Miami-Dade opens property tax payments to bitcoin

On Monday, Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez announced that his office now accepts bitcoin for property tax payments, available both online and in person. Each transaction is converted to U.S. dollars before the funds are delivered to the county.

The announcement was made in a statement on the Tax Collector27s website, where Fernandez described it as providing property owners with an additional option while ensuring public money is not invested in the cryptocurrency. Taxpayers can choose a cryptocurrency payment method during online checkout or request it in person, then link a supported exchange account or digital wallet and authorize the transaction.

According to the office, a third-party system converts bitcoin to U.S. dollars at the moment of payment, meaning the county never holds, invests in, or manages any cryptocurrency. The full dollar amount owed is still received by the office, and transactions are recorded in standard payment reports, with no county employees managing digital wallets.

22Government must keep up with the times and the needs of the people we serve,22 Fernandez said. 22By accepting Bitcoin as a payment option, we are giving property owners another way to pay their taxes, whether online or in person, while continuing to offer the traditional payment methods they already know and trust.22

Fernandez also stated that the office is 22embracing new technology without compromising our responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars.22 He said that whether someone pays with bitcoin or a conventional method, 22our office receives the full amount owed in U.S. dollars.22

The office declined to identify the payment processor or disclose whether a convenience fee applies to bitcoin transactions. The office27s payment-methods page indicates that card and mobile-wallet payments already incur a nonrefundable 2.50% fee online, subject to a $2.50 minimum. Traditional payment methods such as checks, cards, cash, and fee-free eChecks are still offered. The option applies to property taxes and is voluntary.

A 4% discount is still on the clock

This update arrived amid Florida27s property tax collection season. Miami-Dade opened the 2026 tax roll on Oct.a030 and is encouraging property owners to pay by Nov.a030 to secure a 4% early-payment discount as provided by Florida law. The discount decreases to 3% in December, 2% in January, and 1% in February, with the full amount due in March. Unpaid taxes typically become delinquent on Aprila01.

According to the office27s existing rules, discounts are determined by the date a payment is submitted, whether online or in person. Fernandez has been running a 22Save the Max22 campaign based on that schedule, pointing out that a qualifying $5,000 tax bill could save $200 if settled in November. Payments are accepted at the office27s 13 locations, via T-Connect mobile units, or online at any time at mdctaxcollector.gov.

Miami27s long courtship of bitcoin payments

This development closes a cycle the county initiated years earlier. In 2021, Miami-Dade Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins introduced a resolution to explore allowing residents to use bitcoin for county taxes and fees, following Miami Mayor Francis Suarez27s push for residents to pay city fees and taxes in bitcoin and his exploration of paying city workers in the cryptocurrency. The city of Miami also launched MiamiCoin, a token based on the Stacks protocol, as part of that effort.

Fernandez, who was elected in November 2024, previously served on Miami-Dade27s Cryptocurrency Task Force, according to his official biography.

The office stated that Miami-Dade is among the first government agencies in the nation to accept such payments. Colorado has been accepting cryptocurrency for state taxes since 2022, converting it to dollars via a third party, and Utah subsequently introduced a similar option for individual income taxes. Detroit announced in 2024 that it would begin accepting cryptocurrency for city taxes and fees in mid-2025, also settling in dollars.

Separately, Florida lawmakers revived a 2026 bill to establish a state Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve after a 2025 attempt was pulled. The Senate bill, CS/SB 1038, died in an appropriations committee in March and did not become law.

For the time being, Miami-Dade is offering a limited option: bitcoin can be used to pay the property tax bill, and the county retains none of it.