Georgia Excess Funds: Why This State Plays By Different Rules

If a Georgia property sells at a tax sale for more than the taxes owed, the leftover money is called excess funds. It belongs to the former owner, or to lienholders in line ahead of them. That part is normal. Most states work this way.

Here's the part that isn't normal. In several Georgia counties, the tax commissioner will not talk to a paid recovery agent about your excess funds claim. Not with a signed agreement. Not with a power of attorney. Nothing. The office will only deal with the property owner directly, or with a Georgia-licensed attorney who represents them.

That's not a rumor from a forum post. It's printed on the county's own claim forms. DeKalb, Cobb, and Chatham counties all say it in writing. If you're researching Georgia excess funds, whether you're an owner trying to get your own money back or someone helping people through the process, you need to know this before you do anything else.

Georgia's tax sale excess funds statute is O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5. When a county tax commissioner, tax collector, or sheriff sells a property for unpaid taxes and the sale price is more than what was owed, the extra money is the excess.

The statute says the officer who ran the sale has to mail written notice within 30 days to the record owner and to anyone with a recorded lien or equity interest in the property at the time of the sale. The notice has to describe the property, the sale date, the buyer, the sale price, and how much excess money is being held. The funds get paid out "in the order of priority in which their interests exist," meaning lienholders in line ahead of the owner get paid first, then whatever's left goes to the owner.

Georgia also allows non-judicial foreclosure by a lender under a security deed, which is separate from a tax sale. If that kind of foreclosure sale produces a surplus, the lender has to account to the borrower for it after paying off the debt and any senior liens, under principles set out in Georgia case law like Palmer v. Mitchell County Federal Sav. & Loan Ass'n. If nobody disputes who's owed the money, the lender pays it out directly. If there's a real dispute, the lender can file an interpleader action and let a court sort it out.

This isn't a theoretical few hundred dollars. As of a DeKalb County excess funds list dated July 2026, one single parcel, at 2623 Lake Flair Circle NE in Atlanta, had $266,868.21 in unclaimed excess funds sitting with the tax commissioner from a 2021 sale (DeKalb County Excess Funds List). Another parcel on the same list, tied to an estate, showed over $307,000. These aren't outliers. DeKalb's list alone runs five pages of parcels, amounts, and names, some going back to 2021, still unclaimed years later.

Money like that doesn't get advertised. The county isn't calling former owners to tell them. It sits until someone files a claim, or until it moves to the state.

This is where Georgia is actually more forgiving than a lot of other states. There's no short claim deadline. Under O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5(c), the tax commissioner holds the excess funds, and only after five years with no claim or pending action does the money get paid over to the Georgia Department of Revenue. After that, getting it released requires a court order from an interpleader action filed in the county where the sale happened.

Compare that to Florida, where tax deed surplus claims are barred after 120 days (Florida Statute 197.582). Georgia's five-year runway means an excess funds parcel from three or four years ago is not automatically dead money. It's still very much alive.

Here's the part that separates Georgia from almost every other state, and it's the reason a generic "how surplus funds work" article does not serve Georgia readers well.

In a lot of states, if you hire someone to help you file your claim, you sign a fee agreement or a power of attorney, and the county processes the paperwork like any other claim. Georgia doesn't work that way everywhere. Three counties confirmed so far explicitly reject that model:

• DeKalb County states on its own claim form that all claims must come from the party entitled to the funds "or their bona fide Attorney, licensed to practice in the State of Georgia," and adds flatly: "Powers of Attorney are not acceptable." (DeKalb County Excess Funds Claim Form)
• Cobb County says in its excess funds packet: "We do not recognize a legal relationship of 'representation' with an Asset Recovery Firm or an Individual with a Power of Attorney and cannot release information regarding your case to them." The same packet adds, in plain language for owners: "You do not have to pay an Asset Recovery Firm to Claim Your Excess Funds." (Cobb County Excess Funds Packet)
• Chatham County (Savannah) states that its tax commissioner's office "does not verify or confirm claims for excess funds, nor does it correspond with third parties or recognize a legal relationship of 'representation' by an asset recovery firm, nor by an individual or company who has been granted Power of Attorney. All claimants are to submit their requests directly." (Chatham County Tax Commissioner, Excess Funds)

A fourth, Hall County, isn't in most Top 10 Georgia county lists but confirms the same pattern is spreading: "Excess funds are not distributed to third parties by this office unless that third party is a licensed attorney for the claimant. Attorneys need to provide their state bar number as verification." (Hall County Tax Commissioner, Excess Funds)

Clayton County is a different story. Its official claim form lays out submission requirements for lienholders, property owners, and estate administrators, but it doesn't say anything one way or the other about power of attorney or asset recovery firms (Clayton County Official Claim for Excess Funds). That silence doesn't mean Clayton accepts third-party claims. It means the answer isn't public yet. If you're dealing with a Clayton County claim, call the Tax Commissioner's office directly and get the answer in writing before you assume anything.

The statute itself, O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5, doesn't say a word about power of attorney or third-party representatives one way or the other. This is a county-by-county practice, not a statewide law. That means it can vary again in counties not listed here, and it's worth confirming directly with the specific tax commissioner's office before assuming either way.

If you're the former owner and the county has excess funds sitting under your name, none of this stops you from filing a claim yourself. Every county listed here processes claims directly from the owner with no attorney required. You'll need a government-issued photo ID, proof you owned the property at the time of the sale (your deed works), and the county's claim form, filled out and usually notarized.

If someone reaches out offering to "help" you get money the county is holding, ask which county the property is in. If it's DeKalb, Cobb, Chatham, or possibly Clayton, ask them directly whether they're a licensed Georgia attorney, because the county itself will not release funds to anyone else acting on your behalf in those counties. That's not a sales pitch, it's just what the paperwork says. You're always allowed to file the claim yourself for free.

Here's the full process from sale to payout, including what happens when funds go unclaimed.

• Find the county's excess funds list. Most Georgia counties post one. DeKalb, Cobb, and Chatham all publish theirs online and refresh them monthly or as sales occur.
• Confirm the funds are still unclaimed. Lists get updated. A parcel that appeared last month might already have a claim pending. Call the tax commissioner's office and ask.
• Check who else has a claim on the money. Lienholders, second mortgages, and HOA liens can be in line ahead of the owner. The excess figure on the list is the gross number, not necessarily what the owner personally receives.
• Get the right claim form for that specific county. DeKalb, Cobb, and Chatham each publish their own version, and the acceptable-claimant rules differ from a county with no stated restriction.
• File directly, or through a licensed Georgia attorney if the county requires it. Include a government ID and proof of your interest in the property, like a deed or a filed lien.

This process is written directly into Georgia law. It is not a loophole, and it is not something a county is trying to hide. The notice requirement in O.C.G.A. § 48-4-5(a) exists because the legislature wanted former owners told about this money, not left in the dark. The reason so much of it goes unclaimed isn't secrecy. It's that mailed notices go to old addresses, people move after a tax sale, and most homeowners have never heard the term "excess funds" in their life.

Other states handle this differently. Florida splits the process between mortgage foreclosure surplus and tax deed surplus, with much shorter deadlines than Georgia's five years. Ohio treats foreclosure and tax-sale excess funds as unclaimed after 90 days from final notice. California requires written disclosure that the owner can file for free, similar in spirit to what Georgia's larger counties now enforce on paper. If you're researching more than one state, it's worth reading the Ohio excess funds guide or the Tennessee surplus funds guide side by side with this one, because the deadlines and the acceptable-claimant rules are not the same anywhere.

I've spent over 13 years recovering surplus and excess funds nationwide, and helped recover more than $100 million across over 2,000 cases. Georgia is one of the states where the county you're working matters as much as the state statute, so checking local practice before you contact anyone isn't optional.

If you want to see how this business works across every state, not just Georgia, join the free Surplus Funds Masterclass at surplusfunds.ai, or join the free Surplus Funds Collective community on Skool at skool.com/surplusfunds.