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Florida Statute 197.542 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 197.542 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
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The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XIV
TAXATION AND FINANCE
Chapter 197
TAX COLLECTIONS, SALES, AND LIENS
View Entire Chapter
F.S. 197.542
197.542 Sale at public auction.
(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 the location as set forth in the published notice, which must be during the regular hours the clerk’s office is open. The amount required to redeem the tax certificate, plus the amounts paid by the holder to the clerk in charges for costs of sale, redemption of other tax certificates on the same property, and all other costs to the applicant for tax deed, plus interest at the rate of 1.5 percent per month for the period running from the month after the date of application for the deed through the month of sale and costs incurred for the service of notice provided for in s. 197.522(2), shall be the bid of the certificateholder for the property. If tax certificates exist or if delinquent taxes accrued subsequent to the filing of the tax deed application, the amount required to redeem such tax certificates or pay such delinquent taxes must be included in the minimum bid. However, if the land to be sold is assessed on the latest tax roll as homestead property, the bid of the certificateholder must be increased to include an amount equal to one-half of the assessed value of the homestead property as required by s. 197.502. If there are no higher bids, the property shall be struck off and sold to the certificateholder, who shall pay to the clerk any amounts included in the minimum bid not already paid, including, but not limited to, the documentary stamp tax, the recording fees, and, if the property is homestead property, the moneys to cover the one-half value of the homestead within 30 days after the sale. Upon payment, a tax deed shall be issued and recorded by the clerk. If the certificateholder fails to make full payment when due, the clerk shall enter the land on a list entitled “lands available for taxes.”
(2) The certificateholder has the right to bid as others present may bid, and the property shall be struck off and sold to the highest bidder. The high bidder shall post with the clerk a nonrefundable deposit of 5 percent of the bid or $200, whichever is greater, at the time of the sale, to be applied to the sale price at the time of full payment. Notice of the deposit requirement must be posted at the auction site, and the clerk may require bidders to show their willingness and ability to post the deposit. If full payment of the final bid and of documentary stamp tax and recording fees is not made within 24 hours, excluding weekends and legal holidays, the clerk shall cancel all bids, readvertise the sale as provided in this section, and pay all costs of the sale from the deposit. Any remaining funds must be applied toward the opening bid. The clerk may refuse to recognize the bid of any person who has previously bid and refused, for any reason, to honor such bid.
(3) If the sale is canceled for any reason or the buyer fails to make full payment within the time required, the clerk shall readvertise the sale within 30 days after the buyer’s nonpayment or, if canceled, within 30 days after the clerk receives the costs of resale. The sale shall be held within 30 days after readvertising. Only one advertisement is necessary. The amount of the opening bid shall be increased by the cost of advertising, additional clerk’s fees as provided for in s. 28.24(22), and interest as provided for in subsection (1). If, at the subsequent sale, there are no bidders at the tax deed sale and the certificateholder fails to pay the moneys due within 30 days after the sale, the clerk may not readvertise the sale and shall place the property on a list entitled “lands available for taxes.” The clerk must receive full payment before the issuance of the tax deed.
(4)(a) A clerk may conduct electronic tax deed sales in lieu of public outcry. The clerk must comply with the procedures provided in this chapter, except that electronic proxy bidding shall be allowed and the clerk may require bidders to advance sufficient funds to pay the deposit required by subsection (2). The clerk shall provide access to the electronic sale by computer terminals open to the public at a designated location. A clerk who conducts such electronic sales may receive electronic deposits and payments related to the sale. The portion of an advance deposit from a winning bidder required by subsection (2) shall, upon acceptance of the winning bid, be subject to the fee under s. 28.24(11).
(b) This subsection does not restrict or limit the authority of a charter county to conduct electronic tax deed sales. In a charter county where the clerk of the circuit court does not conduct all electronic sales, the charter county shall be permitted to receive electronic deposits and payments related to sales it conducts, as well as to subject the winning bidder to a fee, consistent with the schedule in s. 28.24(11).
(c) The costs of electronic tax deed sales shall be added to the charges for the costs of sale under subsection (1) and paid by the certificateholder when filing an application for a tax deed.
History.s. 7, ch. 17457, 1935; CGL 1936 Supp. 999(142); s. 30, ch. 20722, 1941; ss. 1, 2, ch. 69-55; s. 1, ch. 72-268; s. 19, ch. 73-332; s. 9, ch. 79-584; s. 7, ch. 81-284; s. 191, ch. 85-342; s. 9, ch. 87-145; s. 1028, ch. 95-147; s. 12, ch. 98-139; s. 11, ch. 2001-252; s. 89, ch. 2003-402; s. 3, ch. 2008-194; s. 13, ch. 2009-204; s. 50, ch. 2011-151; s. 7, ch. 2014-211; s. 22, ch. 2021-116.
Note.Former ss. 194.21, 197.520, 197.266.

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Amendments to 197.542


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 197.542

Total Results: 13

Cason v. FLORIDA DEPT. OF MANAGEMENT SERVS.

944 So. 2d 306, 2006 WL 3313749

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Nov 16, 2006 | Docket: 2518596

Cited 30 times | Published

("Redemption of tax certificates"). [9] See § 197.542, Fla. Stat. (2006) ("Sale at public auction")

In Re General Development Corp.

147 B.R. 610, 6 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 308, 1992 Bankr. LEXIS 1847

United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. | Filed: Nov 18, 1992 | Docket: 1721431

Cited 6 times | Published

is issued to the certificate holder. Fla.Stat. § 197.542 (1991). Q: Once a Tax Deed is issued to the Certificate

Hall v. Quigley (In Re Hall)

131 B.R. 213, 25 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 720, 1991 Bankr. LEXIS 1269, 1991 WL 170965

United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Florida | Filed: Aug 15, 1991 | Docket: 1829297

Cited 6 times | Published

December 2, 1990, pursuant to Florida Statute § 197.542, the property was sold at public sale and the

AGM Investors, LLC v. Business Law Group, P.A.

219 So. 3d 920, 2017 WL 1399764, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 5283

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 19, 2017 | Docket: 4820250

Cited 4 times | Published

auction at which AGM was the highest bidder. See § 197.542, Fla. Stat. (2009). AGM thereafter took title

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Charles Phillip Elliott, Charles O. Farrar, Receiver-Appellee, Kenneth J. Davis, Linda J. Davis, Leroy H. Moeller, as Personal Representative of the Estates of Adolph Hagstrom, Squire J. Kingston, Elizabeth Woods, Caroline Estelle, Lynnis H. McClain Ted Masco, Anita K. Hailey, Earl Setterblade, Francis Setterblade, Lloyd Schutzman, Shirley Schutzman, Albert C. Heil, Melvin Burkhardt, Rosa Ella Burkhardt, Howard Dore, Ruth Dore, Gerald J. Braun, Christie Braun, Monica Brooke Braun, C. Albert Ducharme Trust and Catherine F. Ducharme Trust, Seaton F. McDaniel Josephine McDaniel Trudy and Sidney Kleiner, Claimants-Appellants. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Charles Phillip Elliott, Charles O. Farrar, Receiver-Appellee, Melvin Burkhardt and Rosa Ella Burkhardt, Movants-Appellants

953 F.2d 1556, 16 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1150, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 2699

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Filed: Feb 27, 1992 | Docket: 559243

Cited 4 times | Published

certificate holder gets a tax deed to the property. § 197.542. Section 197.432(2) provides, "A lien created

United States v. Marion County, Fla.

826 F. Supp. 1400, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6061, 1993 WL 319597

District Court, M.D. Florida | Filed: Mar 31, 1993 | Docket: 1065846

Cited 3 times | Published

auction as set forth in the notice. Fla.Stat. § 197.542(1). The procurement of a valid tax deed extinguishes

In Re Droumtsekas

269 B.R. 463, 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1894, 2000 WL 33599623

United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida | Filed: Oct 4, 2000 | Docket: 1777104

Cited 2 times | Published

property will be sold to the highest bidder. § 197.542. Walker v. Palm Beach Commerce Center Associated

Robert R. Turner v. Sharon W. Jordan

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Filed: Sep 17, 2024 | Docket: 68398166

Published

Argued: Apr 19, 2024

2d 289, 292 (Fla. 2006); Fla. Stat. § 197.542(1)–(2). When an application for a tax

Srygley v. Capital Plaza, Inc.

82 So. 3d 1211, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 4483, 2012 WL 955506

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 22, 2012 | Docket: 2412342

Published

newspaper selected as provided in s. 197.402." Section 197.542(2), Florida Statutes (2009), requires that

Miller v. Knapp

823 So. 2d 203, 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 10342, 2002 WL 1625535

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 24, 2002 | Docket: 64816783

Published

defect in the statutory notice provision. Section 197.542(3) provides that notice of a tax deed sale

Ago

Florida Attorney General Reports | Filed: Sep 25, 1998 | Docket: 3255470

Published

and on what dates the notices were posted.6 Section 197.542(1), Florida Statutes, dictates that the lands

Walker v. Palm Beach Commerce Center Associated, Ltd.

614 So. 2d 1097, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 141, 1993 Fla. LEXIS 329, 1993 WL 64632

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 11, 1993 | Docket: 64694706

Published

property will be sold to the highest bidder. § 197.542. While the current collection scheme does differ

Securities & Exchange Commission v. Elliott

953 F.2d 1556, 1992 WL 22967

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Filed: Feb 27, 1992 | Docket: 66270285

Published

holder gets a tax deed *1559to the property. § 197.542. Section 197.-432(2) provides, “A lien created