Highlands County Tax Collector

What Highlands County Tax Collector does

The Highlands County Tax Collector's Office is an independent Florida constitutional office established in 1885 and currently led by elected Tax Collector Eric T. Zwayer, who has held the position since 2010. The office serves all Highlands County residents through three physical locations in Sebring (headquarters), Avon Park, and Lake Placid, with the Sebring location offering drive-thru service for property tax payments, registration renewals, and garage sale permits. It is responsible for collecting and disbursing over $150 million annually in property taxes, tangible personal property taxes, and tourist development taxes on behalf of state and local authorities, while operating on a $4.2 million annual budget with a team of over 40 employees.

The office's core products span property tax administration, motorist services (driver licenses, vehicle titles, vessel registration, disabled parking permits), hunting and fishing license sales as an agent for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, concealed weapon license application processing, birth certificate issuance, and garage sale permits. The technology stack is built on integrated third-party vendor platforms rather than proprietary systems: highlands.floridatax.us and MyEasyGov handle tax and registration payments, the FLHSMV portal handles driver license renewals, GoOutdoorsFlorida handles hunting and fishing licenses, RealTaxLien and RealTDA handle tax certificate sales, and an As-Me scheduling system handles appointments. The website includes multilingual support and a UserWay accessibility widget for WCAG 2.1 compliance.

The business model is a constitutionally mandated monopoly operating on transaction fees and statutorily set government service charges. Fee schedules for driver licenses, vehicle titles, concealed weapon licenses, and vessel registrations are established by Florida statute, while credit and debit card convenience fees (3% or $0.50 minimum) are set by third-party payment processors. Early property tax payment discounts (4% in November declining to 1% in February) drive cash-flow timing. The office is a member of the Florida Tax Collectors Association and reports to state agencies including the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, but operates independently as a county constitutional office.

Name

Highlands County Tax Collector

Legal name

Highlands County Tax Collector's Office

Website

https://hctaxcollector.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1885

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Highlands County Tax Collector's Office is a Florida constitutional government office that collects and disburses over $150 million annually in property, tangible personal property, and tourist development taxes, and provides driver licensing, vehicle titling, hunting and fishing licenses, and related state-agency services to Highlands County residents through three physical offices and online portals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Tax Collection Services

NAICS

Public Finance Activities (921130), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIACAD

Municipal Tax & Revenue Administration (Local)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIADAO

Revenue Systems, E-Filing & Digital Tax Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Tax, Revenue & Customs Administration

SECONDARYBPAJAEAH

Government & Tax-Lien/Tax-Deed Property Auctions

Business & Public Services/Real Estate Services (Brokerage, Property Management)/Real Estate Auction Services

SECONDARYBPAIADAH

Excise, VAT/Sales Tax & Indirect Tax Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Tax, Revenue & Customs Administration

Keywords

• Property tax collection
• Motor vehicle registration
• Hunting fishing licenses
• County government services
• Tax payment processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sebring

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tax Collection Services: As an elected constitutional officer, the Tax Collector collects and disburses over $150 million annually to state and local authorities, including property taxes, tangible personal property taxes, and tourist development taxes
2. Government Fees and Commissions: Fees collected for services including driver licenses, vehicle titles and registrations, concealed weapon licenses, birth certificates, garage sale permits, and hunting/fishing licenses. Processing fees for credit/debit card payments (3% or $0.50 minimum) are charged by third-party vendors

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Highlands County Tax Collector is a constitutional government office that collects and disburses property taxes for Highlands County, Florida. It also provides a range of citizen-facing services including motor vehicle (DMV) registration and titles, hunting and fishing licenses, concealed weapon licenses, garage sale permits, birth certificates, and other county-mandated services. The office operates with a $4.2M budget and processes over $150M in collections and disbursements annually.

Product overview

The Highlands County Tax Collector's Office provides government administrative services as an elected constitutional officer. The core offering consists of property tax collection and motorist/DMV services, supplemented by various specialized services. The main products include Property Tax Services (property tax collection, tax certificates, tax deeds, installment payment plans, and homestead deferral), Motorist Services (driver licenses, vehicle titles, vessel registration, disabled parking permits), and ancillary services including Hunting & Fishing Licenses, Concealed Weapon Licenses, Garage/Yard Sale Permits, Kids Tag Art school fundraising program, and Tourist Development Tax collection. Most services are available online through integrated third-party portals including payment platforms (highlands.floridatax.us, MyEasyGov), government portals (FL DMV), appointment scheduling (As-Me), and tax sale platforms (RealTaxLien, RealTDA).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property Tax Collection
• Motor Vehicle Registration and Titles
• Hunting and Fishing Licenses
• Concealed Weapon Licenses
• Garage Sale Permits
• Birth Certificates

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $150 million collected and disbursed annually to state and local authorities
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Florida Tax Collectors AssociationcoreOthersThe Highlands County Tax Collector is a proud member of the Florida Tax Collectors Association, an organization representing all 67 constitutional county tax collector offices in Florida. Eric Zwayer served as President of the FTCA from 2015-2016.
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissioncoreOthersThe Tax Collector's Office serves as an agent for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, responsible for the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, Florida waterfowl stamps, and game management permits, collection of all monies from these sales, and maintenance of all records associated with such transactions.
• Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor VehiclescoreOthersThe Highlands County Tax Collector's Office serves as an agent for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, offering driver license services, vehicle titles, registrations, and vessel registrations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Florida Tax Collectors Association: Industry association representing all 67 Florida county Tax Collector offices. Highlands County is a member and its Tax Collector served as FTCA President in 2015-2016, making this the central coordinating and standards body for the entity's peer group.
• ADP (Automatic Data Processing): Operates payroll tax withholding and remittance services that intersect with the tax-withholding-administration industry code, but at employer/employee level rather than local property tax collection. Useful as an adjacent infrastructure/technology player.

Direct peers

• Lee County Tax Collector: Another Florida county constitutional Tax Collector office. Operates the same state-mandated agent model (DHSMV, FWC), provides property tax collection, driver licenses, vehicle registrations, and hunting/fishing licenses — making it the most directly comparable peer for Highlands County.
• Broward County Tax Collector: A larger Florida county Tax Collector office operating the same constitutional mandate, processing property taxes, driver licenses, vehicle titles, and concealed weapon licenses — directly comparable in services and regulatory structure, but at significantly higher volume.
• Hillsborough County Tax Collector: Florida county Tax Collector office performing the same mandated property tax collection, driver license, vehicle registration, and agent services for the same state agencies — a direct operational and structural peer.
• Polk County Tax Collector: A neighboring Florida county Tax Collector office offering the same constitutional tax collection, driver licensing, and agent services. Comparable scale tier and rural/central-Florida context make it a close operational peer to Highlands.

Broad incumbents

• H&R Block: A large private-sector tax preparation company that, while operating commercially rather than as a government entity, performs consumer-facing tax-related services (income tax preparation, refund transfers) that partially overlap with the tax collection and tax payment services space Highlands County operates in.
• Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV): The state-level parent agency whose services Highlands County delivers as a local agent. Operates the same driver license and vehicle registration functions at a statewide level, with Highlands County acting as a delegated service channel.
• Jackson Hewitt Tax Services: A national retail tax preparation chain that addresses consumer tax filing and payment needs adjacent to (but distinct from) local property tax collection. Relevant as a broad incumbent in the consumer tax services category.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highlands-county-tax-collector

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highlands County Tax Collector