Florida Florida Statutes

§ 197.432 — Sale of tax certificates for unpaid taxes

FS § 197.432Ch. 197

Statute text

(1)On the day and approximately at the time designated in the notice of the sale, the tax collector shall commence the sale of tax certificates on the real property on which taxes have not been paid. The tax collector shall continue the sale from day to day until each certificate is sold to pay the taxes, interest, costs, and charges on the parcel described in the certificate. The tax collector shall offer all certificates on the property as they are listed on the tax roll. The tax collector may conduct the sale of tax certificates for unpaid taxes pursuant to this section by electronic means, which may allow for proxy bidding. Such electronic means must comply with the procedures provided in this chapter. A tax collector who chooses to conduct such electronic sales may receive electronic deposits and payments related to the tax certificate sale.

(2)A lien created through the sale of a tax certificate may not be enforced in any manner except as prescribed in this chapter.

(3)If the taxes on a real property and all interest, costs, and charges are paid before a tax certificate is awarded to a buyer or struck to the county, the tax collector may not issue the tax certificate. After a tax certificate is awarded to a buyer or struck to the county, the delinquent taxes, interest, costs, and charges are paid by the redemption of the tax certificate.

(4)A tax certificate representing less than $250 in delinquent taxes on property that has been granted a homestead exemption for the year in which the delinquent taxes were assessed may not be sold at public auction or by electronic sale as provided in subsection (1) but must be issued by the tax collector to the county at the maximum rate of interest allowed. Section 197.4725 or s. 197.502(3) may not be invoked if the homestead exemption is granted to the person who received the homestead exemption for the year in which the tax certificate was issued unless any such tax certificates and accrued interest represent an amount of $250 or more.

(5)A tax certificate that has not been sold on property for which a tax deed application is pending shall be struck to the county.

(6)Each certificate shall be awarded to the person who will pay the taxes, interest, costs, and charges and will demand the lowest rate of interest, not in excess of the maximum rate of interest allowed by this chapter. The tax collector shall accept bids in even increments and in fractional interest rate bids of one-quarter of 1 percent only. If multiple bidders offer the same lowest rate of interest, the tax collector shall determine the method of selecting the bidder to whom the certificate will be awarded. Acceptable methods include the bid received first or use of a random-number generator. If a certificate is not purchased, the certificate shall be struck to the county at the maximum rate of interest allowed by this chapter.

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Legislative history

s. 174, ch. 85-342; s. 9, ch. 90-343; s. 4, ch. 91-295; s. 1, ch. 93-108; s. 1018, ch. 95-147; s. 10, ch. 98-139; s. 3, ch. DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">