Title XIV, Taxation and Finance

(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 certificat…

(1) Within 10 days after a payment for taxes received by the tax collector is dishonored, the tax collector shall notify the payor that the payment has been dishonored. If the official receipt is canceled for nonpayment, the tax collector shall make an entry on the tax roll that …

(1) A holder of a tax certificate may apply to the tax collector for a duplicate certificate if the original certificate has been lost or destroyed. The tax certificate holder shall give an affidavit to the tax collector stating that the affiant is the owner of the tax certificat…

(1) If a tax collector sells tax certificates on land upon which the taxes have been paid, upon written demand by the aggrieved taxpayer alleging the circumstances, the tax collector shall initiate action to cancel any improperly issued tax certificate or deed in accordance with …

(1) The tax collector shall forward a certificate of error to the department and enter a memorandum of error upon the list of certificates sold for taxes if:(a) The tax certificate evidencing the sale is void because the taxes on the property have been paid;(b) The property was n…

(1) The holder of any tax certificate that is void for any reason has the right to bring an action in circuit court to have such tax certificate canceled and to obtain the return of the money paid for the tax certificate. The plaintiff may include as many void certificates as he …

No order shall be issued by any court in an action brought by or on behalf of any landowner to enjoin any tax sale or to set aside or cancel any tax certificate held by any county in the state until the owner pays to the tax collector of the county where the property is assessabl…

When a board of county commissioners finds that the United States, or any duly constituted agency thereof, has acquired by purchase or contract to purchase any lands in that county for reforestation, game preserve, or military aviation purposes, or that any duly constituted autho…

(1) All tax certificates issued to an individual may be transferred at any time before they are redeemed or a tax deed is executed.(2) The tax collector shall record the transfer on the record of tax certificates sold.(3) The tax collector shall receive $2.25 as a service charge …

(1) A person may redeem a tax certificate at any time after the certificate is issued and before a tax deed is issued unless full payment for a tax deed is made to the clerk of the court, including documentary stamps and recording fees. The person redeeming a tax certificate shal…

(1) Any person may purchase a county-held tax certificate at any time after the tax certificate is issued and before a tax deed application is made. The person purchasing a county-held tax certificate shall pay to the tax collector the face amount plus all interest, costs, and ch…

Money paid to the tax collector for the redemption of a tax certificate or a tax deed application that is payable to the holder of a redeemed tax certificate but for which no claim has been made, or that fails to be presented for payment, is considered unclaimed as defined in s. …

Seven years after the date of issuance of a tax certificate, which is the date of the first day of the tax certificate sale as advertised under s. 197.432, if a tax deed has not been applied for, and no other administrative or legal proceeding, including a bankruptcy, has existed…

(1) On or before the 60th day after the tax certificate sale is adjourned, the tax collector shall certify to the board of county commissioners a report showing the following situations for which credit is to be given:(a) Discounts.(b) Errors.(c) Double assessments.(d) Insolvenci…

(1) The holder of a tax certificate at any time after 2 years have elapsed since April 1 of the year of issuance of the tax certificate and before the cancellation of the certificate, may file the certificate and an application for a tax deed with the tax collector of the county …

(1) Upon the receipt of the application as provided by s. 197.502, and after the proper charges have been paid, the clerk shall publish a notice once each week for 4 consecutive weeks at weekly intervals in a newspaper selected as provided in s. 197.402. The form of notice of the…

(1)(a) The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector’s statement pursuant to s. 197.502(4) that an appli…

When the certificateholder makes a written request of the clerk and furnishes the names and addresses at the time of the filing of the application, the clerk shall send a copy of the notice referred to in s. 197.522 to anyone to whom the certificateholder may request him or her t…

(1) Real property advertised for sale to the highest bidder as a result of an application filed under s. 197.502 shall be sold at public auction by the clerk of the circuit court, or his or her deputy, of the county where the property is located on the date, at the time, and at t…

All tax deeds shall be issued in the name of a county and shall be signed by the clerk of the county. The deed shall be witnessed by two witnesses, the official seal shall be attached thereto, and the deed shall be acknowledged or proven as other deeds. Except as specifically pro…

Any person, firm, corporation, or county that is the grantee of any tax deed under this law shall be entitled to the immediate possession of the lands described in the deed. If a demand for possession is refused, the purchaser may apply to the circuit court for a writ of assistan…

(1) When any lands are sold for the nonpayment of taxes, or any tax certificate is issued thereon by a governmental unit or agency or pursuant to any tax lien foreclosure proceeding, the title to the lands shall continue to be subject to any easement:(a) For conservation purposes…

(1) When a deed or other recorded instrument in the chain of title contains restrictions and covenants running with the land, as hereinafter defined and limited, the restrictions and covenants shall survive and be enforceable after the issuance of a tax deed or master’s deed, or …

(1) If the property is purchased by any person other than the certificateholder, the clerk shall forthwith pay to the certificateholder all of the sums he or she has paid, including the amount required for the redemption of the certificate or certificates together with any and al…

(1) Lands acquired by any county of the state for delinquent taxes in accordance with law which have not been previously sold or dedicated by the board of county commissioners may, at its discretion, be conveyed to the record fee simple owner of such lands as of the date the coun…

As to all lands acquired by any county for delinquent taxes and thereafter described and recorded in the book designated “county lands acquired for delinquent taxes” on file in the office of the clerk of the circuit court and that have been through the procedures of public notice…

(1) If a party successfully challenges the validity of a tax deed in an action at law or equity, but the taxes for which the tax deed was sold were not paid before the tax deed was issued, the party shall pay to the party against whom the judgment or decree is entered:(a) The amo…

The Legislature finds that the state has a strong interest in ensuring due process and public confidence in a uniform, fair, efficient, and accountable collection of property taxes by county tax collectors. Therefore, tax collections shall be supervised by the Department of Reven…