A Palm Coast and Flagler County Homeowner Question

I’m behind on my property taxes.
Can I still sell my house?

Need to sell quickly? Talk to me directly

Seller questions › Selling when you’re behind on property taxes
Yes.

Back taxes get paid at closing, the same way a mortgage does. The house isn’t stuck. What matters is how far along it is. Here’s how unpaid property taxes work in Florida, the ways to catch up, and what changes if it gets close to an auction. Selling before an auction keeps your equity in your hands.

The short version

You can sell.
The unpaid taxes, interest and fees come out of the sale at closing, like any other payoff.
Nobody takes the house in the first year.
Unpaid taxes turn into a tax certificate that an investor buys. You still own the house.
The clock is about two years.
After that, the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed, which leads to an auction.
You can pay it off any time before the auction.
The amount grows with interest the longer it sits.
Help exists.
Flagler County’s Tax Collector runs a homestead tax deferral program for owners whose taxes are high compared to their income.

How it works when the taxes aren’t paid

Florida follows the same steps every year. Knowing which step you’re on tells you how much time you have.

1. November: the bill comes due
Property taxes are due starting November 1. Paying early in the season gets a small discount.
2. April: the taxes are late
Taxes that are still unpaid become delinquent in April. The Tax Collector mails a notice by the end of April saying a tax certificate may be sold.
3. The tax certificate
Investors bid on a certificate for your unpaid taxes. The one who accepts the lowest interest rate wins, and the rate can’t go above 18% a year. That investor paid your taxes. You still own the house. What you owe now is the taxes plus that interest and fees.
4. The two-year mark
Two years after the certificate is issued, the holder can apply for a tax deed. That starts the process toward an auction.
5. The auction notice
At least 20 days before a tax deed sale, you get notice by certified mail, and the sheriff serves it to you or posts it on the property.

Yes, you can sell

At any point before the auction, you can sell the house. The title company pays off the certificate, the interest and the fees from the sale, the same way it pays off a mortgage. Whatever is left after the payoffs is yours.

Here’s what most people don’t realize. A sale lets you pick the price and keep the difference. An auction doesn’t. If the house goes to a tax deed sale, the bidding decides what it sells for.

Florida does protect a homestead at auction: the opening bid has to include half of the home’s assessed value. And money left over after an auction can be claimed. But a sale you control almost always leaves you more than a sale you don’t.

Ways to catch up without selling

Selling isn’t the only answer. If you want to keep the house, these are the options.

Pay it off. You can pay the full amount, with interest and fees, any time before the auction. The Tax Collector can tell you the exact figure. The sooner it’s paid, the less interest it adds.

Ask about the homestead tax deferral program

Flagler County’s Tax Collector runs a homestead tax deferral program for homeowners whose property taxes are high compared to their household income.

If you qualify, part or all of the tax can be put off. For most applicants, it’s the part above 5% of household income. For owners 65 and older, it’s the part above 3%. The deferred tax becomes a lien on the house instead of going to a tax certificate sale.

There are rules about how much you owe against the house, and you apply every year by March 31. The Tax Collector’s program page has the details.

If it goes to auction

In Flagler County, tax deed sales are held online through the Clerk of Court. The list of upcoming sales is public.

Don’t wait for the auction notice

Once the notice arrives, there are as few as 20 days left. That’s not much time to sell a house, find a buyer or arrange a payoff.

If it does sell at auction and money is left over, the Clerk mails a notice. Most other claimants have 120 days to claim it. If nobody else claims, Florida law presumes the owner of record is entitled to it. Make sure the Clerk has an address where you’ll get your mail.

My property taxes jumped after I bought the house.
Is something wrong?

Usually not. The bill you saw before you bought was the previous owner’s, with their exemptions and their cap.

1. What changed at the sale
On January 1 after a house sells, the previous owner’s homestead exemption and their 3% cap end. The house is then assessed at its full value. That is the most common reason a new owner’s first full bill is higher.
2. Check your own records
Look up your parcel with the Flagler County Property Appraiser: the assessed value, the just value and whether your homestead exemption is on it.
3. Apply for your own homestead
If the house is your permanent home, apply by March 1. It can take as much as $50,000 off the taxable value and starts your own 3% cap. Coming from another Florida homestead, you can also carry some of your old savings with you.
4. Question the value if it looks wrong
The Property Appraiser mails a proposed tax notice every August. You can ask for an informal review, or file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of that notice being mailed.
5. Who answers which question
Your value and exemptions: the Property Appraiser, 386-313-4150. Your bill, payment and the deferral program above: the Flagler County Tax Collector. Taxes come due starting November 1 and are late in April.

If the higher tax bill raised your mortgage payment, here’s how escrow and shortages work.

How this works in Flagler County

Your tax bill, what you owe and the deferral program
Flagler County Tax Collector.
Tax deed applications
The Tax Collector’s tax deed process page.
Auctions and money left over after a sale
The Flagler County Clerk’s tax deed sales page, or the Tax Deed line at 386-313-4375.
Your homestead exemption and assessed value
Flagler County Property Appraiser.

What I’d do first

Find out which step you’re on. Ask the Tax Collector which years are unpaid, whether a certificate was sold, and whether anyone has applied for a tax deed.

Then you can decide with real numbers. Pay it off, apply for the deferral, or sell before an auction and keep the difference. Which one is right depends on what you owe against what the house is worth.

See what you’d actually walk away with

A free calculator that puts your payoff, any tax lien or judgment, and the cost of selling against what the house would actually sell for.

No email required, nothing to sign.

Run your numbers →
Robert T. Szigeti

Still have questions? Just ask.

I buy houses. I’d rather you know how this works before you talk to anyone, me included. If the answer is a payoff or the deferral program, keep the house. And if you want to talk it through, there’s no contract in a phone call. Nothing to sign, nothing to agree to.

Robert T. Szigeti · Investor · Problem Solver · Palm Coast, FL
robert@therobertszigeti.com386-307-3179
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Where this comes from · checked October 17, 2026
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