Tax deed and tax lien FAQ
Tax deed and tax lien basics
These answers are general education, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and county, so check the county’s current terms before you bid.
A tax deed is the document that makes you the owner of a property the county sold for unpaid property taxes. You get it by winning the tax deed sale, which most people call the tax deed auction.
The bidding starts at what’s owed: the back taxes, interest, and the county’s fees. In most cases the sale also wipes out the mortgage and a lot of other liens, but some can survive, so research the title before you bid. Never Bid Blind.™
A tax lien certificate is a claim the county sells to an investor for a property’s unpaid taxes. You pay the tax bill, and the owner has to pay you back with the interest or penalty set by state law.
You don’t own the property. You own the debt. If the owner pays it off (called redeeming), you get your money back plus interest. If they don’t pay by the end of the redemption period, you may be able to start the process to get the deed. Some states auction certificates by bidding the interest rate down, so what you earn depends on the bidding.
A tax lien gives you the right to collect the unpaid taxes plus interest. A tax deed gives you the property itself.
Think of the lien investor as the bank. You wait, and most owners pay you back with interest. The deed investor is the new owner, so the title work, the repairs, any occupants, and the resale are all on you. I always tell students to pick the goal first. Goal Before Geography.™
A tax deed sale is a county auction for properties with unpaid taxes, and the highest bidder walks away with the tax deed. Bidding opens at the amount owed, meaning the back taxes, interest, and fees.
For my students it usually goes like this. The county puts out its sale list. You register, put down a deposit, and research every property you like, then you bid in person or online. Win, and you pay the rest by the county’s deadline, which can be tight, so have your money lined up before sale day. Anything paid above the opening bid turns into surplus funds for the former owner and lienholders.
A tax lien certificate comes out of an unpaid tax bill. The county sells it, usually at auction, and the investor who buys it pays those taxes. To clear the lien, the owner has to pay the investor back, with interest.
Your state decides the top interest rate and how long the owner gets to pay, which is the redemption period. Most certificates do get paid off and you collect your interest. If one doesn’t, you may be able to apply for a tax deed or foreclose, depending on the state. Some liens sit on land nobody wants, so research the property before you bid on the lien too.
Every state picks its own system. Lien states sell certificates for the unpaid taxes. Deed states sell the property itself. A few are hybrids that use a redeemable deed, so the owner can still buy the property back for a while after the sale. And Florida does both: tax lien certificates first, tax deed sales later.
Rules change, and 2 counties in the same state can run their sales completely differently. My Tax Lien & Tax Deed States Cheatsheet covers all 50 states: the type of sale, when each state holds its auctions, redemption periods, interest rates, and links to each state’s laws.
Florida runs both kinds of sales. Every year, around June 1, the counties sell tax certificates on the unpaid property taxes. Bidders compete by bidding the interest rate down, starting at 18%, the most the state allows. Once a certificate is about 2 years old and the taxes still aren’t paid, the holder can apply for a tax deed, and the clerk puts the property up at a tax deed auction.
Most Florida counties hold these auctions online now, many on county sites ending in realtaxdeed.com. The owner can still redeem until the winning bidder pays in full. Properties that get no bids can end up on the county’s lands available list, where you can buy them over the counter.
The redemption period is the time a property owner has to pay the delinquent taxes, plus interest and fees, and keep the property. In tax lien states, it usually runs from about 6 months to 3 years, depending on the state.
During that time, the lien holder generally waits. You can’t take the property or make the owner leave. Some tax deed states also give the owner a right to redeem after the sale, so read the state law before you bid. In Florida, the owner can redeem up until the tax deed buyer pays in full.
Buying and investing
Rules vary by state and county, so check the county’s current terms before you bid.
When people say tax lien properties, they usually mean 1 of 2 things: buying the tax lien certificate, or buying the property itself at a tax deed sale. So start with your goal. Decide whether you want interest from liens or ownership from deeds, and how much money you can set aside. Goal Before Geography.™
Then follow the county’s process: read the sale terms, register as a bidder, pay any deposit, research every property, set your maximum bid, and stick to it. Tax Deed Genius Lite is my 2-week beginner course for $197, and Tax Deed Genius covers the full process.
Go straight to the county. Depending on the state, the tax collector, the treasurer, or the clerk of court posts the auction dates and the property list, and the list usually shows up a few weeks ahead. I type the county name plus “tax deed sale” (or “tax lien sale”) into Google and look for the county’s own website.
Many counties run their auctions on online auction sites, and the county’s page links to the right one. Paid list services can save time, but check their data against the county’s records. Some counties also sell leftover properties over the counter, like Florida’s lands available list.
Yes. A lot of counties now hold tax deed and tax lien auctions online, including most counties in Florida. You register on the auction website, pay a deposit, and bid from home.
Bidding from your couch is convenient, but it’s also how people end up with a lot they’ve never seen. The auction site shows a parcel number and an opening bid, and that’s about it, so do your research first. Each county sets its own deposit, payment deadline, and bidding rules, and I read them for every sale.
They can be, if you research first and buy with a plan. Liens pay interest at a rate set by state law. Deeds can get you real estate for less than it’s worth. But I won’t tell you either one is risk-free, and nobody can promise you a profit.
What separates a good buy from a bad one is the research. Cheap doesn’t mean it’s a deal. Investing on my own cost me $120,000 before I found a mentor and learned to research first and follow a plan. Winning the auction doesn’t mean you won the investment.
Yes, you can lose money. The most common risks are buying a property you didn’t research, bidding too high, liens that survive the sale, title problems that block a resale, land nobody wants, code violations, and occupants who won’t leave.
With tax liens, an owner’s bankruptcy can delay your payoff, and some liens sit on property that isn’t worth taking. I walk through real examples in my video Tax Deed Horror Stories. Due diligence isn’t about proving you should buy. It’s about discovering why you shouldn’t.
After you pay, the county issues and records the tax deed in your name, and you own the property. Most of the time, there’s still work to do before you can sell it or get title insurance.
Your first job is the title search. You’re looking for liens that survived and any other title defects. A lot of title companies won’t insure a tax deed right away, so many buyers file a quiet title action, which is a court case that confirms you own it free and clear. If someone still lives there, go through your state’s legal process to get possession. Please don’t change the locks on an occupied home yourself.
In most states, yes. A tax deed sale usually wipes out the mortgage and most other private liens, because property taxes come first. The former owner still owes the mortgage debt, but it doesn’t follow the property to you.
Not everything goes away, though. Some government liens can stick, like certain code enforcement or city liens. And if there’s a federal tax lien, the IRS has 120 days after the sale to redeem the property. Check the state law and the title before you bid. I explain 4 types of liens that can survive in this video.
The opening bid usually equals what’s owed: unpaid taxes, interest, and county fees. For real numbers, I looked at 5 Florida tax deed auctions from October 2026 on the counties’ realtaxdeed.com sites (Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Polk, and Volusia). Half of the 337 properties had opening bids under about $7,200, and most fell between $4,200 and $14,500. The 60 that sold went for anywhere from $2,000 to $415,000, and the typical winner paid about 5 times the opening bid. Of the 337, 263 never made it to the auction, because the owner paid the taxes first.
And the bid is only part of it. Count the deposit, recording fees and any deed taxes, title work or a quiet title action, fines or utility bills that survive, insurance, and repairs. I total all of that before the auction, and that’s how I set my maximum bid. I’m not bidding against another investor. I’m bidding against my investment criteria.
Surplus funds
Rules vary by state and county, so check the county’s current terms.
Surplus funds are the money left over when a property sells at a tax deed sale, or a foreclosure sale, for more than what was owed. They’re also called overages or excess proceeds, and they belong to the former owner and, in some cases, lienholders.
Until someone claims it, the money usually sits with the clerk of court, the treasurer, or the tax collector. A lot of counties put a surplus funds list on their website. You might see it called an unclaimed funds list or an excess proceeds list. If you can’t find one online, ask for it with a public records request.
The former owner can claim surplus funds, and so can lienholders whose liens were wiped out by the sale, like a mortgage lender. If the owner has passed away, their heirs or estate may be able to claim the money.
To claim, file the county’s claim form with proof of identity and proof of your interest in the property, by the county’s deadline. In some states a judge has to approve the claim. Some states send unclaimed money to the state or county after a deadline, so don’t wait.
Surplus funds recovery is a real business. A recovery agent finds former owners who are owed surplus funds and helps them file the claim, usually for a percentage of what they recover.
Done the right way, yes. Every state writes its own rules, though. One state caps the agent’s fee, another wants a license, another makes you file with the court. Read your state’s law before you contact a single owner, and be careful with anyone who promises fast money or asks owners to sign without explaining the fee. My Surplus Overages Course is $1,497 and walks you through how the process works.
Working with me
Tax Deed Genius is my 8-week online tax deed and tax lien investing course for all 50 states. It’s $2,997, and you can pay in full or choose a payment plan through Affirm at checkout.
I teach all 91 video lessons myself, across 8 modules. We go from finding properties, to researching them before you bid, to the auction, to what happens after, and that includes surplus overages and the lands available list. Everything opens once you enroll and sign your Welcome Agreement. There’s a short quiz at the end of each module. For a smaller start, Tax Deed Genius Lite is a 2-week beginner course for $197.
You get email support from my team at info@thejackiejackson.com, the student community, and my live weekly Q&A. That’s a 1-hour session where we work through your county questions. The weekly Q&A is a bonus for Tax Deed Genius students who pay in full or with Affirm, and it may change.
Inside the lessons, I share my screen and walk through a real tax deed case file, so you see how to run your own title search. You also follow a code enforcement case from start to finish and get letters, scripts, and email templates for talking with owners. I don’t go to auctions with students, because they invest in counties all over the country.
Yes, both. For a single session, the Tax Deed and Tax Lien Consultation is 1 hour with me on Zoom for $500. Bring your county, your property, or your plan, and we’ll work through it together. I record the call, and you get the recording to go back to later.
For ongoing 1:1 coaching, my first step is always a free 30-minute strategy call. I want to hear your goals and make sure coaching makes sense for you before you spend a dime.
My courses don’t have refunds. You agree to that at checkout before you pay, and again when you sign your Welcome Agreement. Consultations work the same way. Cancel and there’s no refund, but I’m glad to move you to another time.
If you can’t decide between courses, a free 30-minute strategy call is the easiest way to sort it out, and I’ll help you pick.
You can reach me at (689) 312-8300 or info@thejackiejackson.com. My team or I will get back to you. If you’d rather talk it through, book a free 30-minute strategy call on my Contact page.
Ready to invest in tax liens and tax deeds?
- 8 modules and 91 video lessons, all taught by me
- Every module opens the day you enroll
- My screen-share walk-through of a real tax deed case file, so you learn to run your own title search
- A live 1-hour Q&A every week (a bonus that may change)
- The student community and unlimited email support
- $2,997, paid in full or with a payment plan through Affirm