State Foreclosure Law Library

texas

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Texas — Tax & Mortgage Foreclosure

Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-01.

Texas is a redeemable tax-deed state, not a tax-lien-certificate state. A delinquent-tax suit is filed in district court, the court enters a judgment foreclosing the tax lien, and a peace officer (sheriff or constable) sells the property at public auction. The purchaser receives a deed immediately but takes subject to the former owner’s statutory right of redemption (2 years for homestead / agricultural / mineral interests; 180 days for all other property). Because Texas already remits excess proceeds to former owners and lienholders under Tax Code § 34.04, it is generally treated as Tyler-compliant.

0. Identity & Classification

  • Recording unit: county (254 counties)
  • Tax sale type: redeemable tax deed (purchaser gets deed subject to a fixed redemption window; not a lien certificate)
  • Tax foreclosure process: judicial (delinquent-tax suit → judgment → officer’s sale) — Tex. Tax Code §§ 33.41, 34.01
  • Mortgage foreclosure process: predominantly non-judicial (power of sale under deed of trust) — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002
  • Selling authority: sheriff or constable (“the officer charged with selling the property”) — Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(a)
  • Statutory home: Tax Code Title 1, Subtitle E, Ch. 34 (Tax Sales & Redemption) — https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.34.htm ; Property Code Ch. 51 (mortgage liens) — https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.51.htm
  • Tyler v. Hennepin compliance: compliant — Texas’s § 34.04 excess-proceeds scheme returns sale surplus above taxes/costs to the former owner and lienholders; it does not let the taxing unit retain equity beyond the debt. See tyler-v-hennepin-county.

1. Tax Sale Mechanics

  • What is sold: a deed to the property, sold subject to the right of redemption (redeemable deed). — Tex. Tax Code §§ 34.01, 34.21
  • Bidding method: highest-bid (premium) public auction. The officer must receive a bid at least equal to the lesser of (a) the total amount of the judgment (taxes, penalties, interest, costs) or (b) the property’s adjudged/market value; if no sufficient bid, the property is “struck off” to the taxing unit. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(b), (j) — https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/tax-code/tax-sect-34-01/
  • Interest / penalty: Texas does not pay a bid-down interest rate to a certificate holder (no certificates). The investor’s return comes from the redemption premium: 25% of the aggregate total if redeemed in year one and 50% if redeemed in year two (for property with a 2-year period); 25% for property with the 180-day period. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(a)–(e) — https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_34.21
  • Minimum bid composition: lesser of the total judgment (delinquent taxes + penalties + interest + court costs + sale costs) or the adjudged value of the property. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(b)
  • Sale frequency / typical month: monthly; sales held on the first Tuesday of the month (first Wednesday if that Tuesday is Jan 1 or July 4). — Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(r); Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(a)
  • Venue: in person at the county courthouse (or a commissioners-court-designated location), 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; counties may by official action authorize online auctions. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(a), (a-1), (r-2)
  • Platform vendors: county-by-county; many counties use third-party online auction vendors and tax-law firms (e.g., Linebarger; Perdue Brandon; MVBA) to administer sales. (specific vendor list varies by county — see needs_verification)
  • Registration / deposit: county-specific; bidders commonly must register and obtain a written statement of no delinquent taxes (Tax Code § 34.015 “bidder’s certificate”). (per-county deposit amounts not individually verified)
  • Subsequent taxes (“subs”): Texas has no certificate “subs” mechanism; post-sale taxes a purchaser pays are recoverable as part of the redemption “costs” the former owner must repay. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(g) (defines recoverable costs)

2. Right of Redemption → see right-of-redemption

  • Pre-sale right: the owner may pay the delinquent taxes any time before the sale to stop it; partial payment short of the full judgment does not stop the sale (strict compliance). — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21; mekhail-v-duncan-jackson-mortuary
  • Post-sale period:
    • 2 years for property that was the owner’s residence homestead, was agricultural-use land, or is a mineral interest — runs from the date the purchaser’s deed is filed for record. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(a)
    • 180 days for all other property — runs from the date the purchaser’s (or taxing unit’s) deed is filed for record. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(e) — https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_34.21
  • Who may redeem: the owner of the property (or any person having an interest, including a lienholder) at the time of the sale. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(a), (e)
  • Redemption amount formula: purchaser’s bid + the deed-recording fee + all taxes, penalties, interest, and costs paid by the purchaser + a redemption premium. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(b), (e), (g)
  • Premium to deed holder: for 2-year property, 25% of the aggregate total if redeemed in the first year, 50% in the second year; for 180-day property, 25%. (Premiums are capped — a purchaser other than a taxing unit may not collect more than these percentages.) — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(a)–(e)
  • Procedure: the redeeming owner pays the purchaser directly (or the county tax assessor-collector if the purchaser cannot be found); the purchaser must deliver a quitclaim/release. “Costs” recoverable by the purchaser include maintenance, insurance, code-required repairs, and HOA dues. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(f), (g)
  • Extinguishment: the right ends when the redemption period lapses without payment; thereafter the purchaser’s title is no longer defeasible by redemption.
  • Special tolling: (minors / incompetents / SCRA tolling not located in a primary source — see needs_verification)
  • Lien-revival on redemption: when a former owner redeems, prior title is restored and a previously-extinguished junior lien (e.g., a deed of trust) is revived against the redeemed property. — associates-home-equity-v-hunt

3. Surplus / Excess Proceeds → see surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules

  • Belongs to: priority waterfall, with any remainder to the former owner. — Tex. Tax Code §§ 34.03, 34.04
  • Claim waterfall (Tax Code § 34.04(c), in order):
    1. the tax-sale purchaser, if the sale was later set aside and the purchaser prevailed against the taxing units;
    2. a taxing unit for taxes/penalties/interest that became due after judgment or were omitted by mistake;
    3. any other lienholder for amounts secured by a lien, in order of priority under other law;
    4. a taxing unit for amounts adjudged due but not satisfied out of the sale proceeds;
    5. the former owner (the judgment defendant, a relative within the third degree, or one who took by will/intestate succession). — https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_34.04
  • Filing venue: petition filed in the court that ordered the seizure/sale; excess proceeds are held in the court registry by the district clerk. — Tex. Tax Code §§ 34.03, 34.04(a)
  • Claim deadline: the petition must be filed before the second anniversary of the date of the sale. If no valid claim is established within 2 years, the clerk distributes the proceeds to the participating taxing units. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(a), (e)
  • Escheat: not a classic unclaimed-property escheat; unclaimed excess proceeds are distributed to the taxing units after the 2-year window. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(e)
  • Documentation required: verified petition establishing the claimant’s status and priority; for a former owner, proof the interest was acquired on or before the date of judgment (interests recorded after judgment cannot support a claim, subject to family/inheritance exceptions). — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(c-1)
  • Third-party recovery (surplus-recovery agents):
    • fee_cap_pct: the statute caps attorney fees to obtain excess proceeds for an owner at 25% of the amount obtained or $1,000, whichever is less. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(i)
    • licensing_required: no dedicated state license for non-attorney excess-proceeds recovery is established by Ch. 34; (whether other licensing/UPL rules apply not confirmed against a primary source — see needs_verification)
    • assignment_of_claim_allowed: yes, but tightly regulated. An assignment/transfer of the right to excess proceeds is voidable/ineffective unless: it is made on or after the 36th day after the proceeds are deposited in the registry; it is in writing and signed; the assignee pays the assignor at least 80% of the assignor’s claim; and it was not procured by solicitation of the assignor. The assignor must sign a sworn affidavit with prescribed disclosures. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f)
    • cooling_off_period: effectively a 36-day post-deposit waiting period before any assignment is valid. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f)
    • contract_disclosure_rules: sworn affidavit by the assignor disclosing the amount of the claim, the consideration paid, and the assignee’s identity. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f)
    • prohibited_practices: assignments procured by solicitation are barred; paying the assignor less than 80% is barred; pre-36-day assignments are ineffective. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f)
    • citation: Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(f), (i) — https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_34.04
  • Notice to former owner required? Yes — the clerk/court framework requires notice of the deposited excess proceeds to the former owner and lienholders of record. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.03(a), (b)

4. Mortgage Foreclosure

  • Process: predominantly non-judicial via a power-of-sale clause in a deed of trust; judicial foreclosure is available but rare. Home-equity (Tex. Const. art. XVI § 50(a)(6)) and tax/HOA liens have special rules. — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002
  • Timeline (non-judicial):
    • Notice of default / right to cure: at least 20 days to cure, by certified mail, before notice of sale. — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(d)
    • Notice of sale: at least 21 days before the sale — posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and served on the debtor by certified mail. — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(b)
    • Sale: first Tuesday of the month, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (within 3 hours of the stated time), at the county courthouse. — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(a)
    • Confirmation: none — non-judicial sales are not court-confirmed.
  • Reinstatement right: statutory 20-day cure period before notice of sale; the debt may be cured/reinstated by paying the arrearage. — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(d)
  • Redemption after sale: none for ordinary mortgage foreclosures — Texas has no statutory post-sale redemption for deed-of-trust foreclosures (redemption exists only for tax-lien and POA-assessment foreclosures). — Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 51 (no redemption provision); see Texas State Law Library, “After the Sale” — https://guides.sll.texas.gov/foreclosure/after-the-sale
  • Deficiency judgment: allowed; the debtor/guarantor may move for a fair-market-value offset so the deficiency is reduced by the difference between the FMV (as found by the court) and the foreclosure-sale price. Deficiency suit must be brought within 2 years of the sale. — Tex. Prop. Code §§ 51.003, 51.004, 51.005 — https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/property-code/prop-sect-51-003/
  • Surplus distribution: the trustee distributes excess sale proceeds first to junior lienholders in priority order, then any remainder to the borrower. — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.0075(f) — https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._prop._code_section_51.0075
  • Sale officer: trustee or substitute trustee under the deed of trust. — Tex. Prop. Code § 51.0075

5. Sale Procedure Playbooks

  • Tax sale (officer’s / sheriff sale) — ordered steps: → see sheriff-sale
    1. Taxing unit files a delinquent-tax suit in district court (Tex. Tax Code § 33.41); defendants are served.
    2. Court renders judgment foreclosing the tax lien and orders sale.
    3. Officer (sheriff/constable) gives notice of sale (below) and conducts a public auction on the first Tuesday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., at the courthouse (or online if authorized). — § 34.01
    4. Property struck off to highest bidder for at least the minimum bid; if none, struck off to the taxing unit. — § 34.01(b), (j)
    5. Officer executes and files the deed; the redemption clock starts when the deed is filed for record. — §§ 34.01(n), 34.21
    6. Excess proceeds deposited in the court registry; claims under § 34.04 within 2 years.
  • Taxing-unit resale: a taxing unit that bought at the sale may resell by public or private sale; public resales follow TRCP execution-sale rules or § 34.01(a-1) online procedures. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.05 — https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_34.05
  • Notice requirements: notice of the officer’s sale must be (a) given to each person whose name appears on the judgment by written notice per TRCP Rule 21a, and (b) published in a county newspaper once a week for the 3 weeks before the sale; if no newspaper will publish at the authorized rate, posted in 3 public places (one at the courthouse door) at least 20 days before the sale. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(c)–(g)
  • Upset bid / confirmation: none — Texas tax and trustee sales are final at the fall of the hammer (no upset-bid period, no court confirmation).
  • Payment terms: cash/cashier’s funds due at sale (county-specific); the officer issues a deed upon payment.
  • Deed issued: an officer’s deed (tax foreclosure) without warranty, conveying the defendant’s interest subject to the right of redemption. — Tex. Tax Code §§ 34.01(n)

6. Due Process & Notice → see due-process-notice

7. Title & Marketability

  • Deed warranty level: none — the officer conveys “without warranty” the interest of the judgment defendant. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(n)
  • Marketable immediately? No — title is encumbered by the redemption right (180 days or 2 years) and by the risk of a void judgment for defective notice (see mitchell-v-map-resources).
  • Quiet title required? Practically yes — purchasers typically wait out the redemption period and then bring a trespass-to-try-title / quiet-title action to obtain insurable title.
  • SOL to challenge the tax deed: (specific limitations period for direct/collateral attack not pinned to a primary source here; Mitchell confirms a void judgment is subject to collateral attack notwithstanding the usual bar on extrinsic evidence — see needs_verification)
  • Title insurance availability: generally unavailable until the redemption period expires and title is quieted; (insurer practice not a primary-source fact)
  • Common defects: outstanding redemption right; defective service / void judgment (Mitchell); surviving federal tax liens (120-day IRS redemption); HOA and municipal liens folded into redemption “costs.”

8. Case Law (real, verified)

CaseYearTopicHolding (plain English)Source
mitchell-v-map-resources — Mitchell v. MAP Resources, Inc., 649 S.W.3d 180 (Tex.)2022due_processWhere the deed/tax records show a defendant’s mailing address, serving by posting violates procedural due process; a collateral attack may use those public records and the foreclosure judgment is void as to that owner.https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1454192/210124.pdf
crowell-v-bexar-county — Crowell v. Bexar County, No. 04-10-00534-CV (Tex. App.—San Antonio)2011surplusA lienholder’s secured interest follows the land into the excess proceeds; under Tax Code § 34.04(c)(3), the lienholder’s claim has priority over the former owners’ claim. Trial-court award to Bayview affirmed.https://cases.justia.com/texas/fourth-court-of-appeals/04-10-00534-cv.pdf?ts=1396148336
associates-home-equity-v-hunt — Associates Home Equity Servs. v. Hunt (Tex. App.—Beaumont, 9th Dist.)2004redemptionWhen the former owner redeems under § 34.21, prior title is restored and a junior deed-of-trust lien is revived against the redeemed property (it was not permanently extinguished by the tax sale). Reversed and remanded.https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/ninth-court-of-appeals/2004/7633.html
mekhail-v-duncan-jackson-mortuary — Mekhail v. Duncan-Jackson Mortuary, Inc., 369 S.W.3d 482 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.])2012sale_procedureStrict compliance (not substantial compliance) governs tax-sale payment requirements; the court addressed when payment defects affect a sale’s validity.https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1607412.html

9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)

  • bankruptcy-automatic-stay — a debtor’s Chapter 7/13 filing stays a Texas tax or trustee sale; the redemption period may be affected by 11 U.S.C. § 108. (interaction not pinned to a Texas primary source here — see needs_verification)
  • federal-tax-lien-redemption — if a recorded federal tax lien exists, the IRS holds a 120-day right of redemption after a non-judicial sale (26 U.S.C. § 7425(d)); Texas purchasers must clear this.
  • heirs-property — Texas’s § 34.04(c)(5) and (c-1) expressly route former-owner excess-proceeds claims through heirs / relatives within the third degree and devisees, while barring claims based on interests recorded after judgment.
  • HOA / POA assessment liens — POA-assessment foreclosures carry their own 180-day redemption right (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.011), distinct from the mortgage rule of no redemption. (POA citation not separately fetched — see needs_verification)
  • Mineral interests — receive the 2-year redemption period even though not a homestead. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.21(a)
  • Void vs. voidable — defective notice renders the judgment void (Mitchell), whereas mere procedural irregularities at sale may be voidable.

10. Operations

  • Where records live: county district clerk (delinquent-tax suit files and excess-proceeds registry), county clerk (deed records), county tax assessor-collector (delinquent tax rolls).
  • Public portals: Texas Constitution & Statutes — https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.34.htm ; Texas State Law Library foreclosure guides — https://guides.sll.texas.gov/foreclosure ; county sheriff/constable and tax-office sale calendars.
  • Typical costs: delinquent taxes + penalties + interest + court and sale costs make up the minimum bid; redemption adds the 25%/50% premium and the purchaser’s documented “costs.”
  • Typical timelines: suit-to-sale varies by county; redemption 180 days or 2 years post-deed-filing; excess-proceeds claims within 2 years of sale; deficiency suits within 2 years of a mortgage sale.
  • Key agencies: county tax assessor-collectors; sheriffs/constables; district clerks; delinquent-tax law firms (Linebarger Goggan; Perdue Brandon Fielder; MVBA).
  • Useful forms: Petition for Release of Excess Proceeds (§ 34.04); bidder’s statement of no delinquent taxes (§ 34.015). (standardized statewide forms not centrally published — county-specific)

11. Meta

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Texas law from primary sources as of the last_verified date. Statutes and case law change; verify against the cited sources and consult a licensed Texas attorney before acting.

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