How to Start a Tax Overages Business: A Step-by-Step Plan

A lot of people come to tax overages the same way: a video or a course says counties are sitting on millions in unclaimed money, and you can earn a cut by connecting it to the people it belongs to. Part of that is true. The money is real. But whether you can legally charge for helping, how much, and when, is decided state by state, and that is the part most pitches skip. This guide walks through the business as it actually works.

What tax overages are

When a property owner stops paying property taxes, the county eventually sells the property (or the tax debt) at a tax sale. If the winning bid is more than what was owed, the extra money does not belong to the county. It belongs to the former owner, and sometimes to lienholders or heirs. That leftover money goes by several names:

• Tax overages or tax sale overages — the common name in the investor and recovery world.
• Surplus funds — the most common name on county websites, especially in Florida.
• Excess funds — the word Georgia counties use.
• Excess proceeds — the term in Texas and California statutes.

They are all the same money. This matters for your business because when you search a county website or call a clerk, you need to use that state's word. A Georgia tax commissioner's office will not know what you mean by "overages list"; ask for the "excess funds list."

A simple example: a property owes $8,000 in back taxes and sells at auction for $45,000. After the taxes and the county's costs are paid, roughly $37,000 is left. That is the overage, and the former owner can claim it.

How a tax overages business makes money

The owner almost never knows the money exists. Notices go to the address on the tax roll, and on a property that just went through a tax sale that address is often years out of date. The owner may have moved, or died. So the business is a matching job: find the money, find the person it belongs to, and help them get it.

There are three common ways people get paid for that, and each one is legal in some states and restricted or banned in others:

1. Contingency fee. The owner signs an agreement, you help them file, and you receive a percentage when the claim pays. Many states cap that percentage. Some states do not let a non-attorney charge anything.
2. Buying the claim (assignment). You pay the owner now and take the right to collect the overage later. Some states allow this only after a waiting period and only on strict terms.
3. Working with an attorney. In states that limit non-attorneys, recovery work is done by or through a licensed attorney, under that state's attorney fee rules.

There is no single national fee percentage. Any training that quotes one number for every state is wrong somewhere. Our state-by-state guide to tax overages fee rules covers the states we have verified.

Step 1: Pick your state before anything else

Your state decides your business model, so choose it first. A few examples of how different the rules are:

• Texas: A non-attorney may not charge a fee to recover excess proceeds for an owner, and an attorney is capped at the lesser of 25% or $1,000. Buying the claim is allowed only under strict conditions: at least 36 days after the proceeds are deposited, in writing, not by phone or in-person solicitation, with at least 80% paid to the owner upfront.
• Florida: Florida caps recovery and assignee compensation (around 12% for assignees on foreclosure surplus). Tax-deed surplus has its own statute, so verify the details with a Florida attorney.
• California: The fee is capped at the greater of $2,500 or 5% of the amount recovered.
• Colorado: Recovery fees are capped at 20% after the statutory waiting period.
• Arizona: Recovery fees are capped at 30%.
• Georgia: We have not found a statutory fee cap. That does not mean there are no rules. Verify with a Georgia attorney before quoting any percentage.

Two things are worth noticing. First, a high cap is not automatically a good state: a state with a high cap but little published data, or short claim deadlines, can be harder to work than a lower-cap state with clean county lists. Second, these rules change. Confirm the current statute, and any registration or licensing requirement, before you sign your first owner.

Step 2: Find the overages (the lists)

Counties publish their surplus lists, usually on the clerk of court, tax collector, or tax commissioner website. Each list typically shows the former owner's name (where the county publishes it), the property, the sale date, and the amount being held. The catch is that every county formats and posts its list differently, updates on its own schedule, and some do not post one at all.

You have three options:

• Do it by hand. Visit each county's site, download its list, and track changes yourself. Free, but slow, and lists change as claims are paid.
• Request records. Where a county does not post a list, a public-records request will often get it.
• Use a compiled source. Our surplus funds list guide shows where each state publishes, and our county surplus lists are ready-made CSVs for the counties we cover.

Treat every amount as an estimate. Lists go stale: a balance may already be claimed, partly paid, or held for a competing lienholder. Always confirm a balance with the office holding the funds before you contact anyone.

Step 3: Check the claim deadline

Every overage has a deadline, and missing it can mean the money goes to the state or the county instead. In Texas, the former owner must file before the second anniversary of the sale. In Georgia, unclaimed excess funds are paid over to the state after five years. Other states are shorter, and some start the clock at a notice date rather than the sale. Use our surplus claim deadline lookup, and read why there are really four deadlines, not one.

Work the oldest claims that are still open first. They are the ones about to expire, and often the ones nobody else has reached.

Step 4: Find the owner (or the heirs)

This is where most of the work is. The address on the list is usually the one that already failed. You will need to:

• Skip trace the former owner to get a current phone number and mailing address.
• Check whether the owner has died. Many properties go to tax sale because the owner passed away and nobody kept paying.
• Identify the heirs if they have. Heirs can usually claim, but they often need to establish heirship through probate first, which takes time.

We cover this step in detail in how to find the owner of a tax overage.

Step 5: The agreement

If your state allows a fee, put it in a written agreement that follows that state's rules. Many states require the agreement to tell the owner, in plain words, that they can claim the money themselves for free. Leaving that out can make the agreement unenforceable. See our tax overages contract checklist for what to look for, and have an attorney in your state review your template before you use it.

Also check how your state lets you make first contact. Texas, for example, bars buying a claim through in-person or phone solicitation. Direct mail is the usual first touch.

Step 6: File the claim and get paid

The claim is filed with the office holding the funds: the clerk of court, county treasurer, tax commissioner, or in some states the court itself through a petition. Expect to provide ID, proof of ownership or heirship, and a notarized claim form. Processing often takes 30 days to several months, and a judge may need to approve it. Our excess proceeds claim guide covers the filing process.

What it costs to start

The appeal of this business is that you are not buying property. Your main costs are:

• Data: free if you collect county lists yourself; a paid list or subscription saves time.
• Skip tracing: usually a small per-lookup charge.
• Mail: letters to owners and heirs.
• Legal: an attorney to review your agreement for your state, and possibly business registration or licensing.
• Time: claims take months to pay, so plan for a gap between the work and the money.

We do not publish earnings figures, because results depend on your state, your county, the size of the overages, and how many owners you reach. Be skeptical of anyone who promises a number. More on that in is tax overages legit?

Frequently asked questions

Is tax overages a real business?

Yes. Tax sale surplus funds are real money held by counties, and helping former owners claim them is legal in many states. But fees are capped by state law, some states bar non-attorneys from charging a fee at all, and owners can always claim the money themselves for free.

Do I need a license for a tax overages business?

It depends on the state. Some states require registration or licensing, some limit recovery work to attorneys, and some have no specific rule. Check your state's statute and talk to a local attorney before you start.

How much can I charge for recovering tax overages?

There is no national rate. Examples: Texas bars non-attorneys from charging any fee; California caps the fee at the greater of $2,500 or 5%; Colorado caps it at 20%; Arizona at 30%. Verify your own state.

What is the difference between tax overages and foreclosure overages?

Tax overages come from a property sold for unpaid property taxes. Foreclosure (mortgage) overages come from a property sold because a mortgage went unpaid. The rules, the offices holding the money, and the fee limits can be different, so treat them as separate businesses.

Can the owner claim the money without me?

Yes, always. The owner can file the claim directly with the county at no cost. Many states require your agreement to say so.

Start with the lists

LienSuite is a data tool, not a recovery service: we do not file claims or act as a finder. What we do is take the slow part off your plate. The Excess Proceeds plan ($49.99/month) gives you our surplus catalog with claim deadlines and filing rules, skip tracing (25 lookups included each month), and free heir research. If you only need one county, a single county surplus list is $27, no subscription.

See which county surplus lists are available →

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Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Surplus amounts are estimates from public county records as of the last update and may be stale, claimed, or disbursed. Fee caps, waiting periods, and licensing rules vary by state and change over time; confirm them with an attorney licensed in your state. LienSuite is an independent software product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or associated with any third-party coach, author, podcast, course, community, or organization.