OCGA § 48-4-42 says: “The amount required to be paid for redemption of property from any sale for taxes . . . shall . . . be the amount paid for the property at the tax sale . . . plus a premium of 20 percent of the amount for the first year or fraction of a year which has elapsed between the date of the sale and the date on which the redemption payment is made and 10 percent for each year or fraction of a year thereafter.”
OCGA § 48-4-40 says the tax deed purchaser may terminate the right to redeem one year after the tax sale by sending out notices to any interested parties. The notice regarding the tax deed must include a deadline to redeem.
It sounds simple enough, but what if the parties can’t agree on an amount? And what if a party redeems within the deadline by mistakenly pays less than the full redemption amount required under the statute? This situation arose in D&D Family Properties, LLC v. Wright, A20A1339 (November 3, 2020).
In Wright, the tax sale took place on July 5, 2017. The Court of Appeals found that the deadline starts running on the date of the tax sale. Thus, the deadline to redeem fell on July 4 of the following year. The redeeming party submitted $7,600 on July 5 ($6,000 for the amount paid at the tax sale plus the 20% premium). It did this thinking the one-year deadline ran on July 5. Or because July 4 was a holiday, the deadline rolled over to the next business day.
The Court of Appeals disagreed. It ruled that by July 5, the redeeming party owed an additional 10%. Thus, the $7,600 was inadequate, and the redeeming party could not redeem.
The takeaway is the Court of Appeals is willing to strictly enforce the statutes regarding tax sales.