Each year the Tax Collector is required by Florida statute to hold the annual Tax Certificate Sale on or before June of each year.  

For more information or to register as a bidder, please visit the WCTC Auction website at: http://waltontaxsale.com/ or copy and paste into your browser.

The Sale

A tax certificate sale is not a sale of land.  It is a sale of a legal instrument that constitutes an enforceable first lien against property that is created through the sale of a tax certificate. Purchasing a tax certificate on a parcel does not entitle the certificate holder to enter the property or to initiate contact with the property owner.  The sale is conducted in a reverse style auction with participants bidding the interest rate downward starting at 18%.  Bids are accepted in increments of a minimum of ¼ of 1%.  The sequence number, as listed in the advertisement, will be called and the certificate will be awarded to the buyer who is willing to pay the taxes, interest, and associated costs at the lowest rate of interest.

Certificate buyers need to be aware that there are risks involved with buying tax certificates, and those risks are borne by the certificate holder.

Advertising

All property, on which taxes remain delinquent, will be advertised in the DeFuniak Springs Herald for three consecutive week, prior to the scheduled tax sale which occurs, on or before June 1 of each year.  Copies of the advertisement are also available in all Walton County Tax Collectors' Offices, while they last. 

Bankruptcy

The Tax Collector and her employees are not attorneys and are barred by both Federal and State Law from giving legal advice.

When the Tax Collector's office is notified of a bankruptcy petition being filed, we are obligated to notify the Court, debtor, debtor's attorney, and Trustee, of the certificate holder's interest in the bankruptcy case.  We will also notify the certificate holder of the bankruptcy petition and we suggest you seek advice from your own legal counsel concerning the bankruptcy procedure, proof of claims, interest rates, payment schedules, defaults, etc.

The automatic stay bars the Tax Collector from any form of enforcement or collection proceedings.  All activities in process at the time the notice is received will be terminated immediately.