Travis County, Texas — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → texas. This page covers how Travis County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

C0. Identity

C1. Local Tax Sale

C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption

  • Periods inherit from state: 2 years (residence homestead / agricultural-use / mineral interests) or 180 days (all other property), running from the date the Constable’s Deed is filed for record. No local shortening or lengthening identified. — see texas § 34.21.
  • Where to redeem locally: Redemption follows the Tex. Tax Code § 34.21 statutory process — the redeeming owner pays the purchaser the bid + deed-recording fee + all taxes/penalties/interest/costs paid by purchaser + the statutory premium (25% in year one; 50% in year two for 2-year property; 25% for 180-day property). If the purchaser cannot be located, tender through the county. See texas for the formula.
  • Redemption contact: Travis County Tax Office, Compliance Section — phone (512) 854-9473, email taxoffice@traviscountytx.gov, in-person at 2433 Ridgepoint Dr., Austin, TX 78754 (walk-ins: M–F 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.); mail: P.O. Box 149328, Austin, TX 78714-9328. — https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/contact-us ; https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/county-directory/travis.php
  • Deviations from state default: None identified; local process tracks the statutory premium/cost formula in texas.

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds

BUSINESS-CRITICAL — Travis County-specific filing venue and process:

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Tax Assessor-CollectorCelia Israel2433 Ridgepoint Dr., Austin, TX 78754 (main); mail: P.O. Box 149328, Austin, TX 78714-9328(512) 854-9473https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/
District Clerk (court registry / excess-proceeds filing)Velva L. PriceCivil/Family: 1700 Guadalupe St., 3rd Floor, Room 3.200, Austin, TX 78701; mail: P.O. Box 679003, Austin, TX 78767-9003(512) 854-9457https://www.traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk
Finance Division / Court Registry (excess-proceeds desk)(under District Clerk)1700 Guadalupe St., 3rd Floor, Room 3.200, Austin, TX 78701(512) 854-9457, Option 8https://www.traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk/finance-division/court-registry
County Clerk (deed recording / real-property records)Dyana Limon-MercadoRecording: 5501 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78751; also: 1700 Guadalupe St., #4.300, Austin, TX 78701; mail: P.O. Box 149325, Austin, TX 78714(512) 854-9188https://countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov/
Constable Precinct 5 (conducts judicial tax sale)Carlos B. Lopez1003 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX 78701(512) 854-9100https://www.traviscountytx.gov/constables/5
County Attorney — Tax Collections (files tax suits; serve copy of petition here)(Tax Collections Section)P.O. Box 1748, Austin, TX 78767(512) 854-9159https://www.traviscountytx.gov/county-attorney/enforcement-litigation-and-collections-division/tax-collections

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • Travis County handles tax collection in-house — uniquely among large Texas counties, the Travis County Attorney’s Office (not a private delinquent-tax law firm) files and prosecutes all delinquent-tax suits. The county reports a 98.5% first-year collection rate across 80+ local jurisdictions it consolidates. This means there is no Linebarger or Perdue Brandon storefront for Travis County tax-sale listings; the sales are conducted under the County Attorney’s judgments through Constable Precinct 5 and administered online via RealAuction. — https://www.traviscountytx.gov/county-attorney/enforcement-litigation-and-collections-division/tax-collections
  • Online bidding platform (RealAuction) is the controlling format — unlike traditional in-person-only Texas tax sales, Travis County’s sales are conducted through the RealForeclose platform (https://travis.texas.realforeclose.com/). Bidders must register there and also separately with the Tax Office ($10 fee). Both registrations must be completed at least 5 business days before the sale. — https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/properties/foreclosed
  • Deed is titled in the name chosen at RealAuction registration — bidders must select the exact legal name/entity they want on the Constable’s Deed when creating their RealAuction account. — https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/properties/foreclosed/faq
  • Newspaper publication in the Austin Chronicle (21 days pre-sale) satisfies the Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(c)–(g) publication requirement locally. — https://www.constable5.com/tax-sales/
  • Resale inventory updates once per month after the first Tuesday sale; not continuously. — https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/properties/foreclosed (the dedicated /resales page returned 404 on 2026-06-02; this cadence is confirmed by the main foreclosed-properties page)
  • Buyer is responsible for post-judgment taxes — the minimum bid covers only years included in the judgment; additional delinquent years appear separately in the listing and remain the purchaser’s obligation.
  • Law Library available for self-represented excess-proceeds claimants: Travis County Law Library, 1700 Guadalupe St., 2nd Floor, Austin, TX 78701. — https://www.traviscountytx.gov/district-clerk/finance-division/court-registry

C6. Records Access

C7. Meta

  • sources:
  • needs_verification:
    • Payment mechanics day-of-sale: exact payee name on cashier’s check (Constable? Tax Office?) and whether payment is submitted in person at the courthouse or through RealAuction’s online interface not separately stated on county’s own pages. Contact Constable Precinct 5 at (512) 854-9100 to confirm.
    • Specific excess-proceeds filing checklist / local court rule: Travis County district courts may have a standing order or local rule governing service requirements for Tex. Tax Code § 34.04 petitions (analogous to Bexar’s published Tax Court Policy). Contact the Finance Division (dcfinance@traviscountytx.gov) or the Travis County Law Library (1700 Guadalupe St., 2nd Floor) for any standing order.
    • Excess-proceeds public list URL: the District Clerk FAQ states a list is available by phone request; no publicly searchable online database confirmed. Verify whether any list is posted to the Open Data Portal or the Finance Division website.
    • Resale page and subpages (all 404 as of 2026-06-02): https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/properties/foreclosed/resales, /resales/list, and /resales/requirements-bidding all returned 404 on retrieval. The main foreclosed-properties page confirms struck-off properties are listed on the Travis RealAuction site (travis.texas.realforeclose.com); contact the Tax Office at (512) 854-9473 or taxoffice@traviscountytx.gov to confirm current resale bidding requirements (form, ID, payment terms, minimum bid formula) until a replacement URL is identified.
    • Delinquent tax data refresh cadence: the reports-data page (https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/about-us/reports-data/property-taxes) states only that files are “working documents” with no warranty; no refresh schedule is stated. “Refreshed daily” removed from C6 pending confirmation from the Tax Office.
    • ClaimItTexas.gov URL: the court-registry page does not cite ClaimItTexas.gov by name; the site is attributed to the Texas Comptroller Unclaimed Property program. Verify the portal URL (https://claimittexas.gov/) remains current and is the Comptroller’s official claims portal.
    • Exact population figure: cited as rounded estimate (~1.3 million); not verified against a primary county source.
    • County Clerk name confirmation: Dyana Limon-Mercado identified from the County Clerk website; verify current term against the official page.
    • Constable precincts for non-tax sales: Constable Precinct 5 is confirmed for judicial tax sales; confirm which precinct handles writ/property sales for deed-of-trust foreclosures in central Austin vs. other precincts.
  • cross_links: texas, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, due-process-notice, sheriff-sale
  • changelog:
    • 2026-06-02 — Initial population from Travis County official sources: Tax Office foreclosed-properties page, FAQ, and resales page (two-step RealAuction + $10 Tax Office registration, online platform, cashier’s check payment); Constable Precinct 5 website (courthouse location, Austin Chronicle 21-day publication, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. window); District Clerk Finance Division and Court Registry pages (excess-proceeds deposit/notification/escheat, Finance Division address/phone/email); County Attorney website (in-house collection, Travis County-only distinction); Texas Comptroller county directory (Celia Israel confirmed); County Clerk contact page (Dyana Limon-Mercado); tccsearch.org recording portal; TCAD property search. C0–C7 filled; in-house County Attorney distinction, RealAuction platform, surplus filing venue (District Clerk Finance Division / court registry), and all major records portals pinned to primary county sources. Honest gaps flagged under needs_verification.
    • 2026-06-02 (corrections) — Four citation/accuracy fixes: (1) Resales page (tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/properties/foreclosed/resales and subpages) confirmed 404; struck-off bidding details moved to needs_verification; resale inventory confirmed via main foreclosed-properties page linking to RealAuction. (2) Removed invented phone 1-888-286-9242 and URL www.traviscountytax.org from C6 payment-portal entry — neither appears on the confirmed payment-methods page. (3) Fixed ClaimItTexas.gov attribution in C3 — the court-registry page does not cite ClaimItTexas.gov by name; now attributed to the Texas Comptroller Unclaimed Property program with a verification note. (4) Removed “refreshed daily” from C6 delinquent data description — the reports-data page states no refresh cadence; moved to needs_verification.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Travis County’s local tax-sale and surplus procedures from the county’s own official sources as of the last_verified date. Procedures, venues, contacts, sale dates, office names, and platform URLs change; verify against the cited county pages and consult a licensed Texas attorney before acting.