El Paso County, TX tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in El Paso County, seat of El Paso: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Texas tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How El Paso County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- El Paso County Sheriff's Office, facilitated by Realauction.com, LLC. The county's Tax Foreclosure Sale Process page states: "Tax foreclosure sales are conducted by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, facilitated by Realauction.com, LLC." Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP is the county's delinquent tax law firm and publishes the property list.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- First Tuesday of the month, bidding opens at 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time. The site FAQ states: "The sales are conducted between 10:00 a.m. MT and 4:00 p.m. MT. All sales will cease at 4:00 p.m. MT on the day of the sales and any sales not completed may be reposted for a future date." The auction calendar labels each sale day "Tax Sale ... 10:00 AM MT" and, as read on July 26, 2026, showed sales on August 5, 2025; September 2, 2025; November 4, 2025; December 2, 2025; February 3, 2026; March 3, 2026; April 7, 2026; June 2, 2026; and August 4, 2026, every one a first Tuesday. Sales are not held every month: the calendar showed no auction for October 2025, January 2026, May 2026 or July 2026, and nothing was posted yet beyond August 4, 2026. The next posted sale is August 4, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. MT, with 18 items listed and 16 active.
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only and requires an account on the county's RealAuction site. The Tax Foreclosure Sale Process page states: "Anyone may bid on the properties by registering on this site at least five (5) business days before the auction. One account will be established for each bidder." Register through the Registration Wizard at https://elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/index.cfm?zaction=REGISTER&zmethod=START. A deposit equal to 5% of the bidder's intended total bid must be credited to the bidder's account before the auction starts, sent by wire transfer to the El Paso County Auditor's Office payable to El Paso County: "Wire deposits must be in place by 12:00 PM MT the Thursday before the Auction." Each wire must include a $10.00 wire transaction fee. Under Tex. Tax Code Sec. 34.015 a bidder must also obtain a written statement that no delinquent taxes are owed; the request form posted on the auction site is addressed to the City of El Paso Tax Office, P.O. Box 2992, El Paso, TX 79999-2992, must be sworn before a notary, and must list all property the bidder now owns or formerly owned in El Paso County or in any city or school district partly inside the county. The balance of a winning bid is due by wire within 24 hours of the sale date, and pre-auction and post-auction wire instructions differ and must each be initiated through the RealAuction site.
El Paso County sells redeemable tax deeds at a fully online auction, not on the courthouse steps. The FAQ states: "Sales are now conducted entirely online via this web site. It is no longer necessary to appear in person to participate in the sale." Authority comes from the Resolution To Allow Online Auctions For Tax Foreclosure Sales, Tax Resales And to Adopt Rules Governing Online Auctions, adopted by the Commissioners Court of El Paso County on October 23, 2018 and recorded as instrument number 468271 in the Official Real Property Records, together with Tex. Tax Code Sec. 34.01(a-1) and Sec. 34.05(d). Both original tax foreclosure sales and resales of struck-off property run on the same platform. Properties are auctioned in order of sale number and sold to the highest bidder, with proxy bidding in $100 increments, and the county may pull a property from the auction at any time without notice. All times on the site are Mountain Time. After full payment the county issues a tax sale deed or tax resale deed, and the site advises allowing 2 to 4 weeks for issuance. The process page states plainly: "Property purchased at tax sale may be subject to a statutory right of redemption." The site also warns that additional liens, mortgages, encumbrances or title defects may exist and that verifying value and title is the bidder's responsibility. Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson publishes a per-sale County Property Sale List PDF for El Paso County showing sale number, account number, cause number, legal description, physical address, appraised value, estimated minimum bid and status; the August 4, 2026 list carried entries such as 3531 Hamilton Ave with a $156,051 appraised value and a $13,810 estimated minimum bid.
Register on RealAuctionOver-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Texas has no over-the-counter certificate list. Parcels that draw no sufficient bid are struck off to the taxing unit that requested the order of sale, and that unit may resell them at any time by public or private sale. A public resale requested through the sheriff or constable may be sold for any amount. A private sale generally may not go below the lesser of the market value stated in the judgment or the total judgments against the property, unless every taxing unit entitled to proceeds consents. Ask the county or its delinquent-tax law firm for the current struck-off inventory.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
El Paso Consolidated Tax Office (City of El Paso Tax Office)
221 N. Kansas, Suite 300, El Paso, TX 79901 (Sec. 34.015 written statement requests: P.O. Box 2992, El Paso, TX 79999-2992)
Official websiteNotes for El Paso County
- The El Paso Consolidated Tax Office "collects property taxes on behalf of all the 44 units of government that levy a tax within El Paso County," so it is the assessor-collector of record for property tax, not the county Tax Assessor-Collector. Address 221 N. Kansas, Suite 300, El Paso, TX 79901, phone (915) 212-0106. Unpaid amounts become delinquent February 1. Source: city_tax_office.
- The Sec. 34.015 written statement of no delinquent taxes is requested from the City of El Paso Tax Office at P.O. Box 2992, El Paso, TX 79999-2992. The form must be notarized and must list all property the requester now owns or formerly owned in El Paso County or in any city or school district located at least partly in El Paso County. Source: ra_stmt_form.
- The El Paso County Tax Assessor-Collector is a separate office at 301 Manny Martinez Dr., 1st Floor, El Paso, TX 79905, phone 915-273-3430, email [email protected]. Its department page names Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP as the county's delinquent tax collections firm and links to lgbs.com. Source: epc_tac, epc_dept_directory.
- El Paso County Sheriff's Office, 3850 Justice Street, El Paso, TX 79938, phone 915-273-3800. The bidder letter on the auction site routes questions three ways: Realauction customer service toll free at (877) 361-7325 for site problems, Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson at (915) 533-6637 for the tax sale process, and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Civil Section at (915) 538-2253 for everything else. Source: epc_sheriff, ra_bidder_letter.
- Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP El Paso office: 221 North Kansas St., Suite 1400, El Paso, TX 79901, phone (915) 545-5481. The firm's Tax Sale Properties search at taxsales.lgbs.com carries El Paso County listings, including struck-off tracts marked Available for Future Sale with estimated minimum bids. Source: lgbs_elpaso_office, lgbs_taxsales.
- Deposits and final payments are wire transfer only, sent to the El Paso County Auditor's Office payable to El Paso County. Each wire carries a $10.00 transaction fee, and using the pre-auction wire instructions for a post-auction payment triggers a $100 Wire Convenience Fee deducted from the escrow balance. Source: ra_faq.
- The auction preview page cites Tex. Tax Code Sec. 34.011 and Sec. 34.015 as the bidder deposit and eligibility rules, and Sec. 34.01(a-1) as the authority for electronic bidding. Source: ra_preview_20260804.
- Individual properties are routinely pulled before sale day. On the August 4, 2026 Linebarger list, 8 of the 12 scheduled tracts were marked Scheduled for Online Auction and 4 were marked Cancelled, so verify status on the auction site the morning of the sale. Source: lgbs_list_20260804.
- The county's own epcounty.com site does not host a tax sale page. All sale mechanics live on the Realauction-operated El Paso County site at elpaso.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com, which the county links out from as its official online auction. Source: epc_tac, ra_process.
Texas statewide rules
- Redemption
- The redemption clock runs from the date the purchaser's deed is filed for record, not from the sale date. Property that was the owner's residence homestead or was land designated for agricultural use when the suit or the warrant application was filed, and any mineral interest, may be redeemed on or before the second anniversary of that filing. Every other property may be redeemed only through the 180th day after the deed is filed. When a parcel is struck off to a taxing unit instead, the period runs from the date the taxing unit's deed is filed for record. The former owner has no right to use, possess, or collect rent from the property while the redemption right runs, and the right of redemption cannot be sold or transferred: any instrument purporting to transfer it is void.
- Deed deposit
- The Tax Code sets no statewide deposit and no buyer premium. Section 34.01 directs the officer to conduct the sale the way similar property is sold under execution, so payment terms are set locally by the officer who runs the sale. Most Texas counties collect the full bid in cash or by cashier's check on the day of the sale. Confirm the terms with the county before you bid.
- Homestead deeds
- Texas sets no separate opening bid for a homestead. What changes on a homestead parcel is the exit: a residence homestead, land designated for agricultural use when the suit or warrant application was filed, and a mineral interest all carry a two-year redemption right instead of 180 days, and the premium the owner pays can reach 50 percent in the second year. Price a homestead parcel for that longer clock.
- Surplus proceeds
- The officer pays any excess proceeds to the clerk of the court that issued the order of sale. The clerk holds the excess for two years after the sale and notifies the former owner when the amount exceeds $25. A claim must be filed before the second anniversary of the sale. The court pays established claims in statutory priority: a purchaser at a sale later adjudged void, taxing units for post-judgment or omitted taxes, other lienholders, taxing units for unsatisfied judgment amounts, and then the former owner. Anything unclaimed is distributed to the taxing units.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does El Paso County, Texas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- El Paso County follows Texas's redeemable deed state system.
How often does El Paso County hold tax deed sales?
- annual. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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