DeKalb County, Georgia Tax Delinquent Properties for Sale List

Key Takeaways

• The DeKalb County Tax Commissioner posts the DeKalb County delinquent tax list as a PDF, and no fee is mentioned.
• DeKalb's separate Tax Sale List, the one for properties headed to auction, showed 93 rows dated December 1, 2026 when checked on November 5, 2026.
• The delinquent PDF downloaded on November 5, 2026 ran 9,915 pages with a run date of June 17, 2026, so the run date matters before you trust a balance.
• Goliath's records show 4 DeKalb County properties with a Tax Delinquency signal as of Jun 15, a dated snapshot and not a census, since the county's own PDF is far larger.
• Goliath is a data and software tool, not a lead seller: it builds lists from signals such as tax delinquency, pre-foreclosure filings and probate.

Goliath Data publishes this guide. County and state details were checked on the official pages linked below on November 5, 2026, and can change.

The DeKalb County delinquent tax list comes from the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner, which posts it as a PDF with no fee mentioned. For DeKalb County, Georgia tax delinquent properties actually headed to auction, use the office's separate sale listing, which on November 5 showed 93 rows dated December 1, 2026.

DeKalb has two lists with two jobs, and most confusion about DeKalb starts with mixing them up.

How do you get the DeKalb County delinquent tax list?

The Delinquent Property Tax List is the long one. The DeKalb County Tax Commissioner's office describes it as showing parcel IDs, owner names, addresses and amounts due. The copy we downloaded on November 5 ran 9,915 pages, with a run date of June 17, 2026 and a penalty and interest date of July 15, 2026. So check the run date before you trust a balance, because a report that old may not reflect recent payments.

The office's delinquent taxes page adds a limit worth knowing: the report covers taxes due within the last seven years, and a property may owe more than it shows. For older records, you contact the Delinquent Division.

The Tax Sale List is the short one. Every row we read carried a sale date of December 1, 2026 and a levy date of October 9, 2026, along with parcel ID, owner, address and tax sale ID. Pull it again right before the sale.

How many DeKalb County, Georgia tax delinquent properties are in Goliath's records?

DeKalb County, Georgia currently has 4 tax-delinquent properties on record in Goliath's records, current as of June 29, 2026. The table below comes from those records. Each row carries its own date, and nothing here has been updated since.

Read that as a dated snapshot of the records Goliath held, not a census of DeKalb. The county's own PDF is plainly far larger, so the Tax Commissioner's report is the place to go for a full delinquency picture. What the table adds is the other signals. A tax-delinquent parcel that also shows a lis pendens or a probate matter is a different conversation from one with a single late bill.

When and where does the DeKalb tax sale happen?

The Tax Commissioner holds sales on the first Tuesday of the month, generally April through December, and reserves the right to add or cancel one. The September 2026 flyer sets out the routine:

• Place: the courthouse steps at 556 N. McDonough Street, Decatur.
• Time: check-in at 9 a.m., sale at 10 a.m. The tax sales page words the timing differently, so read the flyer for the sale you plan to attend.
• Registration: required for each sale, through the online form. For September, the pre-registration deadline was 2 p.m. the day before.
• Companies: bring a copy of your articles of incorporation.
• Payment: cash, cashier's check or bank wire, payable to DeKalb County Tax Commissioner. Personal checks, business checks, ACH, third-party checks, money orders and cards are refused.
• The clock: funds must be in hand by 1:30 p.m. or the parcel is cried again at 2 p.m.

That last one is the trap. Line up your funds the week before, not the morning of.

Bidding opens at the amount owed. The office's conditions of sale list it as original taxes, late payment penalty, interest, FiFa cost, execution fee and other legal costs. Bids are called in total dollars, with paddles. A bidder who walks away may owe the difference between the first sale and the second.

What does a DeKalb tax deed get you?

Less than the word "deed" suggests, at least at first. The office says a buyer starts with defeasible title, and that full ownership waits until the redemption period has run and proper procedures are followed.

The owner, or anyone with an interest in the property, may redeem within 12 months of the sale. Under O.C.G.A. § 48-4-42, the price is the sale amount, plus taxes the buyer paid afterward, plus special assessments, plus a premium of 20% for the first year or part of a year and 10% for each later year or part of one. DeKalb notes the buyer collects no rents or profits during that window.

Once 12 months pass, the buyer can move to end the right to redeem under § 48-4-45, which calls for service on the people with recorded interests and notice published once a week for four weeks. That is attorney work, and the office recommends a real estate attorney.

Three more items from the conditions form belong on your checklist:

1. Caveat emptor applies to every sale, so the title risk is yours.
2. The deed is forwarded within 30 working days of the sale, or at the earliest possible date.
3. The office may set aside a sale within 30 days and refund the bid.

Our general guide to official delinquent lists and the statewide Georgia page cover the wider picture.

What are excess funds in DeKalb County?

When a sale brings more than what is owed, the surplus waits for whoever is entitled to it. DeKalb posts an Excess Funds List. Only the entitled party or that party's Georgia-licensed attorney may file, and the office does not accept powers of attorney. Competing claims can land in Superior Court through an interpleader.

If your strategy involves former owners with surplus money, read those limits first. They close off some of the workarounds people assume exist.

How do you work the DeKalb delinquent list without mistakes?

The PDF gives names and addresses, not phone numbers. One workable order is to mail first, then skip-trace the parcels that fit your buy box. A balance can also change after the run date, so confirm the balance through the office's property search before you spend money on a parcel.

Calling or texting these owners raises compliance questions. Whether an offer to buy a house counts as telemarketing is a question for your lawyer, so treat your calls and texts as covered and honor every request to stop. The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule page is a sensible starting point. None of this guide is legal advice.

Goliath fits the DeKalb workflow as a data and software tool, not a lead seller. It builds lists from property signals such as tax delinquency, pre-foreclosure filings and probate, and each record keeps the source behind it. Its skip tracing has published figures of a 99% match rate and 85% accuracy, with no charge for misses, and plans start at $1,499 a month. For one December sale, the county's free list may be all you need.