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Florida Tax Deed Sales Explained: Clerk-Run Auctions, All Year

Where tax deed sales come from

A Florida tax deed sale exists because a tax lien certificate was never redeemed. Once a certificate is at least two years old, its holder can apply for a tax deed under section 197.502 of the Florida Statutes. The tax collector orders a title search, gathers every outstanding tax year on the parcel, and certifies the file to the Clerk of Court. The clerk notifies the owner and all lienholders of record, advertises the sale for four consecutive weeks, and auctions the property.

Unlike the certificate sale — one annual event per county — deed sales run constantly. Most Florida clerks hold them several times a month, year-round. At any given time, well over a thousand lots are open across the state's 56-plus counties that run these sales, which makes Florida deed inventory a rolling market rather than a seasonal one.

The platform: RealTaxDeed and the clerk's list

Sales are conducted online on per-county RealTaxDeed sites (yourcounty.realtaxdeed.com), run for the clerk. Each listed lot shows the certificate number, parcel ID, legal description, certificate holder, owner name, and base bid, and the full tax deed file is available through the clerk. Counties like Suwannee publish their own sale schedule in advance — the November 5, 2026 sale, for example, listed a parcel with a base opening bid of $2,886.08 alongside its full legal description.

That published list is a living document. Owners redeem and lots are withdrawn right up to sale time, and the clerk's list is updated as it happens. LienToDeed's feed is built on these county publications and re-verified before each sale, because bidding from a stale list is the most preventable mistake in this market.

The opening bid formula

The base bid is arithmetic, not appraisal. For non-homestead property, it equals the unpaid taxes and interest, the tax collector's fees, and the clerk's sale costs — everything required to bring the property to auction. For homestead property, Florida law adds half of the assessed value from the tax roll to that total.

Two consequences follow. First, opening bids are often a small fraction of what a property might be worth — that gap is the opportunity. Second, the certificate holder who applied for the deed is guaranteed to be repaid from that base amount if the property sells, which is why holders apply: the auction pays them even when they never wanted the property. Any amount bid above the opening bid is surplus, handled separately (see below).

Bidding, deposit, and the 24-hour rule

Bidder registration happens on the county's RealTaxDeed site, and a deposit must be with the clerk before the sale — generally by the day before. The required deposit is 5% of your bid or $200, whichever is greater, and the system validates bids against your deposit balance. The balance of a winning bid is due within 24 hours, in certified funds.

Win and the clerk issues and records the tax deed, typically within about 3 to 10 business days in most counties. The deed is a tax deed, not a warranty deed — most buyers need a quiet title action before the title is insurable or resalable through a title company. Price that into your bid, not after it.

Surplus: where the overbid goes

When bidding exceeds the opening bid, the excess is surplus. The clerk holds it, and the former owner — and in some cases lienholders — may claim it through the clerk's process within the statutory window. The winning bidder does not get any of it back, ever: money you bid above the opening bid is spent, not deposited.

Surplus is also why disciplined bidding matters more than winning. Every dollar of overbid raises your real cost basis while adding nothing you can recover. Former owners and heir-hunters watch surplus lists closely; so do we — LienToDeed tracks surplus outcomes because a lot's sale result is the best comparable for the next auction on the same street.

Florida deed sales vs. deed states

In pure deed states like California or Michigan, the county itself forecloses and auctions, and no private lien holder is involved. Florida's version is driven by the certificate holder's application, which is why sale volume follows the certificate cycle from two-plus years earlier — and why watching certificate sales today tells you roughly where deed inventory will appear in 2028 and beyond. There is no post-sale redemption in Florida: once the deed is issued and the winning bid is paid, the sale is final.

For buyers, the practical edge in Florida is cadence and transparency: sales several times a month, published files, online bidding. The practical trap is identical to everywhere else — as-is property, fast payment, and titles that need work.

Questions

How often are Florida tax deed sales held?
Several times per month in most counties, year-round, on schedules set by each Clerk of Court. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach run frequent sales; smaller counties may run monthly. Check the county's RealTaxDeed site or the LienToDeed calendar for the current schedule.

What is the opening bid at a Florida tax deed sale?
The unpaid taxes, interest, and statutory fees and costs. For homestead property, half of the assessed value is added to that total. It is a cost-recovery formula, not an estimate of market value.

Do I get my overbid back if the former owner claims surplus?
No. Surplus belongs to the former owner and eligible lienholders who claim it through the clerk. The winning bidder never recovers any part of the purchase price — another reason to set a max bid before the sale and hold it.

Is there a redemption period after a Florida tax deed sale?
No. Florida tax deed sales have no post-sale redemption. Once the clerk issues the deed after full payment, the former owner's right to redeem is extinguished (their remedy is a claim to any surplus, not the property).