Florida Statutes require the Tax Collector to conduct a sale of tax certificates on parcels on which taxes are delinquent for the preceeding year on or before June 1 each year.

Delinquent real estate taxes are advertised in a local publication of general circulation once a week for three consecutive (3) weeks before the tax certificate sale.  Parcels with unpaid taxes as of April 1, 2009 will be advertised on April 30, and May 7 and 15, 2009 in the Miami-Daily Business Review.  The list will be available on this website, the Miami-Daily Business Review website at: www.dailybusinessreview.com, as well as our auction web site www.BidMiamiDade.com.

Below is a list of electronic files that constitute the same list that is published in the local newspaper.  All files require that you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.  A free download of Adobe Acrobat Reader is available from the software publisher.

Access times for these files will vary depending on your internet connection (cable, ISDN, DSL, or 56KB modem), time of day (amount of internet traffic), internet service provider, and other factors.  To test your system, you may want to work with the smallest file first - to get an idea of the processing time - before working with the larger files.

When you click on the link, your system should start Adobe Acrobat Reader and open the file.  You should be able to scroll through the file and, if you wish, print.  You may also save the file to your system, but remember that the process will require space on your system drive and may take a while.

For each delinquent tax parcel, the newspaper advertisement contains the sequential advertising number, the 13-digit folio number, delinquent tax amount and the property owner’s name.  To research the folio number, use the following formula:

The certificate’s face amount consists of the sum of the following: unpaid real estate taxes, charge for delinquency (3% on the unpaid tax amount for April and May), Tax Collector’s commission (5% of the unpaid tax amount), June interest (1.5%), advertising and cost of sale-related charges.

Tax certificates represent a first lien on real estate and bear interest at a maximum rate allowed by law of 18% unless the bidder demands a lower rate.  All purchases go to the bidder who will accept the lowest interest rate.  Upon redemption, the taxpayer pays the face amount of the certificate together with any accrued interest.  However, when a tax certificate is redeemed and the interest earned on the tax certificate is less than 5% of the face amount of the certificate, then a mandatory charge of 5% is collected when redeeming the certificate.

If there are no bidders for the tax certificate, the certificate is struck off (issued) to Miami-Dade County and is retained in possession of the Tax Collector. Also, a tax certificate representing less than $100.00 in delinquent taxes on property that has been granted homestead exemption shall be struck off to Miami-Dade County.  Any tax certificate stuck off to the county shall accrue interest at the maximum rate allowed by law (18%).

County certificates, other than those relating to homestead real estate under $100.00, can be purchased directly from Tax Collector. The certificates on homestead real estate under $100.00 can be purchased from the county when the certificates and the accrued interest represent an amount of $100.00 or more.  For each certificate purchased and each omitted year, the Tax Collector shall receive a fee of $6.25. Payment must be made at the time of purchase for costs incurred.

Individual certificates issued are transferable by endorsement at any time before they are redeemed or a tax deed is executed.  A tax certificate transfer form may be obtained from the Tax Collector’s office.  The assignment must be returned and recorded with the Tax Collector’s office.  There is a fee of $2.25 for each transfer.

Any tax certificate can be cancelled if errors, omissions or double assessments are made.  An error in assessment results in a change in the face amount of the certificate.  In the event an error is discovered, the tax certificate may be cancelled or corrected by the authority of the Department of Revenue.  In this case, the corrected portion or the cancellation shall earn interest at the rate of 8% per year, simple interest, or the rate of interest bid at the certificate sale, whichever is less.  The interest is calculated from the date the certificate was purchased until the date the refund is ordered.

If, after purchase, a tax certificate becomes involved in a bankruptcy, it is the certificate holder’s responsibility to seek legal counsel to protect their investment.  During bankruptcy proceedings the court may order the collection stayed until such time as the court enters a final order. While the bankruptcy court generally upholds the validity of the tax certificate, in many cases the court may allow partial payments over time and may reduce the interest rate payable to the certificate holder.

At any time after two years have elapsed since April 1 of the year of issuance of the certificate and before the expiration of the seven years from the date of issue, the individual certificate holder may submit a tax deed application to the Tax Collector. Any certificate holder making application for a tax deed, shall pay the Tax Collector an application fee, a title search fee and all amounts required for redemption or purchase of all other outstanding tax certificates, interest, omitted taxes, and delinquent taxes relating to the real estate. A parcel assessed as homestead property on the current tax roll will have the amount equal to one-half of the current assessed value added to the opening bid. The tax deed is publicly auctioned by the Clerk of the Court and issued to the highest bidder. Pursuant to Florida Statutes 197.502 and 197.542, the tax deed applicant will be required to pay the one-half assessed value on homestead property if there are no other bids in or to retain the tax deed.

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