a)(1)(D) sets 30 days from the confirmation order when a showing is made under subsection (a)(2), a reasonable basis to believe the property is vacant or, for vacant land, abandoned, without regard to the number of years of delinquent taxes beyond what made the property eligible for the sale. The General Assembly bill page for SB1983 says the act changes the scale in § 67-5-2701: if delinquency is three years or less, the redemption period is one year from entry of the order confirming the sale; if delinquency is more than three years, it is 90 days from that entry. The page says this applies to entries of orders confirming a tax sale of a parcel subject to redemption occurring on or after July 1, 2026, and the bill history lists an effective date of 07/01/2026 and Public Chapter 971. The 2025 compilation’s subsection (a)(1)(C) is the earlier scale: five years or less, one year; more than five and less than eight, 180 days; eight or more, 90 days. Interest in subsection (b)(1) of the 2025 compilation is 12 percent per annum, beginning when the purchaser pays the purchase price to the clerk and continuing until the motion to redeem is filed. The bill page describes only the redemption-period scale and does not mention an interest rate, so confirm the current interest provision before relying on 12 percent.	Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 67-5-2501, 67-5-2701 (2025 compilation PDF); SB1983 bill page
South Carolina	redeemable deed	Section 12-51-60 says the successful bidder pays legal tender on the day of the sale and receives a receipt. Section 12-51-130 says that if the realty is not redeemed within the time allowed, the officer charged with collecting delinquent taxes shall make a tax title to the purchaser or the purchaser’s assignee. Nothing in the chapter says a tax title is delivered on the day of the sale, whatever the redeemable-deed label suggests.	Section 12-51-90(A) says the defaulting taxpayer, any grantee from the owner, or any mortgage or judgment creditor may, within twelve months from the date of the delinquent tax sale, redeem each item of real estate by paying the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, together with the interest in subsection (B). Subsection (B) states a lump-sum amount of interest on the bid, based on the month of redemption, and that rate relates back to the beginning of the redemption period: three percent of the bid amount in the first three months; six percent in months four, five, and six; nine percent in months seven, eight, and nine; and twelve percent in the last three months. In every redemption, that interest must not exceed the amount of the bid submitted on behalf of the forfeited land commission under § 12-51-55. Subsection (C) says that if redemption does not occur within the twelve months, and after an additional twelve months, the tax deed is incontestable on procedural or other grounds. That is not a second year of redemption. This article does not cover mobile or manufactured homes under § 12-51-96. Section 12-51-110 says personal property has no redemption period after it is struck off to the successful purchaser.	S.C. Code §§ 12-51-60, 12-51-90, 12-51-110, 12-51-130

For any state not in the table, open its education guide, then the statute or county page that guide cites. We don’t list non-redeemable tax deed states here either.

Why redeemable-deed state lists disagree

The same state can show up on different lists with a different clock or a different percentage. The four states above show five ways that happens.

Class-dependent clocks. Texas § 34.21(a) is the second-anniversary rule for homestead, qualifying agricultural land, and mineral interests sold to a purchaser other than a taxing unit, with a 25 percent premium in the first year of that period or a 50 percent premium in the second year. Section 34.21(e) is the 180-day rule for other real property, and the premium payable to a purchaser other than a taxing unit may not exceed 25 percent. A list that pairs 50 percent with 180 days merges those two subsections.
Notice to bar redemption versus a fixed calendar end. In Georgia, O.C.G.A. § 48-4-40 keeps redemption open for 12 months and then until the purchaser forecloses the right with the notice in § 48-4-45. Greene and Camden counties both describe that notice step. A list that says Georgia redemption is simply “12 months” leaves out the notice.
Court-confirmed deadlines and an order-date amendment. Tennessee § 67-5-2701(a)(1)(A) in the 2025 compilation says the court determines the period, and that it may be stated in the order confirming the sale. SB1983’s bill page states a different delinquency scale for confirmation orders entered on or after July 1, 2026. A one-year figure copied from an old list can be wrong for a given parcel.
Lump-sum quarterly tiers versus an annual interest rate. South Carolina § 12-51-90(B) states a lump sum by three-month band on the bid amount, and caps that interest at the forfeited land commission bid. The section does not state one annual percentage.
Copied lists mix up instruments. A certificate state doesn’t become a redeemable deed state because a list put it in that column. The lien-versus-deed article sorts out what the sale gives you for the states it checks.

What evidence to save before you bid

Each check below has the same four parts: the question, where the answer lives, what to save (the source URL, the date you retrieved it, and the section you relied on), and the outcome: pass, fail, or unresolved. If a value is missing, the check is unresolved, not passed. Keep the date you saved a page separate from the date the office published it and from the statute’s effective date.

What does the sale section say you receive (deed vs certificate)?

Question: Does the opened sale section give a deed, a receipt, a certificate, or a court-ordered sale that is still subject to redemption?
Record and office: the sale section, not a copied list. For the states in the table, that is Texas § 34.01(a), the Greene County and Camden County pages, Tennessee § 67-5-2501 in the 2025 compilation, and South Carolina §§ 12-51-60 and 12-51-130.
Evidence to save: the section or page URL, the retrieval date, and the sentence that names what the buyer receives.
Outcome: Pass when the saved sentence names the instrument you mean to buy. Fail when the file calls a certificate a deed, or calls a receipt a tax title. Unresolved when the sale section will not open.

When does redemption end, and what event starts the clock (deed filing, sale date, court order)?

Question: What event starts the clock, and what event ends the right?
Record and office: the redemption section and the county page when that is the page you can open. Texas § 34.21 runs from the date the purchaser’s or taxing unit’s deed is filed for record. Georgia’s § 48-4-40 (and the Greene and Camden pages) runs twelve months from the sale date, then until a notice under § 48-4-45 bars the right. Tennessee § 67-5-2701 runs from entry of the order confirming the sale. South Carolina § 12-51-90 runs twelve months from the date of the delinquent tax sale for the real estate it names.
Evidence to save: the URL, the retrieval date, and the sentence that names the start event and the end event.
Outcome: Pass when the file has both events for that parcel. Fail when the file uses another state’s start date. Unresolved when the confirmation order, the deed filing date, or the sale date is missing.

Does property class, vacancy finding, or order date change the period or premium?

Question: Does the class of property, a vacancy or abandonment showing, or the date of the confirmation order change the period or the premium?
Record and office: the same redemption section, read for the class or the order date. Texas separates subsection (a) from subsection (e). Tennessee’s 2025 compilation separates the one-year sentence in (a)(1)(B), the vacancy showing in (a)(1)(D) and (a)(2), and the delinquency scale in (a)(1)(C). SB1983’s bill page states the scale for confirmation orders entered on or after July 1, 2026. South Carolina’s real-estate bands are not the mobile-home section, which this article does not open.
Evidence to save: the URL, the retrieval date, the class or finding the parcel fits, and the order date when the statute uses one.
Outcome: Pass when the saved page answers the class, the finding, or the order date for that parcel. Fail when the file uses the second-year Texas premium on a 180-day parcel, or a one-year Tennessee line in place of the confirmation order. Unresolved when the class, the vacancy showing, or the order date is missing.

Is your source current (version / effective date / retrieval date)?

Question: Which version did you open, when does it take effect, and when did you retrieve it?
Record and office: the legislature, or the official county page. Record the compilation or bill, the effective date, and your retrieval date as separate facts.
Evidence to save: the URL, the retrieval date (September 30, 2026, for the sources in this article), and the version or effective-date line. Tennessee SB1983’s bill page lists an effective date of 07/01/2026 for the scale it describes, and says that scale applies to confirmation orders entered on or after that date. The Tennessee code text used here is the 2025 compilation PDF, not a reprint issued after that effective date. Greene County’s page carries an update line of March 23, 2026. That line is the county’s, not this article’s retrieval date.
Outcome: Pass when the file has an official URL, a version or effective-date line, and a retrieval date. Fail when the only source is an undated list. Unresolved when the version line is missing.

The checks above ask what instrument you are buying and when the right ends. They do not identify the parcel, the assessor record, or a bankruptcy case. Those are on the tax lien due diligence checklist. We cover what happens after a certificate purchase, and over-the-counter certificates, in separate articles.

Where Accrella fits

Knowing a state’s label is not the same as knowing the sale terms or the redemption clock for a specific parcel. Those facts belong in the evidence record next to the parcel. An organized evidence record is still not a legal opinion.

In Accrella Discovery you can filter candidates by state and county. Use the Watchlist to review diligence and edit the bid strategy before a bid-sheet export. Accrella gates that export on diligence and strategy approval. An exported file does not submit a bid or replace the auction platform’s registration and payment process. Coverage of a county doesn’t mean it has a current sale list, or that a parcel is ready to buy.

Questions investors ask

What is a redeemable tax deed?

It is a tax-sale purchase where you get a deed at or from the sale, but the owner or another person with an interest can still redeem afterward by paying what the statute requires, usually with a premium or interest. It is not a tax lien certificate, and it is not a deed sold after redemption has already ended. We check Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina above.

What are redeemable tax deed states?

Lists online disagree, so we don’t publish one, for redeemable or non-redeemable states. We checked four states our education guides label redeemable deed: Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. For any other state, open its education guide and then the statute or county page it cites.

Is Texas a redeemable tax deed state?

Our Texas guide labels it a redeemable deed. Section 34.01(a) is a sale of the property. Section 34.21 leaves a right of redemption after the deed is filed for record. For homestead, land designated for agricultural use when the suit or warrant application was filed, and a mineral interest, sold to a purchaser other than a taxing unit, that right runs on or before the second anniversary of the filing, with a premium of 25 percent of the aggregate total in the first year of the period or 50 percent in the second year. For other real property, the right runs not later than the 180th day after the purchaser’s or taxing unit’s deed is filed, and the premium to a purchaser other than a taxing unit may not exceed 25 percent.

Is Georgia a redeemable tax deed state?

Our Georgia guide labels it a redeemable deed. The buyer gets a tax deed at the sale (Greene and Camden counties both describe this), and under O.C.G.A. § 48-4-40 the owner or anyone with an interest can redeem within 12 months and afterward until the purchaser forecloses the right by notice under § 48-4-45. The base redemption price under § 48-4-42(a) is what the buyer paid plus later taxes and special assessments, plus a 20 percent premium for the first year or fraction and 10 percent for each year or fraction after that. Notice costs and some association dues can be added on top. Greene County notes that until the right is foreclosed, a sheriff’s tax deed has about the same equivalent as a lien.

Is Tennessee a redeemable tax deed state?

Our Tennessee guide labels it a redeemable deed. The 2025 compilation describes a court-ordered sale that is subject to the equity of redemption, and a right to redeem that vests when the order confirming the sale is entered. The court determines the period. SB1983’s bill page states a one-year period when delinquency is three years or less, and a 90-day period when delinquency is more than three years, for confirmation orders entered on or after July 1, 2026. Read the deadline from the confirmation order rather than assuming one year.

How is a redeemable deed different from a tax lien?

A tax lien sale gives you a claim. Getting the property takes a later process. With a redeemable deed, as in Texas and Georgia, you hold a deed that the owner can still redeem after the sale. Tennessee and South Carolina sit in between: redemption follows the sale, but their statutes don’t describe a deed or tax title on sale day. The statute, not the label, tells you which one you are buying. The lien-versus-deed article covers the certificate side.

Sources and review method

Recommendations reflect the workflows described in these sources. Vendor features, plans and county availability can change; confirm the current scope with each provider.

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