A foreclosure sale enforces a mortgage or a lien and wipes out only what's junior to it — property tax liens and senior liens survive. A tax deed sale enforces unpaid property taxes and wipes out almost everything, with government liens as the one exception. Same courthouse, sometimes the same day, opposite lien-survival rules.
A foreclosure sale exists to collect on a mortgage or a judgment lien. A tax deed sale exists to collect unpaid property taxes. They can run through the same clerk's office, sometimes on the same auction day, and bidders new to Florida routinely confuse which rules apply to which listing.
A foreclosure wipes out the loan being foreclosed and any lien junior to it — a senior mortgage or a property tax lien rides through. A tax deed wipes out nearly everything, mortgages included, with an unpaid governmental lien as the narrow exception.
Bidding on a tax deed assuming foreclosure rules — or the reverse — is how a bidder inherits a lien they never priced in. Confirm which sale type you're actually looking at, then confirm what survives that specific sale, before you calculate a number to bid.
Fla. Stat. §197.552 — official text
"Except as specifically provided in this chapter, no right, interest, restriction, or other covenant shall survive the issuance of a tax deed, except that a lien of record held by a municipal or county governmental unit, special district, or community development district, when such lien is not satisfied as of the disbursement of proceeds of sale under the provisions of s. 197.582, shall survive the issuance of a tax deed."
Fla. Stat. §197.122 — official text
"All taxes imposed pursuant to the State Constitution and laws of this state shall be a first lien, superior to all other liens, on any property against which the taxes have been assessed and shall continue in full force from January 1 of the year the taxes were levied until discharged by payment or until barred under chapter 95."
A tax deed — it clears nearly everything except certain unpaid governmental liens; a foreclosure only clears what's junior to the loan being foreclosed.
Yes, property tax liens keep first-lien priority through a foreclosure sale.
No, a mortgage does not survive the issuance of a tax deed.
This is general educational information, not legal, financial, or investment advice. Auction data and value estimates should always be independently verified. Consult a licensed Florida attorney and title professional before bidding on any property.