Sarasota tax office returns nearly $18 million to county in excess fees

The Sarasota County Tax Collector’s office is returning $17.8 million in excess fees to the county.

The office, in a statement from Sarasota County Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates, says the money will go back to the county’s taxing districts. That includes $16.3 million to the Sarasota County Commission. The returned funds set an all-time record, the release states. 

In her message to the county commissioners Ford-Coates said the excess fees represent “what the private sector would call ‘profit,’” adding “this is the highest percentage returned of all Florida Tax Collectors.”  

Ford-Coates says her office, over the past 10 years, has returned nearly $114 million in excess fees to fund county expenses. “I am pleased to report that my office cost per capita remains the lowest of all Florida Tax Collectors,” Ford-Coates says in the release. “One reason for our cost effectiveness stems from my office’s extensive use of technology, including the use of electronic payment methods.” 

In the last 10 years, the release states, over 2 million transactions have been paid at SarasotaTaxCollector.com totaling approximately $2.5 billion.

The Sarasota County Tax Collector’s office has four locations in Sarasota County. The office handles property, tourist and business taxes; motor vehicle, vessel and manufactured home titles and registration; driver's licenses; disabled parking permits; and hunting and fishing licenses.