The county may be holding money that's yours, and most people never find out before the deadline passes.
Star Thing LLC · St. Petersburg HQ · Nationwide · Attorney-assisted county filings
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Your money, back in your hands
What tax-sale surplus is & how the fee works · tap to readYour money, back in your hands. You stay the legal claimant, start to finish.
A service agreement, not an assignment of your claim. Independent licensed attorneys assist with the county paperwork on every claim we take. In our home state of Florida, claims run under F.S. §197.582.
You can file it yourself, free
The Clerk accepts owner-filed claims at no cost. Self-filing and engaging an operator are both valid paths. The choice belongs to the owner.
Confirm it's real first
Surplus is public record. The Clerk confirms existence and amount by phone or in person to any caller with the tax deed file number.
You pay nothing until you're paid
No recovery, no fee — and no legitimate operator ever charges upfront. Anyone demanding a “processing fee” or rushing you to act within hours is a red flag. Cancel within 3 business days, any reason.
We’re not the county or the state
A private company, never claiming otherwise. You sign the claim documents; we do the legwork; independent attorneys file where the law requires. The surplus is yours either way — we’re one optional way to recover it.
| Amount Recovered | Our Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard claims | 25% | One flat rate, whatever the claim size. Most of the legal work is done by the independent attorney you engage directly; our fee covers verification, document assembly, deadline tracking, and county coordination |
| Complex cases | +5% | Probate, competing liens, multiple heirs, interpleader, or a required court petition — 30% total, only where state law permits, identified in writing before you sign |
| State fee caps | Cap applies | If your state caps recovery fees below this schedule, you pay the capped rate. Arkansas, Indiana, and Nevada primary residences cap fees at 10%, with no complex-case addition. We do not offer paid recovery in Texas (attorney-only fees by statute), Washington (surplus stays with the county under RCW 84.64.080(10) and reverts to the county, not the state, after three years — we point owners straight to the treasurer), or Michigan (claims are non-transferable by statute and class settlements pay many owners directly — we’ll point you to the right administrator for free), and we take no cases on funds already escheated to a state unclaimed-property program |
See your numbers before you decide
Free calculators · tap to openIs your money still claimable?
Is your money still there — and how long do you have to claim it?
Enter a date or two and we'll estimate whether your money is still claimable and how long you have. The Clerk is the one source of truth — confirm with them. Florida rules (120-day window); other states vary — see every state's process.
Who are you filing as?
Do you have the Clerk's Notice of Surplus letter?
Estimate only. The deadline runs from the Clerk's mailed notice date, which only the Clerk's file confirms. Verify your exact status and amount with the county Clerk of Court before relying on any date here. Not legal advice.
Net recovery calculator
If we recover your surplus, what do you keep?
Enter the surplus amount; see what you'd keep with us — with the free self-file path right next to it.
You keep
$0
Estimate only. Fee applies to the amount actually recovered, after any liens or statutory clerk/county charges (in Florida, F.S. §28.24) are deducted; where your state caps recovery fees, the cap applies instead. Self-filing with the county is always free. Not legal or tax advice; surplus may be taxable depending on your situation.
Where these rules come from — check them yourself
- Your right to the surplus — nationwide. In Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023), a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held that surplus value above the tax debt is the former owner's property, protected by the Fifth Amendment. Read the opinion.
- In Florida specifically. When a tax deed sale brings more than the taxes owed, the excess belongs to the former owner. Florida Statutes §197.582. Other states have their own statutes and deadlines — see the state-by-state list.
- Self-filing is free. The county Clerk accepts owner-filed surplus claims at no cost — the same statute and the Clerk's disbursement process. Look up your county Clerk of Court directly.
- The claim window (Florida: 120 days). Lienholders are notified and have a limited window; owners have longer, until the funds are reported as unclaimed. See §197.582 and the Clerk's notice of surplus. Other states range from months (e.g. Texas: two years under Tax Code §34.04) to roughly a decade (e.g. North Carolina); New Jersey now requires a court demand before final judgment.
- What happens if it's unclaimed. Unclaimed surplus is reported to the Florida Dept. of Financial Services and held under Chapter 717 (unclaimed property) — a slower, separate process.
- Clerk charges before payout. Statutory Clerk fees come out before disbursement. Florida Statutes §28.24.
These are the actual statutes that govern your claim — not our interpretation. Read them yourself, or call your county Clerk; you never have to take our word for it.
What this means for you, step by step
Where your money goes & where we help · tap to readYour surplus doesn't sit in one place forever. Here's what each stage means for your money, and exactly where we can help. Star Thing works the county (Clerk) stage only. Tap any step to see how it works.
When your property sold at the tax deed auction for more than the unpaid taxes, the extra didn't go to the county to keep, the overage is your surplus, and by law it belongs to you as the former owner. The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this right nationwide in Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023); in Florida it runs under F.S. §197.582. Most people never find out it exists.
The county — in Florida the Clerk of Court, elsewhere the treasurer, tax collector, or court — holds the surplus and notifies the people who may be owed. Money is paid out in a set order: any lienholders first by priority, then you as the former owner. The good news is it's sitting there waiting; the catch is the clock is running.
A documented claim goes to the county, and the window is strict — in Florida generally 120 days from the Clerk's notice; other states range from months to years, and some require a court petition. Miss it and the right can be lost. This is the stage we handle for you. Licensed attorneys assist with the paperwork with the counties — some counties and courts only accept attorney-prepared or attorney-filed claims. You stay the legal claimant. Where the county accepts it, you sign the county's own claim form and we prepare and transmit it at your direction; where a court or the state requires an attorney, the attorney you hire directly files. We track the deadline, and we're paid only after you are.
If the window closes unclaimed, the county reports your money to your state's unclaimed-property program — in Florida, the Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property under Chapter 717. It's still yours, but it's now a slower, separate process, which is why acting at stage 3 matters.
You can always claim State-held funds yourself for free. If you want paid help at that point, many states restrict who can be paid to help — Florida requires a Florida-licensed attorney, CPA, or registered private investigator (F.S. §717.1400), and other states have similar licensing rules. We don't work State-held funds and charge no fee on them, we'll tell you that you can claim free, or point you to a licensed rep.
Steps 1–3, while the surplus is still with the county. You stay the claimant; where a filing needs an attorney, you hire one directly and that attorney represents you. You owe nothing unless you're paid.
Steps 4–5, after the money escheats to the State. That's a different law and a different kind of licensed representative, so we take no fee, and simply point you the right way.
Where we work: all 50 states
Nationwide, attorney-assisted · Florida directory · tap to openSince Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023), the right to tax-sale surplus applies nationwide — but every state runs its own process, deadlines, and rules on who may file. That's why licensed attorneys assist with the paperwork with the counties on every claim we take. Florida remains our home base and deepest coverage.
The full county directory: every Clerk of Court linked so you can verify your surplus directly, plus a step-by-step toolkit to check debts against the surplus, the 120-day window, and how escheatment works. →
Nationwide Every U.S. state + DCThe state-by-state list with a free do-it-yourself toolkit: look up any county's surplus lists, verify amounts and deadlines, and check liens and debts against the surplus — plus known deadlines and the attorney-only states. →
Your privacy, in plain language
Privacy & compliance · federal + state · tap to readWe help former owners recover tax-sale surplus under a written service agreement, nationwide, with independent licensed attorneys assisting on the county paperwork on every claim we take. Here’s exactly how your money, your data, and our contact with you are handled, and the laws behind each.
Yes. You remain the legal claimant the entire time, and we never take ownership of your claim. Wherever the county permits, you are the named payee on the disbursement; where a court or an attorney trust account handles the payout instead, funds are released only under your own signed written direction. Where the county accepts it, you sign the county's own claim form and we prepare and transmit it at your direction — and where a court or the state requires an attorney, the attorney you hire directly files. We never take title to your claim or your funds. In states that restrict who may represent a claimant (some counties deal only with the claimant or their attorney), the attorney handles the filing directly.
Our fee is a percentage of what we recover, fixed and disclosed in writing before you sign, and invoiced only after the recovered funds reach you — payment is due within 10 business days of that. You owe nothing if we recover nothing. To be straight about the law: the tax-deed surplus statute (F.S. §197.582) sets the claim process and the 120-day deadline but does not itself cap a recovery agent’s fee while the money is held by the county clerk. A statutory fee cap (generally 30%) applies under the Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act (F.S. §717.135) only once funds have escheated to the State’s Division of Unclaimed Property — and we do not take escheated-fund cases at all; at that stage you file directly with the state for free, and we will tell you so. Other states set their own caps and rules, and where a cap applies, it controls. Either way, you always have the option to file the claim yourself for free.
It varies by state. In Florida, under F.S. §197.582, the clerk holds tax-deed surplus and mails a notice; claims generally must be filed within 120 days of that notice, or the right can be lost. Elsewhere the window ranges from months to years, some states route claims through a court petition, and some counties only accept claims from the owner or the owner’s attorney. We track those deadlines, and independent attorneys — whom you engage directly where required — handle the legal filings so the claim isn’t denied on a technicality.
No, you keep every exit. You can cancel within 3 business days for any reason, file the claim yourself for free at any time, or hire your own attorney. The one thing the agreement asks: for 12 months, don’t hand our research file to a competing recovery firm to close the same claim — and if that happens, you reimburse only our documented out-of-pocket costs, never the fee. It is not a non-compete, and it never limits self-filing, hiring your own lawyer, or joining a class action. If you self-file in good faith without using our work, you owe us nothing.
Only what we need to confirm a surplus exists and file your claim: your name and contact details, the property, and the documents the clerk requires to prove you’re the rightful claimant. We use public county and court records to identify surpluses. We do not sell your personal information.
Only the parties needed to recover your money, the county clerk or comptroller handling the claim, and our own document/hosting providers under contract. We share when the law requires it, and never hand your data to unrelated marketers.
Florida’s comprehensive privacy law (the Digital Bill of Rights) only applies to companies above $1 billion in revenue, so it doesn’t bind a small firm like ours, but we honor the spirit of it anyway. Email recover@starthingwind.com and you can ask us to show you what we hold, correct it, or delete it once your claim is resolved. Federally, the FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive practices, and California residents are covered by the CCPA/CPRA if they reach us.
Only as long as needed to recover your funds and keep the records the law requires for a closed claim, then we delete or de-identify it. We protect it with reasonable administrative and technical safeguards and follow Florida’s data-breach notification law if a breach ever requires it.
When public records show a surplus may be owed, we may reach out by phone, text, or mail. We follow the stricter of the federal TCPA and Florida’s Telephone Solicitation Act (F.S. §501.059, §501.616): calls only 8 AM–8 PM local time, no more than 3 in 24 hours on the same subject, and no autodialed or pre-recorded calls or texts without your prior express written consent.
Text STOP to any text, reply UNSUBSCRIBE to any email, or just tell us on a call, we honor every opt-out right away and add you to our internal do-not-contact list. We also respect the National Do Not Call Registry.
Commercial emails follow the federal CAN-SPAM Act: honest subject and sender, our real mailing address, and a working opt-out we honor within 10 business days. We never sell or rent your email address.
Star Thing Wind is the surplus-recovery service of Star Thing LLC, a Delaware limited liability company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida and operating nationwide. Mailing address: 7901 4th St N #30711, St. Petersburg, FL 33702. We are a recovery service acting under a written agreement with you — we work with independent licensed attorneys who assist with the paperwork with the counties, but Star Thing itself is not a law firm, and we are not the government. Where a state or county requires attorney filing or representation, you engage the attorney directly and that attorney represents you — not us; unless and until you do, no attorney-client relationship is formed, and Star Thing does not give legal advice. Star Thing LLC is registered and active with the Florida Division of Corporations (Doc. No. M26000006267).
No. We are a private company. The county (clerk, treasurer, or tax collector, depending on the state) and your state’s unclaimed-property program hold and disburse surplus and unclaimed funds, and you can always file a claim yourself directly with them at no cost. We offer to do the work for you under a disclosed, contingent fee, your choice.
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This summary explains our practices in plain language; it isn’t legal advice, and you always have the right to pursue a surplus claim yourself directly with the county or your state’s unclaimed-property program at no cost. Questions or requests: recover@starthingwind.com. For law firms, Clerks, counties, and counsel: the statutes we operate under are cited throughout; entity records are on Sunbiz (Star Thing LLC, Doc. No. M26000006267); verification documents and W-9 available on request. Last reviewed July 25, 2026.
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