Florida · Back Taxes & Tax Deed Sales

Owe back property taxes? You can still sell it yourself.

Unpaid Florida property taxes do not stay a bill. They become a tax certificate, and eventually a tax deed sale run by the county clerk — at which point the house is sold out from under you and whatever equity you had in it is no longer yours to sell. A cash sale can happen before that date, in any condition, with the back taxes settled out of the closing.

Get My Cash Offer → 📞 (813) 610-6460
✓ No obligation ✓ Back taxes and liens are fine ✓ A person reads every message

Owe back taxes? Get a cash offer before the tax deed sale

Any Florida county, any condition, any amount owed. Tell us about the property and roughly where the taxes stand — we'll reach out as soon as we can.

By submitting you agree we may contact you about your property by phone or email. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

— or —
📅 Book a call with our acquisitions team
Choose any time that suits you. No obligation, and no pressure to decide on the call.

How a Florida tax bill turns into a lost house

The timeline catches people out because it is slow and then sudden. In broad terms, and it varies by county:

  • Property tax bills are mailed around November 1. Paying early earns a discount, and the bill is due by March 31
  • An unpaid bill goes delinquent on April 1 of the following year
  • The county sells a tax certificate on the debt, usually on or before June 1. An investor pays your taxes and starts earning interest on them. You still own the house.
  • After about two years, that certificate holder can apply for a tax deed
  • The clerk of court then schedules a tax deed auction, and the property is sold
  • Any money above the debt may be claimable afterwards as surplus funds — but the house itself is gone, and surplus is almost always less than the equity you could have sold for

The full chain with statute numbers is in how a Florida tax deed auction works. None of this is legal or tax advice — we are not attorneys or tax advisers. Your own dates are the ones that matter, and they live with your county tax collector and clerk of court. If a tax deed application has already been filed against your property, talk to an attorney as well as to us.

Find out where you stand: four calls or lookups

Before you decide anything, get four facts. Most of them are free and public, and none needs a buyer.

  1. What is owed today? Ask the county tax collector for the payoff (redemption) amount on your parcel, and the date it is good through. Interest and fees keep adding, so the number changes.
  2. Which tax years are behind? One year is a different problem from five. The tax collector’s office can list each tax year and whether a certificate has been sold on it.
  3. Has anyone applied for a tax deed? The county clerk of court runs the tax deed sale. Ask the clerk’s tax deed office whether an application is on file for your parcel and whether a sale date is set.
  4. Are there exemptions you missed? The county property appraiser handles homestead and other exemptions. Applications are generally due by March 1 for that tax year, so this helps going forward more than it fixes a past bill.

Write down every date you hear. If you have received a certified-mail notice from the tax collector or clerk, do not set it aside: it usually tells you a deadline.

Your three ways out, honestly compared

  • Pay it off (redeem). If you can pay the full amount owed through the tax collector before the property is sold, the certificate is cleared and you keep the house. If you want to stay, this is the first thing to try. Ask the tax collector whether any installment option applies to your bill; those are generally for current-year taxes chosen in advance, not for taxes already delinquent.
  • Sell it before the sale date. The taxes, certificates, interest and fees are paid from the sale proceeds at closing, and what is left is yours. You do not have to find the money first. This fits when you cannot or do not want to keep paying for the house, when it is inherited, vacant or needs work, or when the debt keeps growing.
  • Do nothing. The process continues. The house is sold at auction for what it owes, not what it is worth, and you are left filing a surplus claim.

If you would rather keep the house and can pay, we will tell you that paying is better. A cash sale is for owners who want out.

Why selling beats being sold out

A tax deed auction does not care what the house is worth. It cares what it owes. If you sell before the sale date, the back taxes, certificates, interest and fees are typically paid off out of the proceeds at closing, and what is left over is yours instead of being argued over in a surplus claim months later.

What happens to the taxes at a closing

  • The title company searches the property’s records and finds every delinquent year and every certificate. You do not have to list them correctly.
  • The title company gets a payoff figure from the tax collector good through the closing date and pays it out of your proceeds. You can ask to see it on the settlement statement before you sign.
  • Any mortgage and other recorded liens are paid from the same proceeds. See selling a house with liens and code violation liens.
  • If what is owed is more than the house would bring, the sale cannot close on its own terms. Lienholders would have to agree to take less, and a Florida attorney should be involved.

Situations that are workable

  • Years of delinquent taxes, multiple certificates sold, interest stacked on top
  • A tax deed application already filed and a sale date on the calendar. The time is short, so say so in your first message.
  • Code enforcement liens, water or utility liens, an open permit nobody closed
  • An inherited property whose taxes quietly went unpaid after the owner died. Taxes keep accruing during probate, and the personal representative is usually the one who signs a sale — see selling an inherited house and selling in probate
  • A vacant house or a lot where the taxes now outrun what anyone will pay for it — see selling a vacant house and selling vacant land
  • Co-owners who do not agree. Every owner of record generally has to sign, and a Florida attorney can say what the options are if one will not

If you pay your taxes through a mortgage escrow account, a delinquency usually means something else has gone wrong with the loan. Ask your lender what is happening before anything else, and see selling before a foreclosure auction.

What to watch out for

  • Anyone who asks you to sign over the deed before a closing, even “temporarily” to stop the tax sale
  • Anyone who wants an upfront fee to stop a tax deed sale, or to recover surplus funds, before you have read exactly what you are signing
  • A contract you cannot read at your own pace and show to an attorney
  • Any sale that does not close through a title company or Florida attorney

See how to check a Florida cash buyer before you sign. That list applies to us too.

What we do not ask you to do

  • No repairs, no roof, no permits, no contractor quotes
  • No cleaning out — leave anything you do not want
  • No paying the taxes off up front to make the sale possible
  • No agent commissions and no listing fees
  • No waiting on a buyer’s mortgage approval or appraisal

Where we buy

We are based in Tampa and we buy across Florida — Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota, Orange, Duval and beyond. If it is in Florida, tell us about it. County-by-county counts of delinquent parcels are in Florida tax-delinquent properties by county.

Written 2026-10-27. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice, and we are not a law firm. For your own deadlines and rights, talk to a Florida attorney.

Good Questions

Frequently asked

Can I sell my house if I owe back property taxes in Florida?
Yes. Back taxes, certificates already sold, and interest are typically paid off out of the closing proceeds — you do not need to pay them off first to sell.
What happens at a Florida tax deed sale?
After roughly two years of delinquent taxes, the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed, the clerk of court schedules an auction, and the property is sold to satisfy the debt. Any money above what's owed may later be claimable as surplus funds, but the house itself is gone.
Do I have to pay off the back taxes before I can sell?
No. That's what the closing is for — back taxes, certificates, interest, and fees come out of the sale proceeds at closing, and you keep what's left.
Will you buy if a tax deed application has already been filed?
Yes, though the timeline gets tight once a sale date is on the calendar — reach out as soon as possible, and talk to an attorney about your specific deadline as well.
How do I find out exactly what I owe in back property taxes in Florida?
Ask the county tax collector for the payoff (redemption) amount on your parcel and the date it is good through. Interest and fees keep adding, so the number changes. The clerk of court can tell you whether a tax deed application has been filed.
How do I know if a tax deed application was filed on my house?
The county clerk of court runs the tax deed sale. Ask the clerk's tax deed office whether an application is on file for your parcel and whether a sale date is set. If you got a certified-mail notice, read it for a deadline and talk to an attorney.
Can I pay delinquent Florida property taxes in installments?
Installment plans in Florida generally apply to current-year bills chosen in advance, not to taxes that are already delinquent. Ask the county tax collector what applies to your parcel.
What happens to my back taxes at closing if I sell?
The title company finds every delinquent year and certificate, gets a payoff figure from the tax collector good through the closing date, and pays it from your proceeds. It appears on the settlement statement before you sign.