For Texas landowners behind on property taxes
Maybe it is a lot you bought years ago and never built on, acreage that came to you from family, or land in a county you haven't visited in a long time. The tax bill kept rising, a year slipped, and now there are penalties and letters from a law firm. We're land investors, not agents. We work with the owner of record, we look up the parcel and what is owed before we talk numbers, and the back taxes are paid out of the sale at a Texas title company. You don't have to come up with that money first.
Texas has no state property tax; the bill comes from your county, school district, city and other local taxing units, usually collected by the county tax assessor-collector. Bills go out in the fall and are due by January 31. Here is what generally happens after that, under the Texas Tax Code.
Unpaid taxes become delinquent on February 1. A penalty of 6% applies in February and goes up 1% a month until it reaches 12% on July 1. Interest adds another 1% for each month the taxes stay unpaid, with no cap. On a vacant lot that was already expensive to hold, a year of delinquency can add a fifth or more to the bill.
Most taxing units hire a private law firm to collect. Once taxes are turned over, usually on July 1, an additional collection penalty of up to 20% can be added. This is often when owners start getting letters on a law firm's letterhead, which is the point many people realize the land has become a real problem.
If the taxes stay unpaid, the taxing units can file suit in district court to collect them and foreclose the tax lien. If they win a judgment and it isn't paid, the land can be ordered sold at a public tax sale, normally held by the sheriff or a constable on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse. If nobody bids enough, the land can be struck off to the taxing unit and resold later. If the sale brings more than the judgment and costs, the former owner can file a claim for the excess proceeds, but only by going back to the court within the time the law allows.
Even after a sale, Texas gives the former owner a window to redeem the land by paying the purchaser what the law requires, which includes a premium on top of the bid. For most vacant land that window is generally 180 days. For a homestead, or land that had an agricultural-use designation, it is generally two years. Redemption deadlines are strict, so if the land has already been sold, talk to the title company or an attorney the same week.
None of this is legal or tax advice, and the details differ by county and situation. Your county tax office can tell you exactly what is owed, and many Texas taxing units offer installment agreements if you want to keep the land. What we can do is pull the county record on the parcel, tell you what we see, and give you one number if selling makes more sense.
Selling is not the only answer, and it isn't always the best one. In our experience owners in this spot usually choose between a few paths.
Pay it and keep the land. If you plan to build or hold, paying the taxes or setting up an installment agreement with the tax office stops most of the growth in penalties and interest. Ask the tax office about it before the account goes to the collection attorney if you can.
A property tax loan. Texas lets licensed property tax lenders pay your taxes and take a transferred lien on the land. It can stop a lawsuit, but it is a loan with its own interest and fees, secured by the land. Read the terms carefully and compare it with your other options.
List it with an agent. If the land is in good shape, with road access and utilities nearby, and you have time, a listing may get you more. If that is your situation, we'll say so.
Sell it as-is. If you don't use the land and don't want to keep paying for it, a sale clears the delinquency in one step. The title company orders a tax certificate that shows everything owed to each taxing unit, including any judgment, and pays it at closing from the proceeds. The rest goes to you.
Vacant land in Texas gets no homestead exemption, so it carries the full tax rate on its appraised value. As builders moved into the edges of Austin, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, many appraisal districts raised raw land values sharply, and the tax followed. You can protest the appraised value each spring, generally by May 15 or 30 days after your notice is mailed. If you are holding land you no longer have a plan for, though, a lower appraisal only slows the bill down.
Acreage with an agricultural or wildlife valuation is taxed on its productive value, not its market value, as long as the qualifying use continues. When the use changes, the appraisal district recaptures the difference for the prior three years plus interest, the "rollback." Owners sometimes fall behind after a lease ends or the valuation lapses and the bill jumps. On a sale to a builder the rollback typically falls on the buyer side, and we account for it in the number rather than surprising you later.
Delinquent taxes stay with the land, not the person, so they come with an inherited parcel. Families often find out only when the law firm's letter reaches someone. If the deed is still in a parent's name, the sale and the tax payoff can happen together once the estate paperwork is in place. Our guide to selling inherited land in Texas covers heirship affidavits, probate and several heirs.
Use the form or call. Tell us where it is and roughly where things stand: a notice, a law firm letter, a lawsuit, or a sale date.
County deed records, taxes and judgments owed, access, floodplain, utilities. We tell you what we see, including anything the title company will want cleared.
We put the land under contract and usually assign that contract to a home builder buying in your area. That is written into the contract before you sign.
A Texas title company closes. Back taxes, penalties, interest and any other liens are paid from the proceeds, and the rest is paid to you.
Owners of record, and heirs or executors of an estate. We work directly with the owner. We don't buy assignment contracts, we don't take wholesale deals on land, and we don't pay for leads. If paying the taxes and keeping the land, or listing it with an agent, would clearly serve you better, we'll say so.
Tell us about your property and we'll get you a number. No obligation, no pressure.
No scripts, no pressure. A real conversation about your property with the person who'll actually handle it.
(512) 982-9406
Inherited land you don't need
Vacant lots eating up tax dollars
Tax-delinquent parcels you want off your plate
Code letters from the county
Listed properties that aren't moving
Out-of-state owners ready to let go
No. The title company orders a tax certificate showing everything owed, and the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and any collection fee are paid at closing out of the sale proceeds. You see every line on the settlement statement before you sign.
Often, yes. Until a tax sale happens, the owner of record can usually still sell, and the judgment amount is paid off at closing. The title company will want the suit and any judgment cleared as part of the closing, so we look at the court and county records early.
Not always. Texas gives the former owner a right to redeem: generally 180 days for most vacant land, and two years for a homestead or land that had an agricultural-use designation. Redeeming means paying the tax-sale purchaser what the law requires, and timing matters, so talk to the title company or an attorney right away. Call us and we will look at what the record shows.
It is one more lien to pay off. A transferred tax lien is paid from the proceeds at closing like any other lien, and the payoff shows on the settlement statement.
In most cases we put the land under contract and assign that contract to a home builder, and we tell you that in writing before you sign. Either way you get one number, one closing date, and no commission.
No. We work only with the owners of record, or the heirs or executor of an estate. We are not an end buyer for wholesalers, and we don't pay for leads.
No. Zero fees, zero commissions, and closing costs are covered. The taxes you owe are paid from the proceeds, not out of your pocket before closing.
Central Texas is home base. Pick your area for local details, or use the form above for anywhere in Texas.