If your Manatee County property sold at a tax deed auction for more than the taxes owed, the overage is yours — not the county’s. Here is exactly who holds it, the deadline that applies, and how to claim it yourself for free.
Who holds the money, and until when
County seatBradenton, Florida · Tampa Bay region
Office holding the surplusManatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
Deadline120 days from the date on the Clerk’s notice of surplus, under F.S. §197.582. Lienholders are barred after day 120; the former owner has longer, until the funds are reported as unclaimed.
This county tells owners they don't need to pay anyone.
The Clerk publishes a notice that paid help is not required. That is accurate, and we agree with it — read it before you sign anything with anyone, including us.
What trips people up in Manatee County
Manatee runs an active fraud alert about impersonators of Jupiter Asset Recovery (JAR) filing fraudulent surplus claims. JAR is the company in The Florida Bar re: Advisory Opinion — Shore v. Wall, 265 So. 3d 447 (Fla. 2018), the case that arose from a Manatee County tax deed surplus interpleader.
Expect heightened scrutiny of any third-party paperwork in this county.
The Florida rules behind all of this
These apply statewide, not just in Manatee County:
The surplus is yours. When a tax deed sale brings more than the taxes owed, the excess belongs to the former owner. F.S. §197.582. The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the principle nationwide in Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023).
Governmental liens are paid first. Under §197.582(2)(a) the Clerk pays governmental units holding liens of record before anyone else. Note AGO 2020-01, which reads those units as entitled to payment even if they never file a request — so a county code lien may reduce your net whether or not it makes a claim.
Private lienholders are barred after 120 days. §197.582(5) bars every claim except the property owner’s after the 120th day. If a mortgage servicer, HOA or judgment creditor misses it, that interest is waived.
If nobody claims, the owner is presumed entitled. §197.582(9) creates a conclusive presumption in the titleholder’s favour when no claims arrive, and the Clerk then processes the funds under Chapter 717.
A code enforcement lien only counts if it runs against your parcel. In Green Terrace E33, LLC v. Abruzzo (Fla. 4th DCA 2024) the former owner beat a city code lien because the lien ran against condominium common elements, not the unit. Worth checking against any lien claimed on your property.
Nothing here is legal advice. It is the statute and the county’s own published process, with links so you can read both yourself.
Want it handled instead?
You stay the legal claimant and the named payee on the Clerk’s disbursement. In Florida the claim is prepared and filed by an independent licensed attorney whom you engage directly; we verify the surplus, assemble your documents, and track the 120-day deadline — and we’re paid only after you are: a flat 25% of recovered funds (30% on complex cases — probate, competing liens, multiple heirs, or a required court petition), $0 upfront, three-business-day cancellation. Where a state caps recovery fees below that, the cap applies instead.