Tax Judgments and Constable or Sheriff Tax Sales in Texas
Tax Judgments and Constable or Sheriff Tax Sales in Texas
Information, not legal advice. Laws change; check the current statute or rule and talk to a Texas attorney before you act.
A Texas tax sale is the end of a lawsuit, not an auction of a lien. Once a court signs a judgment foreclosing the tax lien, the clerk issues an order of sale, and a sheriff or constable sells the property at public auction. The buyer gets a deed, subject to the former owner's right to buy it back. This article walks through that path and what a bidder should check.
Step 1: The judgment
In a delinquent tax suit (see tax suits explained), the judgment usually:
- finds the taxes, penalties, interest and costs owed to each taxing unit;
- forecloses the tax liens;
- states the property's adjudged value, its market value on the trial date. The latest appraisal-roll value is presumed to be market value unless a party proves otherwise (Tax Code §33.50);
- orders the property sold.
The order of sale says the property may be sold to a taxing unit in the suit, or to another bidder, for the lesser of the adjudged value or the total of the judgments against it. An owner, or another non-taxing-unit party to the suit, may buy only as the highest bidder and only for at least the full amount of the judgments, including all costs of suit and sale (§33.50). That keeps an owner from wiping out the taxes by buying back cheaply.
Step 2: Notice of sale
Tax sales follow the rules for execution sales. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 647, notice must be published once a week for three straight weeks in a newspaper in the county, with the first notice at least 20 days before the sale, and the officer must give written notice to the defendant or the defendant's attorney. The notice must describe the property and give the authority for the sale and the date, time and place (Tax Code §34.01).
Law firms, counties and constables also post sale lists online a few weeks ahead. Properties are often pulled because the owner paid, filed bankruptcy or signed a plan, so check again the day before.
Step 3: The sale itself
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Who sells | The sheriff or a constable (Harris County uses its eight constables, by precinct) |
| When | The first Tuesday of the month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; the first Wednesday if the first Tuesday is January 1 or July 4 (§34.01) |
| Where | At the courthouse or a place the commissioners court designates |
| Online | A commissioners court may authorize online auctions; the rules take effect 90 days after they are published in the real property records, and online auctions must end at 4 p.m. on sale day (§34.01(a-1)) |
Some examples of how counties do it today:
- Harris County holds sales on the first Tuesday at the Bayou City Event Center in Houston. Bidders register with the tax office first.
- Dallas County holds its sheriff's tax sales online through RealAuction on the first Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. Central, payment by wire. Bidders must send the tax office's certified written statement to the sheriff's office at least two business days before the sale.
Step 4: Bidder certification
Before the officer may sign a deed, the buyer must show an unexpired written statement from the county tax assessor-collector (good for 90 days) saying the buyer owes no delinquent taxes to the county or to any school district or city in the county (§34.015). Knowingly violating this is a Class B misdemeanor.
Step 5: No bid, struck off
If no one bids at least the minimum, the property is bid off ("struck off") to the taxing unit for the lesser of the adjudged value or the judgment total (§34.01). The taxing unit can resell it later, often at a lower minimum. See struck-off properties and resales.
Step 6: Where the money goes
The officer pays the sale proceeds in a fixed order: advertising costs; ad litem fees; the clerk's court costs; the officer's fees; the taxing units' title-research costs; then the taxes, penalties, interest and attorney's fees in the judgment; then other amounts awarded to the units. Anything left over is excess proceeds and goes to the clerk of the court (§34.02). See excess proceeds.
Step 7: The deed and what it does not do
The officer's deed "vests good and perfect title" in the buyer to the defendants' interest, but it is subject to:
- the former owner's right of redemption (see redemption rights);
- restrictive covenants and recorded easements that existed before the tax lien arose (§34.01; §32.05).
Practical points:
- No title warranty. Tax sales are generally "as is." The deed conveys only the interest of the parties actually in the suit. A lienholder or heir who was not properly served may not be bound.
- Liens that survive. If a federal tax lien was filed and the United States was not joined as a party in the tax suit, the judgment and sale are made "subject to and without disturbing" that lien (26 U.S.C. §7425(a)). Even when its lien is cut off, the United States may have a right to redeem within 120 days or the local redemption period, whichever is longer (§7425(d)). Check for any IRS lien before bidding.
- Time limits to challenge. A suit challenging the sale must generally be filed within one year after the deed is recorded, or two years for a residence homestead or agricultural or wildlife land (§33.54). After that, the buyer's title is much stronger.
Step 8: Possession
The buyer, including a taxing unit, may get a writ of possession, but no sooner than 20 days after the officer's deed is recorded. The officer posts a warning on the front door at least 10 days before executing the writ and may remove occupants and their belongings (§33.51). Redemption does not give the former owner the right to stay in or rent out the property during the redemption period (§34.21(h)), but a buyer who spends money on the property before the period ends risks having it redeemed.
A bidder's checklist
- Pull the cause number and read the judgment: who was sued, what years, what value.
- Check for parties who were not in the suit (a recorded mortgage, a federal lien, heirs).
- Confirm whether the property was a homestead or ag land (two-year redemption) or not (180 days).
- Drive the property; it is often vacant, damaged or occupied.
- Have the tax office's written statement and the payment method ready.
How this shows up in Agentix Data
Agentix Data tracks posted Texas tax-sale, resale and struck-off listings from public sale lists, with sale date, cause number, minimum bid and account, and links them to the appraisal-district owner record where the county's account format matches. Coverage varies by source. We also carry tax-suit filings for the counties listed in our coverage, so a property can be followed from suit to sale list.
Sources
- Tax Code §33.50, adjudged value and order of sale: https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/tax-code/tax-sect-33-50/
- Tax Code §33.51, writ of possession: https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/tax-code/tax-sect-33-51/
- Tax Code §33.54, limitation on challenges: https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/tax-code/tax-sect-33-54/
- Tax Code §34.01, sale of property: https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/tax-code/tax-sect-34-01/
- Tax Code §34.015, purchaser certification: https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/tax-code/tax-sect-34-015/
- Tax Code §34.02, distribution of proceeds: https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/tax-code/tax-sect-34-02/
- Tax Code §34.21, redemption: https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_34.21
- Tax Code ch. 34 (official): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.34.htm
- Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 647, notice of sale: https://www.courtrules.net/texas/texas-civil-procedure/rule-647
- 26 U.S.C. §7425, discharge of federal liens: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7425
- Harris County Tax Office, tax sales: https://www.hctax.net/Property/TaxSales
- Dallas County Tax Office, sheriff's sales: https://taxoffice.dallascounty.org/hc/en-us/articles/52851449825691-Sheriff-s-Sales
General information, not legal or financial advice.