Rains County, TX tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Rains County, seat of Emory: 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 Rains County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Rains County Sheriff's Office (Texas Tax Code 34.01 tax sales are conducted by the sheriff or a constable)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- First Tuesday of the month. The county clerk's foreclosure notice page states that sales are held "between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday of a month" at the "Rains County Courthouse, located at 167 Quitman St., Emory, TX 75440," and that notices are "posted 21 days before the upcoming sale on the Posting Board located in the Rains County Courthouse." Rains County publishes no tax sale calendar, so no individual sale date is confirmed on an official page.
Registration and deposit
No online bidder registration is published by Rains County. Texas Tax Code 34.015 requires a bidder to present a written statement from the county tax assessor-collector showing no delinquent property taxes are owed. Request that statement from the Rains County Tax Assessor-Collector at 903-473-5018 before the sale, and confirm sale-day procedure with the Sheriff's Office at 903-473-3181.
No Rains County tax sale page exists on the county website. The county clerk's "Foreclosure Notices" page carries private trustee and deed-of-trust sale notices, not Tax Code foreclosure sales; the July 2026 posting reviewed contained a Property Code 51.002 substitute-trustee notice and a commercial private sale notice, with no tax sale notice. Property tax billing and collection for Rains County run through the Rains County Appraisal District, and the county Tax Assessor-Collector page directs property tax questions to the district at 903-473-2391. No online auction platform was found for Rains County on any official page, so treat the sale as in person at the courthouse until the Sheriff's Office confirms otherwise. Investors should call the Sheriff's Office and the Tax Assessor-Collector to confirm whether a sale is scheduled and where the notice is posted.
Over-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)
Notes for Rains County
- County seat is Emory. The county website footer lists the Rains County Courthouse Annex at 220 W. Quitman St. Suite B, Emory, TX 75440, main line (903) 473-5000.
- Tax Assessor-Collector: Nicole York. The office page is titled "Tax Assessor Collector (Dept. of Motor Vehicles)" and lists hours of Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed for lunch from 12 to 1. Fax 214-292-8452. Tax deputy Ashley Simmons, 903-473-5010.
- Property tax appraisal and collection are handled by the Rains County Appraisal District, 145 Doris Briggs Parkway (Box 70), Emory, TX 75440, phone 903-473-2391, fax 903-473-4040. Property search and payment portal: http://esearch.rainscad.org/. The district publishes no tax sale, struck-off, or resale listings.
- Sheriff Michael Hopkins, Rains County Sheriff's Office and Jail, 313 E. North Street, Emory, TX 75440, phone 903-473-3181, fax 903-473-5071. The sheriff page carries no sale notices.
- Constable Allen Davis, 239 N. Texas Street (P.O. Box 231), Emory, TX 75440, phone 903-473-5000 ext. 161. The constable page carries no sale notices.
- County Clerk Mandy Sawyer, 220 W. Quitman St. Suite B, Emory, TX 75440, phone 903-473-5000 ext. 103, posts sale notices at https://www.co.rains.tx.us/page/rains.Foreclosure. Those postings are private trustee and deed-of-trust sales, not Tax Code 34.01 tax sales, so this is not a delinquent tax sale list.
- A substitute-trustee notice posted for the August 2026 sale designates "the east most side of the County Commissioners Annex located at 167 East Quitman Street" as the public sale area, which indicates where public auctions are held at the courthouse complex. Confirm the tax sale location separately with the Sheriff's Office.
- Checked and ruled out for Rains County: McCreary Veselka Bragg & Allen upcoming tax sales list (counties shown for August 4 and September 1, 2026 do not include Rains), GovEase auction listings, and Bid4Assets (returned 403). No official page ties Rains County to an online auction platform.
- Web search quota for the session was exhausted before research began, so this county was covered by direct fetches of official county, appraisal district, and law firm URLs only. A follow-up search pass could still surface a delinquent tax law firm contracted by Rains County taxing units.
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 Rains County, Texas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Rains County follows Texas's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Rains 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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