Maintain Tax Sale Settings

Navigate:Tax > Tax Sale > Tax Sale Settings > Maintain Tax Sale Settings

Description

Set up general tax sale information and redemption periods by property type for use in the Tax Sale module.

Steps

Select the Sale participation flag to associate with Tax Sales. Tax Sale Flags must be set up in Configuration > Flags prior to selecting a flag on this screen. When setting up this flag, use the earliest effective date of your Tax Sale data. This flag is automatically applied during Final Advertising.
Note: The Participating Flag is used in Cashiering Payment Collections in combination with the Accounts Receivable Late Payment Rule Setup and Late Payment Rule Groups to determine how to take payments and if the flag is removed after payment.
Select the Misc source for buyer registration. This is the buyer registration fee that is charge when you register a buyer through Buyer Maintenance. Miscellaneous charges are set up via Cashiering > Setup > Miscellaneous Sources. See the Tips section for more information on miscellaneous source setup.
Select the No agency certificates checkbox if your jurisdiction does not create certificates for agencies. When this option is selected, the 'Remove Unsold Items from Sale' button becomes available on the Maintain Tax Sales screen. This button removes the tax sale flag from unsold items and from revenue objects and legal parties associated with the unsold items. Also, the ‘Is Participating’ option is changed to false for unsold items.
Click Add in the Calendar Period Setup title bar to enter a new period or click Edit on an existing period. Note: There can only be one calendar period setup for each Sale Type-Certificate Type combination.
- Select the Sale Type - Select the type of Tax Sale: All Sale Types, Regular, Public Bidder, or Public Nuisance.
- Select the Certificate Type - Select the type of Certificate Type: Agency, Agency Endorsement, Endorsement, Individual, or Tax Deed App.
- Select the Calendar Period - Select the type of Calendar Period. Calendar periods are set up in the Tax Sale Functional Calendar, available via Configuration > Localization > Functional Calendar.
- Click Apply to keep your changes or Cancel to discard them.
Click Add in the Redemption Period title bar or click Edit in the grid row of an existing redemption period.
- Select the Property Type.
- Enter the Redemption Period in number of days. This is the number of days the Owner can make payment so their property is not sold. The number of days varies by jurisdiction and by property type.
  Important: Redemption Periods must be set up before the Final Advertising List is produced. The number of days is stored with the Tax Sale Item and aids in calculating the end redemption date for the item.
- Click Apply.
Click Add in the Tax Sale Fees panel or click Edit in the grid row of an existing fee. Fees must be set up before you can associate them with Tax Sale. Fees are set up using the Delinquent > Fee Maintenance task.
- Select a fee. The Fees selected here are usually Redemption Fees - meaning that once a property has been sold at Tax Sale and the Owner wants to redeem their property, this fee must be paid as well.
  Note: Fees are not included with the minimum bid amount of the Tax Sale Item and they are not included in the Auctioneer Report. If the Fees need to be included in the bid, they need to be calculated using the Delinquent > Groups > Delinquent Fee Application task. An appropriate due date must be used so the fee is included in the minimum bid amount when running the Advertising List. If Fees are calculated this way, they do not need to be set up on this screen.
- Select what the fee is Applied to. You can select:
- - Endorsement
  - Endorsement during TDA
  - Levy Tax Bill
  - Redemption
  - Tax Deed Application
  - Tax Deed Processing by Clerk
  - Tax Sale Bill
- Select a Flag from the Exclude Fee For Flag dropdown to indicate when the Fee should not be charged. The fee won't be applied to bills with the selected flag.

Click Edit to set up the Tax Sale Application Settings.

Application Setting	Date Type/ Value Type	Comment	Action
Advertising Fee	Effective Date Systype	This is the fee that is charged when a property is advertised.	Select the Fee that is used for Advertising.
Agency for unpurchased items	Effective Date String	The Agency for unpurchased items refers to a local government entity that possesses any tax sale items that are not awarded to an external buyer. In some states the agency may be the county itself, while in others it is a specialized department. In South Carolina, the entity is called the Forfeited Land Commission.	Enter the buyer number you created in Tax Sale > Buyer Maintenance that you would like to be the Agency for unpurchased items.
Allow Endorsements on installments	Effective Date Boolean	Set this option to true to trigger the cashiering program to look for an event with the “Endorsement Allowed” event type in order to determine when the endorsement is allowed. If this option is set to False, then the endorsement service allows endorsements at the discretion of the cashier.	Set to True to allow endorsements on installments. You must have the Levy Functional Calendar set up with the 'Endorsement Allowed' event
Amount To Decrease Bid By	Effective Date Integer	This is the amount to decrease each bid decreases by.	Enter an amount. This is typically 1 in Iowa and 0.25 in Florida.
Automated Bundling supported by	Effective Date Boolean	This is a dropdown list option of None, Owner or PIN. In SC, if the overbid amount on the parent item is enough to pay the delinquent taxes on the child(ren) item, then the child(ren) items are paid. They are not included in the certificate and they are removed from the sale. These items do not get a certificate unless they go delinquent the following year.	This option works in combination with the Manual Bundling Type setting. See the Tax Sale Bundling Options topic for more detail on the combination of settings. Set to the appropriate bundling option: None, Owner, or PIN. If the automated bundling option is set to ‘None’ – then no automation will occur in the Advertising List program. If this option is set to Owner or PIN, then automatic bundling occurs during the Advertising List process using either the Owner Legal Party or the PIN as the bundling basis.
Bundle charge code	Effective Date Systype	The charge code to be used in the TaxSaleBill table to hold the amounts paid from the Overbid amount to the Delinquent amounts on the bundled items.	Select the appropriate charge code. The charge code is added during Implementation.
Buyer number to be entered during Mass Entry	Effective Date Boolean	Determines the number that is entered during Mass Entry. You can chose to enter the Buyer Number or the Paddle Number.	Select Buyer Number or Paddle Number.
Calculate Current Tax Based on Rate South Carolina Only	Effective Date Boolean	Determines where the current tax amount for Tax Sale should come from. If true, then the Add Current Tax process calculates the current tax amount via a calculation using the Rate entered in the Current Tax Forecast Rate setting and the Tax Sale Item Tax Bill Amount Due. If false, then the process retrieves the current amount due from Levy.	Set to True if you want to calculate current tax based on a rate.
Certificate Split Navigate to Custom CAMA	Effective Date Boolean	This setting indicates if a certificate split should trigger a CAMA workflow.	Set to True to navigate certificate splits to Custom CAMA.
Create Advance Pay Surplus for Tax Sale South Carolina Only	Effective Date Boolean	This is a True or False setting that allows Cashiering to recognize the need to create an additional advance pay surplus record for current tax amounts. This is in addition to the Overbid Surplus record that is also created.	Set to True to create advance pay surplus for Tax Sale.
Current Tax Forecast Rate South Carolina Only	Effective Date Integer	During the Add Current Tax process, this setting calculates the subsequent tax amount being charged for the current tax year when the Calculate Current Tax Based on Rate setting is True.	Enter a rate.
Current Tax Penalty Rate South Carolina Only	Effective Date Integer	This setting indicates the penalty amount to charge on the current tax amount being added to the tax sale items.	Enter the penalty rate to use.
Event type that identifies agency periods of the tax sale calendar	Effective Date Systype	This setting indicates the event type that identifies agency periods.	Select the event type.
First good Tax Sale Year	Effective Date Integer	This is the first tax year where the Tax Sale data is complete and reliable.	Enter the tax year. Experiment with changing the tax year and looking at the Info Center Correct Tax Sale Items screen to find the oldest year that allows the data to display correctly.
Flag to allow Fees to be added to Tax Sale Items	Effective Date Systype	Indicate the flag that allows fees to be applied to tax sale items.	Create a new flag via Configuration > Flag Setup. Apply this flag to the Tax Sale Item. Then, set this setting to the appropriate flag that indicates fees can be added to tax sale items. Only bills/items with this flag can be charged fees.
Flag used for redemption request	Effective Date Systype	This setting determines the flag that is used for redemption requests.	Select a flag.
Include overbid in redemption interest calculation	Effective Date Boolean	This setting is for Dollar based Tax Sale jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions include the amount the buyer bids over the minimum bid amount in the interest calculation for redemption.	If your jurisdiction is Dollar based and includes this amount, set this setting based on rules in your state. Note: Tax Sale Basis is an application setting that determines if your tax sales are Dollar based or interest based.
Initial Tax Sale processing period (days)	Effective Date String	This is the number of days for initial processing.	Enter a number of days.
Interest on Sold Certificates not to exceed minimum bid amount	Effective Date Boolean	This setting indicates if the interest sold on certificates can exceed the minimum bid amount.	Set to False if the interest sold can exceed the minimum bid. Set to True if the interest sold cannot exceed the minimum bid.
Manual Bundling Type	Effective Date Systype	This setting contains the options of Min bid amounts summed on cert, Min bid amounts not summed on cert or None.	This option works in combination with the Automated Bundling supported by setting. See the Tax Sale Bundling Options topic for more detail on the combination of settings. If the manual bundling option is set to ‘Min bid amounts not summed on cert’, then the overbid will pay delinquent taxes on bundled items if there is enough. This is typically used in South Carolina. If the manual bundling options is set to Min bid amounts summed on cert, then the Min Bid Amounts for all of the items are combined and the items are sold as one certificate. The ‘None’ option will turn off the manual bundling.
Minimum Bid Percent	Effective Date Integer	This setting determines the minimum bid percentage.	Enter the minimum bid percent.
Minimum rate for agency items	Effective Date String	This is the minimum interest rate that is charged on tax sale items held by the county agency.	Enter an interest rate.
Minimum rate for sold items	Effective Date String	This is the minimum interest rate that is earned by non-agency buyers on their tax sale items. Note: this minimum rate does not apply to items that were sold at 0% interest. Those items do not earn interest for the buyers.	Enter an interest rate.
Only most recent buyer may endorse	Effective Date Boolean	If the certificate holder does not pay the subsequent taxes and they are sold at sale, then the original certificate holder loses the right to pay subsequent taxes in the future. Indicate if only the most recent buyer can endorse a tax sale item.	Set to True if only the most recent buyer can endorse. When Cashiering a payment, the Buyer from the most recent certificate for endorsing is automatically loaded. If False, a popup window displays, allowing you to select the Buyer who is endorsing.
Rate for tax deed application	Effective Date String
Renumber certificates as a batch job when count is greater than	Effective Date Integer	This setting determines when the renumbering process goes to batch.	Set the count for certificates to be sent to batch. The default is 500.
Starting Bid Amount	Effective Date Integer	This is the default amount the tax sale bid starts at.	Enter a starting amount. This is typically 100 in Iowa and 18 in Florida.
Surplus code to be used for redemption check	Effective Date Systype	This is the surplus code used on the Redemption check. This setting used for the Tax Sale with Surplus report for Missouri, where redemption is a process outside of GRM. Payments are not posted to the account right away. Instead, an advance pay type is created and the amount is paid as an advance until process is done. The advance pay type is identified in this setting so the amounts display on the report.	Select a surplus code.
Take payments during tax sale	Effective Date Boolean	This settings is no longer used.	Use Cashiering Flag Rules to control payments instead of this setting.
Tax Accounting Supported	Effective Date Boolean	Redemptions of Tax Sale items can be exported to third party financial packages using the Tax Accounting Module.	Set to True if you want to export Tax Sale data to a third party.
Tax deed application default fee bank amount	Effective Date Decimal	This is a Colorado setting that will be used in the manual TDA process (when it is available) to determine the amount charged for the fee bank.	Set the Default fee bank amount using the Tax Deed Settings task.
Tax deed eligibility age date type	Effective Date Systype	This setting works in conjunction with the next setting, Tax deed eligibility age months. NOTE: These settings must both be defined to apply for or add endorsements to a tax sale, to cancel a senior certificate (any of the actions available for View Delinquent Actions in Info Center) and to cashier the bill from Info Center.	Determine which Functional Calendar Event type drives Tax deed eligibility age using theTax Deed Settingstask..
Tax deed eligibility age months	Effective Date Integer	This setting works in conjunction with the previous setting, Tax deed eligibility age date type.	Using the Tax Deed Settings task, enter the number of months after the eligibility date when the Certificate is eligible for Tax Deed Application. In FL, the event is 'Delinquent Date. and the age is 24 months.
Tax deed type	Effective Date Systype	This setting determines the Tax deed type.	Select the systype associated with the Tax deed type in your jurisdiction. Set up new types via Configuration > Systypes. Select the Systype category 'Tax Deed Type'.
Tax sale basis	Effective Date Boolean	Determine the basis for your tax sale; determines whether the BID% column is included in the Certificate Sold and the Certificate List reports. If Interest Rate is selected, the BID% is included in these reports. If Dollar Amount is selected, the BID% is not included in the reports.	Select dollar amount, interest rate, or percentage of ownership. Default is dollar amount.
Tax sale end date	Effective Date String	Set the end date for the tax sale.	Enter a valid date and time.
Tax sale expiration period (days)	Effective Date String	This is the number of days after the Tax Sale that maintenance can still be performed on Tax Sale items. The purpose is to prevent changes after the sale has been balanced and closed.	Enter a number of days.
Tax sale Export FTP file name for Buyer'	Effective Date String	Enter the name for the tax sale export FTP file.	Enter a valid file name.
Tax sale Export FTP file name for TDA	Effective Date String	Enter the name for the tax sale export FTP file.	Enter a valid file name.
Tax sale Export FTP server	Effective Date String	Enter the server name for the tax sale export FTP file.	Enter a valid server name.
Tax sale Export FTP serverpassword	Effective Date String	Enter the server password for the tax sale export FTP file.	Enter a valid server password.
Tax sale Export FTP server user	Effective Date String	Enter the server user name for the tax sale export FTP file.	Enter a valid server user.
Tax sale fee	Effective Date Systype	This is the fee that is charge when a property goes to Tax Sale.	Select the Tax Sale Fee.
Tax sale items support multiple tax bills by PIN	Effective Date Boolean	This setting is to determine if the tax sale items in the jurisdiction may consist of multiple tax bills (setting = True) or just a single tax bill (setting = False). Setting this setting to True allows for automatic bundling of tax bills during Advertising.	Select the checkbox for True or leave it unchecked for False.
Tax sale start date	Effective Date String	Set the start date for the tax sale.	Enter a valid date and time.
Use Different Calculation on Tax Sale Participants	Effective Date	(FL only) For the Final Advertising List program, this setting adds the Levy Stop interest Date and the Tax Sale Date to the items being added to the TaxSaleItem table automatically, so that the dates are available when other conditions are met to calculate the correct amount due. This setting allows items that are participating in the tax sale to calculate a different amount due for Cashiering and Info Centerduringthe tax sale. When set to true, the Sale End Date is required on the Maintain Tax Sale screen.	Default is false. When set to true, calculations for items participating in tax sale can be a different amount due in Cashiering and in Info Center while the tax sale is occurring. NOTE: When this is set to true, the Functional Calendar, Payment Term Rules setup/groups, Delinquent Fee, and Tax Sale Settings also need to be set up correctly.
Use ineligible buyer table	Effective Date Boolean	Indicate if your jurisdiction processes ineligible buyers.	Set to true to enable the ineligible buyers functionality via Tax > Tax Sale > Tax Sale Maintenance > Search for Tax Sales > Maintain Tax Sales > Common Action Ineligible Buyer.
Use random selection when Bidding	Effective Date Boolean	This setting determines if Random Selection is used during Tax Sale.	Set to True to enable random selection. When True, then the Mass Enter Tax Sale Information screen allows multiple buyers numbers to be keyed and the Random Selection button is displayed.
User Certificate Number Setup	Effective Date Boolean	This setting indicates if user certificate number setup is used.	Set to True to use user certificate number setup.

Click Save at the top of the screen.

Common Actions

Click Maintain Fees to search for fees to edit or create a new fees. You advance to the Search for Fees screen.

Click Report Setup to set up the Tax Sale Book Settings and City Charge Codes used on the Tax Sale Book and Tax Sale Surplus reports.

Tips

The Tax Sale Participation flag is automatically applied during Final Advertising and is automatically removed if the tax sale item is removed from the Tax Sale (is no longer Participating).

Tax Sale Bills are created when a property is sold. The revenue source of Tax Sale Bills is TaxSale. The Tax Bill ID is created as TaxSaleID:SequenceNumber. For example, 46:294.

Typically, these values are set only once and only changed when state statutes change.

The Agency for unbidden items refers to a local government entity that ”purchases” any tax sale items that are not awarded to an external buyer. In some states the agency may be the county itself, while in others it is a specialized department. In South Carolina, the entity is called the Forfeited Land Commission.

Reverse endorsements and redemption payments on certificates with endorsements via Tax > Accounts Receivable > Manage Payments > Bad Check. The payment be must made on an endorsed current year tax bill that is not in tax sale. The Cashiering Session and Back Office must be reconciled. The endorsement payment and fees are then removed from the current year tax bill and the endorsement bill is written off. Select the fees applied to Endorsements and Endorsements during TDA using this task.

Levy Tax Bill Fees

If an Owner redeems their property before a Tax Sale Item is sold or the item is sold to the Agency for unbidden items, the Levy Tax Bill Fees are attached to the Levy Tax Bill only and are payable by the Owner.
If a Tax Sale Item is sold to a Buyer, the Levy Tax Bill Fees are attached to the Levy Tax Bill as well as the Tax Sale Bill. The Buyer is responsible for paying these fees. The Buyer is reimbursed for the Fees if the Owner redeems their property.
- For Bid Import File used in Accounts Receivable, the amount in the file for the Tax Sale Item is at least the minimum bid amount + the fee amount. Any third-party vendors need to be aware of the fee amount, so they can collect the fee and add it to the amount in the import file.

Tax Sale Bill Fees

These Fees are only applied if the Tax Sale Item is sold.
When a Buyer makes a payment for the Levy Tax Bill, these Fees are added onto the new Tax Sale Bill only. The Fees are reimbursed to the Buyer when the Tax Sale Bill is paid off by the Owner and the Tax Sale Bill is distributed.

Redemption Fees

These Fees are payable by the Owner when redeeming sold Tax Sale Items.
These Fees are distributed to the County; they are not returned to the Buyer.
The Redemption Fee is expected to be set up in Delinquent > Fee Maintenance with a Distribution method of 'Agency', with the Payable option of 'Regardless of balance due.' If this Payable option is not selected, the Fee will not calculate, as the balance due of a sold Tax Sale Bill is usually $0.00.

Miscellaneous Source for Buyer Registration Fee

Set up a miscellaneous charge for Buyer Registration via Cashiering > Setup > Miscellaneous Sources > Set Up Miscellaneous Sources.

Payment Statuses

The chart below describes what happens as a result of various payment statuses on the installments and the impact on the Tax Sale:

First Installment	Second Installment	Result
Paid on time	Paid on time	No impact on Tax Sale
Paid on time	Unpaid	2^nd installment charges go to tax sale
Paid on time	Endorsed	2^nd installment charges endorsed on prior certificate .
Unpaid	Not yet charged	1^st installment goes to tax sale and can be sold as a certificate for first installment charges only. These will not go to county. If no certificate sold, then they will be returned to delinquent status and be eligible for next tax sale.
Unpaid	Unpaid	Buyer can endorse both amounts together or entire balance due for both installments will go to tax sale together.
Unpaid	Paid on time	1^st installment amount will go to Tax Sale
Unpaid	Endorsed	1^st installment amount will go to Tax Sale. Will result in charges for one bill being split on to two separate Tax Sale Items.
Endorsed	Paid on time	1^st installment endorsed on prior certificate. No Tax Sale activity.
Endorsed	Unpaid	1^st installment added to prior certificate redemption amount. 2^nd installment goes to Tax Sale. Buyer who endorsed 1^st installment has no further endorsement rights.
Endorsed	Endorsed	Both installments are endorsed on the same certificate redemption amount. The endorsements will have different endorsement dates and thereby need to be displayed as different line items in the Endorsements Panel of Info Center > View Delinquents

Valuable Vocabulary

Owner >The primary owner of the revenue object as of the current effective date

Tax Sale >The forced sale of real estate by a government agency due to nonpayment of taxes