How to Determine If You Have a Tax Lien in Florida

You can search for tax liens on your property.

Various government entities can file tax liens on your property. If you fail to pay property taxes, the city and/or county (depending on which one assessed the tax that is past due) will place a lien on the property for the amount of the unpaid property taxes. If you fail to pay income taxes, the local, state or federal government can place a lien on your property for the amount of the unpaid income taxes. Eventually, the government entity with the tax lien can sell or auction your property to obtain money for the back taxes. To determine if you have a tax lien on your property in Florida, you will need to conduct a tax lien search for the property in question.

Instructions

1. Determine which Florida county government office maintains property records for your county. For example, the tax assessor's office, registrar of deeds or county clerk's office.

2. Initiate the search by contacting and/or visiting the appropriate county office where property records are maintained. Usually, there is clerical staff on hand that can show you how to look up the records you need if you do not already know how.

3. Look up and review the property records, and make copies of any records that document a tax lien or the fact that there is no tax lien.

4. Contact the government entities to which you owe income taxes, and inquire if they have filed a tax lien on your property. Most tax agencies are willing to provide information over the phone or the Internet and usually will follow up in writing if there is a tax lien.

5. Determine how long the tax lien has been on the property and when the property might be sold or auctioned. This information helps you determine how much time you have to save the property by paying off the back taxes before the property is sold.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not want to conduct the tax lien search yourself, you can hire a title company to conduct the search for you.

References

• FrontDoor: How to Check Property Liens
• Floridataxsale-Forecloseure-Info: Florida Deed Recording
• Floridataxsale-Forecloseure-Info: Public Records, Tax Deeds, Research Tools