Each step below is drawn from Texas statute, not general advice. The exact sale dates, platform, and deposit amounts are set county by county, so confirm the specifics on your county page before you register.
New here? Most beginners start with a certificate (the lien path). The deed steps below apply once you hold a certificate long enough to force a sale, or you bid directly at a tax deed auction. Not sure which is for you? Start with tax lien vs tax deed.
Learn the timeline and lien priority
Texas property taxes are due on receipt of the tax bill and become delinquent if not paid before February 1 of the year following the year they were imposed. A delinquent tax incurs a 6 percent penalty in the first delinquent month plus 1 percent for each additional month before July 1, reaching a flat 12 percent penalty on July 1, and it accrues interest at 1 percent per month for as long as it stays unpaid. A tax lien attaches on January 1 each year and takes priority over a homestead interest and over the claims of other creditors and lienholders, whether or not those encumbrances predate the tax lien. That priority is what makes a Texas tax foreclosure title senior. Understand this before you commit any money.
Collect interest or wait out redemption
The premium is a flat statutory add-on to the amount paid at the sale, not a rate that accrues over time. A redemption on the first day pays the same 25 percent as one on the last day of the window, so an early redemption produces a very high annualized return. The clock runs from the date the purchaser deed is filed for record rather than from the sale date. 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. To redeem, the owner pays The amount the purchaser bid, plus the deed recording fee, plus the taxes, penalties, interest, and costs the purchaser paid on the property, plus a redemption premium. On homestead, agricultural-use, and mineral-interest property the premium is 25 percent of that aggregate total in the first year of the redemption period and 50 percent in the second. On all other property the premium may not exceed 25 percent. Recoverable costs are defined by statute and cover property insurance, repairs required by a local ordinance, building code, or an existing lease, discharging a municipal health or safety lien, property owners association dues, and impact or standby fees. The purchaser must itemize those costs in writing within 10 days of a written request, and only itemized amounts count toward redemption. If they redeem, that payoff is your return; if they never do, the certificate becomes your path to the property.
Apply for a tax deed
Once a tax becomes delinquent, a taxing unit may sue to foreclose the lien securing it. If the court renders judgment for foreclosure, it orders the property sold in satisfaction of the judgment, and the district clerk issues an order of sale to an officer authorized to conduct execution sales. An order of sale must be returned unexecuted if it is not executed before the 181st day after it is issued. If the owner pays the judgment before the sale, the taxing unit releases its lien. The officer calculates the total due under the judgment, including all taxes, penalties, interest, any other amount awarded, court costs, and the costs of the sale. If no bid reaches the lesser of that judgment total or the adjudged value of the property, the taxing unit that requested the order of sale may terminate the sale. Otherwise the officer strikes the property off to that taxing unit for the lesser of the aggregate judgment or the market value stated in the judgment. 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.
Bid at the tax deed auction
The Sheriff or constable, under an order of sale issued by the district clerk sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder. 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. No statewide balance window exists in the Tax Code, because the sale follows execution-sale practice and counties generally collect in full at the sale. A separate statutory condition does gate the deed: in the counties where Section 34.015 applies, the officer may not execute or deliver the deed until the successful bidder shows an unexpired written statement from the county assessor-collector confirming no delinquent ad valorem taxes are owed to that county or to any school district or municipality in it. The statement costs up to $10, expires on the 90th day after issuance, and if the bidder does not produce one within six months of the sale the officer files the return with the county clerk.
Or buy over the counter
You do not have to wait for an auction. Texas has no over-the-counter certificate list. When no bid reaches the statutory minimum, the parcel is struck off to the taxing unit that requested the order of sale, which takes title for itself and every other unit that established a lien in the suit. That taxing unit may then sell the property at any time by public or private sale, and it is not required to follow the ordinary county-property disposal procedures. A public resale requested through the sheriff or constable may be sold for any amount, which is where the low prices usually sit. A private sale generally may not go below the lesser of the market value stated in the foreclosure judgment or the total judgments against the property, unless every taxing unit entitled to proceeds consents. Texas has no lands-available list and no escheat clock for struck-off property. A resale stays subject to any remaining right of redemption, and on struck-off property the redemption period runs from the date the taxing unit's deed is filed for record. County struck-off inventories are normally published by the delinquent-tax law firm that represents the county's taxing units rather than by the county itself.
One more step: clear the title
Winning a tax deed does not hand you marketable title. Before you can resell to a normal buyer or insure the parcel, you will usually need a quiet title action, which takes months and costs money. Fold that cost into your maximum bid and read what you actually own after a tax deed before you bid. A tax deed also does not wipe out everything: select governmental and municipal liens can survive, and a federal tax lien carries a 120-day IRS redemption right, so check what survives a tax deed too.
New to this? Start with tax lien vs tax deed and the full Texas walkthrough, then value a parcel with the due diligence guide.
Steps verified Jul 25, 2026 against Texas statutes.
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.