Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez said Monday his office has begun accepting bitcoin for property tax payments, both online and in person, while converting every transaction into dollars before the money reaches the county.
Fernandez announced the change in a statement on the Tax Collector’s website, calling it a way to give property owners another option without putting public funds into the asset. Payers can select a cryptocurrency option during online checkout or request it at the counter, then connect a supported exchange account or digital wallet and authorize the payment.
A third-party system converts the bitcoin into U.S. dollars at the time of payment, the office said, so it never holds, invests in or manages any cryptocurrency. The office said it still receives the full dollar amount owed and records the transactions in its standard payment reports, without county workers maintaining digital wallets.
“Government must keep up with the times and the needs of the people we serve,” Fernandez said. “By 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.”
He added that the office is “embracing new technology without compromising our responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars.” Whether someone pays with bitcoin or a conventional method, he said, “our office receives the full amount owed in U.S. dollars.”
The office did not name the payment processor or say whether bitcoin payments carry a convenience fee. Card and mobile-wallet payments already carry a nonrefundable 2.50% fee online, with a $2.50 minimum, the office’s payment-methods page shows. Traditional options, including checks, cards, cash and fee-free eChecks, remain available. The announcement covers property taxes, and the option is voluntary.
A 4% discount is still on the clock
The change landed in the middle of Florida’s property tax collection season. Miami-Dade opened the 2026 tax roll on Oct. 30 and is urging owners to pay by Nov. 30 to lock in a 4% early-payment discount under Florida law. The discount falls to 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February, with the full amount due in March. Unpaid bills generally become delinquent April 1.
Under the office’s existing rules, discounts are based on the date a payment is submitted online or in person. Fernandez has been promoting a “Save the Max” campaign around that calendar, noting that an eligible $5,000 tax bill would save $200 if paid in November. Payments can be made at the office’s 13 locations, through T-Connect mobile units or online around the clock at mdctaxcollector.gov.
Miami’s long courtship of bitcoin payments
The move closes a loop the county opened years ago. In 2021, Miami-Dade Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins put forward a resolution to study letting residents pay county taxes and fees with bitcoin, after Miami Mayor Francis Suarez pushed to let residents pay city fees and taxes in bitcoin and explored paying city workers in it. The city of Miami also launched MiamiCoin, a token tied to the Stacks protocol, as part of that campaign.
Fernandez, elected in November 2024, had earlier served on Miami-Dade’s Cryptocurrency Task Force, his official biography notes.
The office called Miami-Dade one of the first government agencies in the country to accept the payments. Colorado has taken cryptocurrency for state taxes since 2022, converting it to dollars through a third party, and Utah later opened a similar option for individual income taxes. Detroit announced in 2024 that it would start accepting cryptocurrency for city taxes and fees in mid-2025, also settling in dollars.
Florida lawmakers, meanwhile, revived a 2026 bill to create a state Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve after a 2025 effort was withdrawn. The Senate measure, CS/SB 1038, died in an appropriations committee in March and never became law.
For now, Miami-Dade is offering a narrower door: bitcoin can be used to pay the property tax bill, and the county keeps none of it.
