Agentix Data Solutions
Menu

Who Runs Texas Tax Suits and Where Sale Lists Are Posted

Everyone · Updated 2026-10-16

Who Runs Texas Tax Suits and Where Sale Lists Are Posted

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 passes through several hands: the taxing units that are owed, the office that collects for them, the law firm that sues, the court, the officer who sells, and often an online auction company. Knowing who does what tells you where to look for each record and who to call with a question.

The taxing units

Each property is taxed by several taxing units: the county, a city, a school district, and often a college district, hospital district, municipal utility district or other special district. Each has its own lien for its own taxes (Tax Code §32.01). In a tax suit, the suing unit must join the other units with delinquent claims on the same property (§33.44).

The collector

Most taxing units do not collect their own taxes. Under Tax Code §6.24 and the Interlocal Cooperation Act, a unit may contract with another unit or the appraisal district to assess and collect for it. In large counties, the county tax assessor-collector usually collects for many units, and one tax bill shows all of them. Some school districts and cities still collect their own. The appraisal district sets values; the tax office bills and collects. See appraisal district vs tax office.

The law firm

Taxing units may hire a private attorney to collect delinquent taxes. The attorney's pay is set by contract and may not exceed 20% of the delinquent tax, penalty and interest collected (§6.30(c)). That 20% is usually passed on to the owner as the additional collection penalty that attaches on July 1 (§33.07).

Outsourcing is nearly universal. The Texas Tribune reported in March 2025 that 252 of 254 counties use private collection firms and that, in the 100 most populous counties in 2023, the three biggest firms earned at least:

Firm2023 fees (100 largest counties)
Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampsonat least $128 million
Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mottat least $28 million
McCreary Veselka Bragg & Allenat least $18 million

The firms send demand letters, file the tax suits, take judgments, and work with the officers to schedule sales. They also publish most of the public sale lists. Many smaller firms serve particular counties, school districts or cities.

The court

Tax suits are filed in a court in the county where the tax was imposed (§33.41), usually a district court. The district clerk keeps the case file, issues the order of sale after judgment, and holds any excess proceeds after the sale (§34.02, §34.03). The case's cause number ties the whole process together. See tax suits explained.

The officer who sells

The sheriff or a constable conducts the sale, publishes the notice and signs the deed (§34.01). Who does it varies:

The officer is also who executes a writ of possession for the buyer after the sale (§33.51).

Online auctions

A commissioners court may authorize online tax sales. Its rules take effect 90 days after they are published in the county real property records, and online auctions must end at 4 p.m. on sale day (§34.01(a-1)). Several counties now sell online:

Online platforms usually require registration before bidding, and many restrict automated access. Read each site's rules.

Where sale lists are posted

WhereWhat you'll usually find
Collection firm websitesUpcoming first-Tuesday sale lists by county or precinct; resale and struck-off lists; some interactive maps. MVBA says it posts a bid sheet with a minimum bid for each tract
Sheriff and constable web pagesThe official monthly listings, withdrawals and sale notices
County tax office pagesBidder registration, the written statement every buyer needs (§34.015), sale rules
NewspapersThe legal notice of sale, published once a week for three weeks before the sale, the first at least 20 days ahead (Tex. R. Civ. P. 647); Harris County also points bidders to the Daily Court Review
Auction platformsLists for counties that sell online

Typical fields on a sale list: cause number, account number, legal description, property address, adjudged value, estimated minimum bid, and sometimes the defendant's name and judgment date. Lists change often. Firms warn that properties may be pulled at any time, usually because the owner paid, filed bankruptcy or signed a plan.

A note on reuse

Sale facts such as cause numbers, sale dates and minimum bids come from public court and officer records. But a firm's website and its compiled list may carry terms of use that limit commercial reuse, robots, or republication. If you plan to build a product or a mailing list from a website, read its terms and robots.txt first, or get the same facts from the court or the officer.

Who to call

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, refreshed daily so new postings and pulled properties stand out. We pair those with the delinquent tax rolls and tax-suit filings we carry, and with appraisal-district owner records where the account matches. Coverage varies by source and county.

Sources

General information, not legal or financial advice.