Florida Tax Lien Certificates


Florida tax lien certificates are sold at Florida County tax sales on or before June 1st of each year. The maximum interest rate awarded on Florida tax lien certificate is 18% per annum. Florida tax lien certificates are sold to the bidder willing to accept the lowest interest rate. According to Florida statute, investors will receive a minimum return of 5% over the life of the tax lien certificate.

(2) When a tax certificate is redeemed and the interest earned on the tax certificate is less than 5 percent of the face amount of the certificate, a mandatory charge of 5 percent shall be levied upon the tax certificate. The person redeeming the tax certificate shall pay the interest rate due on the certificate or the 5-percent mandatory charge, whichever is greater (Sec. 197.472 (2) ).

The delinquent owner has as little as (2) or as long as (7) years to redeem his or her interest in the property from the date the Florida tax lien certificate was sold. To redeem, the delinquent owner must pay all delinquent taxes, cost and interest to date. The amount due the Florida tax lien certificate holder is calculated and a check or ACH transfer deposit is created by the Office of the Tax Collector and sent to the Florida tax lien certificate owner.

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If the Florida tax lien certificate is not redeemed, the purchaser of the tax lien certificate may, as early as two (2) years but no later than seven (7) years, request and begin a tax deed application process with the Office of the Tax Collector. If the Florida tax lien certificate remains unredeemed it is scheduled for a public auction tax deed sale in the County Courthouse by the Clerk of Circuit Court.

The bidder with the highest bid at the Florida tax deed sale is awarded the owner of the property. If the property is classified as non-homested, the opening bid is the amount of the delinquent property taxes, accrued interest, plus costs and fees involved in tax deed process.

If the property is classified as homestead, the opening bid is half the current assessed property value plus all delinquent property taxes, interest, fees, and costs.

Tax Sale Type: Tax Lien Certificates (Sec. 197.432 New Window) and Tax Deed (Sec. 197.502 New Window)

Contact: County Tax Collector (Sec. 197.332 New Window)

Interest Rate: 18% per annum (Sec. 197.172 New Window)

Penalty Rate: None

Bid Procedure: Bid Down (Sec. 197.432 New Window)

Redemption Period: Two (2) years (Sec. 197.502 New Window)

Law: Florida Statutes, Title XIV, Chapter 197, "Tax Collections, Sales, and Liens." New Window

Additional Notes:

Important: Florida is unique in that no matter what the winning interest rate is, the investor will, at least, receive a 5% penalty.

(2) When a tax certificate is redeemed and the interest earned on the tax certificate is less than 5 percent of the face amount of the certificate, a mandatory charge of 5 percent shall be levied upon the tax certificate. The person redeeming the tax certificate shall pay the interest rate due on the certificate or the 5-percent mandatory charge, whichever is greater (Sec. 197.472 (2) New Window).

In Florida, once the 2 year redemption period has elapsed and the homeowner had not redeemed, the investor must file an application for the tax deed with the county. Next, the county will attempt to sell the property at the tax deed auction.

The opening bid on an individual certificate on nonhomestead property shall include, in addition to the amount of money paid to the tax collector by the certificateholder at the time of application, the amount required to redeem the applicant's tax certificate and all other costs and fees paid by the applicant. Sec. 197.502 (6)(a) New Window.

The opening bid on property assessed on the latest tax roll as homestead property shall include, in addition to the amount of money required for an opening bid on nonhomestead property, an amount equal to one-half of the latest assessed value of the homestead. Payment of one-half of the assessed value of the homestead property shall not be required if the tax certificate to which the application relates was sold prior to January 1, 1982. Sec. 197.502 (6)(c) New Window.

The money collected from the sale of the property will satisfy the tax lien including interest.

(1) The holder of any tax certificate, other than the county, at any time after 2 years have elapsed since April 1 of the year of issuance of the tax certificate and before the expiration of 7 years from the date of issuance, may file the certificate and an application for a tax deed with the tax collector of the county where the lands described in the certificate are located. The application may be made on the entire parcel of property or any part thereof which is capable of being readily separated from the whole. The tax collector shall be allowed a tax deed application fee of $75 .

 

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Counties / Municipalities located in Florida

The following is a list of counties located in the state of Florida. Tax Lien Certificates for properties located in the following counties are sold at Florida county tax sales.

Learn more about each county's individual tax sale process by clicking on the name of the county for which you are interested from the list below:

County/Municipality:  Population: 
Alachua County, FL  217,955
Baker County, FL  22,259
Bay County, FL  148,217
Bradford County, FL  26,088
Brevard County, FL  476,230
Broward County, FL  1,623,018
Calhoun County, FL  13,017
Charlotte County, FL  141,627
Citrus County, FL  118,085
Clay County, FL  140,814
Collier County, FL  251,377
Columbia County, FL  56,513
Desoto County, FL  32,209
Dixie County, FL  13,827
Duval County, FL  778,879
Escambia County, FL  294,410
Flagler County, FL  49,832
Franklin County, FL  11,057
Gadsden County, FL  45,087
Gilchrist County, FL  14,437
Glades County, FL  10,576
Gulf County, FL  13,332
Hamilton County, FL  13,327
Hardee County, FL  26,938
Hendry County, FL  36,210
Hernando County, FL  130,802
Highlands County, FL  87,366
Hillsborough, FL  998,948
Holmes County, FL  18,564
Indian River County, FL  112,947
Jackson County, FL  46,755
Jefferson County, FL  12,902
Lafayette County, FL  7,022
Lake County, FL  210,528
Lee County, FL  440,888
Leon County, FL  239,452
Levy County, FL  34,450
Liberty County, FL  7,021
Madison County, FL  18,733
Manatee County, FL  264,002
Marion County, FL  258,916
Martin County, FL  126,731
Miami Dade County, FL  2,253,362
Monroe County, FL  79,589
Nassau County, FL  57,663
Okaloosa County, FL  170,498
Okeechobee County, FL  35,910
Orange County, FL  896,344
Osceola County, FL  172,493
Palm Beach County, FL  1,131,184
Pasco County, FL  344,765
Pinellas County, FL  921,482
Polk County, FL  483,924
Putnam County, FL  70,423
Santa Rosa County, FL  117,743
Sarasota County, FL  325,957
Seminole County, FL  365,196
St Johns County, FL  123,135
St Lucie County, FL  192,695
Sumter County, FL  53,345
Suwannee County, FL  34,844
Taylor County, FL  19,256
Union County, FL  13,442
Volusia County, FL  443,343
Wakulla County, FL  22,863
Walton County, FL  40,601
Washington County, FL  20,973