TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — If you lived in Hillsborough County from 2019-2021, you were eligible to apply for a sales tax refund. However, the deadline to apply was December 31, 2024, and many people did not apply.

“I didn’t know it existed,” said Court Maxwell who lives in the county.

Others thought the offer for a tax refund looked like a scam. “It looked a little fishy, it looked like a scam,” said Randy Campbell.

Some hoped the money would be used for Hillsborough County projects. “I’d rather they use it for transportation, as the voters wanted,” said Farah Stokes.

The revenue came from the collection of a one cent sales tax, but a court ruling stopped the collection of the tax, and for years the money sat in a state bank account.

Last year, the state legislature ruled that some of the money should be used to refund county residents and some of it should be returned to the county for use on specific road projects as mandated by the state.

“The total dollar amount is 256 million. The legislature determined that would come back through the Florida Department of Transportation, to Hillsborough County and then also get distributed to the three cities in Hillsborough County, as well as projects for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the zoo,” said Josh Bellotti who is the engineering and operations director for public works for the county.

A total of $569 million was collected from the one cent sales tax.

A portion of the funds is being returned to attorneys who fought against the tax, another portion will be used to pay a state vendor in charge of the refund process.

On Wednesday, the Hillsborough County commission approved a plan to spend $208 million on road improvement projects.

“There’s a total of 77 projects for Hillsborough County, they consist of some local neighborhood roads, but the majority are major roads, arterial and connector type roadways There’s a total of 77 projects for Hillsborough County, they consist of some local neighborhood roads, but the majority are major roads, arterial and connector type roadways,” said Bellotti.

The state has still not given a timeline on when refunds will be given to county residents.