Sterling County, TX tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Sterling County, seat of Sterling City: 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 Sterling County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Sterling County Sheriff's Office (Sheriff Russell Irby) conducts the sale; the Sterling County Tax Assessor-Collector collects the delinquent taxes.
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No fixed annual date is published. Sales fall on the statutory first Tuesday of the month when a judgment produces an order of sale. The county's posted Sheriff's Notice of Sale reads: "will on the first Tuesday in February, 2023 the same being the 7th day of said month, at the North Door, Sterling County Courthouse, 609 4th Avenue, Sterling City, Texas between the hours of 10 o'clock a.m. and 4 o'clock p.m. proceed to sell for cash to the highest bidder".
- Sale list
- Sterling County Foreclosure Notices
Registration and deposit
Registration details are not published online. The posted Sheriff's Notice of Sale states the property is sold for cash to the highest bidder at the courthouse door, with no pre-registration step described. Texas Tax Code 34.015 requires a bidder to present a written statement from the county tax assessor-collector showing no delinquent taxes owed, so contact the Sterling County Tax Assessor-Collector at (325) 378-3041 to obtain that statement before the sale, and the Sheriff's Office at (325) 378-4771 to confirm sale-day procedure.
Sterling County is a very small West Texas county (county seat Sterling City) and does not maintain a dedicated tax sale page. Sale notices are posted as scanned PDFs on the county's Foreclosure Notices page, which mixes substitute-trustee (mortgage) foreclosures with Sheriff's Notices of Sale. At the time of research that page carried notices dated August 5, 2025, August 6, 2024 (two), and February 7, 2023, all falling on the statutory first Tuesday. The February 7, 2023 item is a genuine Sheriff's Notice of Sale on Sterling County Sheriff's Office letterhead. The sale is held IN PERSON at the North Door of the Sterling County Courthouse, 609 4th Avenue, Sterling City, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; no online bidding platform is referenced anywhere on official county sources. No delinquent-tax law firm (LGBS, MVBA, Perdue Brandon) was identified as serving Sterling County: the county names none, and Sterling County did not appear on MVBA's published upcoming tax sale list. Because sales here are sporadic, call the Sheriff's Office and the Tax Assessor-Collector to confirm whether any sale is scheduled before traveling. In person at the Sterling County Courthouse; no online auction platform found on any official Sterling County page.
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)
Sterling County Tax Assessor-Collector (Ellen Clark)
PO Box 888, Sterling City, TX 76951 (mailing); Sterling County Courthouse, 609 4th St, Sterling City, TX 76951 (physical)
Official websiteNotes for Sterling County
- Sales are conducted in person by the Sterling County Sheriff's Office at the North Door of the Sterling County Courthouse, 609 4th Avenue, Sterling City, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month.
- Sterling County Sheriff's Office: Sheriff Russell Irby, 609 4th St / PO Box 928, Sterling City, TX 76951, phone (325) 378-4771.
- Sale notices are posted as scanned PDFs under Public Notices, then Foreclosure Notices, on the county website; that page carries both mortgage trustee sales and Sheriff's Notices of Sale, so read each notice to tell them apart.
- No online auction platform and no third-party delinquent-tax law firm were found on any official Sterling County source.
- Property records and tax balances are searchable at the Tax Assessor-Collector portal (sterlingcountytax.org) and the Sterling County Appraisal District (sterlingcad.org), both powered by Pritchard and Abbott.
- Sales in this county are infrequent. Confirm with the Sheriff's Office before assuming a sale is scheduled for any given first Tuesday.
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 Sterling County, Texas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Sterling County follows Texas's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Sterling 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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