Selling Florida land when you owe back taxes

You owe back property taxes on a Florida lot. You want to sell it. You still can. Owing taxes does not mean you lost the land. It does not stop a sale. Here is how it works.

Owing back taxes is not the same as losing the land

Many people fear the land is gone once taxes go unpaid. In Florida it is slower than that. It helps to see the steps.

Florida tax bills go out around November 1 each year.

Paying early earns a small discount. It is 4 percent in November. Then 3 percent in December. Then 2 percent in January. Then 1 percent in February.

The bill is due by March 31.

If it is not paid, the taxes are late on April 1.

Around June 1 the county holds a tax certificate sale. This part scares people, so read it slowly. The county sells a certificate. A certificate is a kind of lien, a claim for the unpaid tax. An investor pays your overdue taxes. In return, the investor earns interest. You still own the land.

That certificate has to stay unpaid for about two years before the holder can ask for a tax deed. A tax deed is what can send the land to a public auction. So there is usually time to act.

What you can do

You are not trapped. You have real choices.

You can pay the back taxes yourself at the county tax collector and keep the land.

You can pay them, then list the land with an agent.

Or you can sell the land and let the back taxes be paid out of the sale.

Time does matter. It helps to check your county tax collector website. It shows what is owed and where your lot stands.

Selling with the taxes paid at closing

Here is the part that gives people relief. You do not have to clear the back taxes first, out of your own pocket. At a normal closing, the title company does it for you. The title company is a neutral office that handles the paperwork and the money.

It adds up exactly what is owed to the county.

It pays the county out of the sale money.

It pays you the rest.

So the taxes come off the top of the price. The lien is cleared as part of the sale. You walk away owing nothing.

You can also just list it

If your lot is worth enough, listing it with a Florida agent may bring the most money. That holds even after the agent fee and the wait. Keep two things in mind. Some agents pass on low-value vacant lots. And the taxes keep adding up while the lot sits. So weigh the wait against the price. We will tell you plainly which road looks better for your lot.

What we do

Tell us where the land is. You do not need to know the exact tax figure.

We pull the county records and the taxes owed ourselves. It costs you nothing.

If it fits, we put your land under contract, with the offer in writing. There is no rush on your side.

We are not agents, and we do not list your land.

A licensed title company runs the closing. It pays the county, clears the lien, and pays you what is left.

One honest point. Our offer sits below full retail. The difference is what we earn, and we do not hide it. If listing would clear more for you after the taxes, we will say so.

Tell us about your lot

Where it is, and roughly how far behind the taxes are, is a fine start. You do not need exact numbers. Write to us and we will write back.

Written by Dillon Stawiarski, who runs Bellfield Land Co. Reviewed September 2026.