Alabama · Ala. Code §§40-10-29, 40-10-82, 40-10-120, 40-10-122Alabama tax sale redemption: three years, 8% interest and when the tax deed issues

When Alabama real estate is sold for unpaid taxes to a private purchaser, the owner, heirs, personal representatives, mortgagees, purchasers and anyone with a legal or equitable interest – including judgment and other lien creditors – may redeem within three years from the sale; land bought by the state may be redeemed until title passes out of the state (Ala. Code §40-10-120(a)). A mortgagee or lienholder whose instrument was recorded at the time of the tax sale gets an additional year from the purchaser's written notice of the purchase (§40-10-120(a)). To redeem from a private purchaser, the redeeming party deposits with the probate judge the sale price with 8% annual interest from the sale, part of any excess bid, and the taxes the purchaser paid with 8% interest, plus any unpaid taxes and the officers' fees (§40-10-122(a)(1)). Only after three years does the probate judge deliver a tax deed to the purchaser for land still unredeemed (§40-10-29). An action to recover land sold for taxes must generally be brought within three years after the purchaser became entitled to the deed – but there is no time limit for an owner who kept possession (§40-10-82).