The following information could be useful for visitors who may be considering purchasing a home. Each year tax sales and resales on properties result in opportunities for purchase. Look over all of the information on this page before preparing a bid for a foreclosure sale or a resale property. Use the Bidder's Guide below to help prepare the bid.

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Tax Sales

Tax Sales are the final remedy to collect delinquent taxes countywide. View a brief video about tax sales. Download a free video player. Conducted by a deputy constable, tax sales are always held on the first Tuesday of the month at 10:00 am on the west steps of the Travis County Courthouse, 1000 Guadalupe St., in Austin, Texas. You can subscribe to receive the tax sale notice by email here.

To participate in a tax sale, bring the Statement for Person Eligible to Purchase Real Property to the tax sale with a valid picture ID and arrive before 10:00 am. You will be assigned a number in order to bid. Full payment is due at the time of sale and can be made by credit card (add credit card vendor fee of 3%), check, money order, cashiers check, or cash. PLEASE NOTE: the law states that a tax sale bidder shall be listed as the GRANTEE on the property deed and the name CANNOT be changed later. This law does not apply to corporations, partnerships, charities or agencies.

Properties Available at Next Tax Sale:
Choose a property from this list to view more detailed information. Note: new sale data is available online approximately 21 days before the sale date. Sale dates are always the first Tuesday of the month.

Research Previous Sale Information Here.

Buyer Beware
It is your responsibility to determine the liabilities that exist on each property before and after the sale. You buy the property "as is." If you have any questions, you may wish to consult legal counsel of your choice.

Find Data
Tax sale postings appear in the classified sections of local newspapers three weeks before the sale. At the same time, postings are available online or on a paper list available by calling (512) 854-9473. (Note: the previous tax sale information remains on the web site until the release of new sale data, approximately 21 days before the sale.)

A minimum bid is set for each property at the time of posting. The bid consists of the amount of taxes and fees due. If you purchase a property, you receive a receipt in the mail within a few days. Deeds are mailed within four to five weeks.

Right of Redemption
All properties sold at a tax sale are subject to the previous owner's right of redemption. Properties that do not have a homestead exemption or agricultural land use designation may be redeemed by the previous owner within six months of the date the deed was filed for all taxes, cost and fees paid plus an additional 25% to the buyer. Properties with a homestead exemption or special land use designation have a two-year redemption period in which an additional 25% is paid to the buyer in the first year and an additional 50% in the second. To learn more about owner's rights review Sec 34.21 of the Texas Property Tax Code.

Resales
Properties that do not sell at a tax sale become part of the resale inventory offered by the Travis County Tax Office and are for sale at any time. Full instructions about the resale bid procedure are described in detail below.

Disclaimer
Tax Sale and Resale Properties may have other liens against them. It is the responsibility of the bidder or purchaser to determine the liabilities that exist in each property before and after the sale.

There are no warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. You buy the property "as is." No ad valorem taxes with related penalties, interests, costs, and expenses that have accrued subsequent to the judgment are waived and may be currently due. If you have any questions, you need to consult legal counsel of your choice.

Previous Sales Were Held:

• March
• February
• January
• December
• November
• October
• September
• August
• July
• June
• May

Requirements for Participation

In order to bid at a tax sale, an individual must first obtain a Bidder's Statement from the tax assessor-collector indicating they do not owe delinquent taxes in Travis County, or in a school district or municipality having territory in Travis County. The request for statement requires the individual to list all properties currently or previously owned, and the names as listed on the deed to each property. Owners of property with delinquent taxes due will not be permitted to bid at a tax sale.

The fee is $10 and the qualified bidder will receive three copies of the statement. This statement will be good for 90 days from the date of issuance. This document is issued pursuant to the requirements of Texas Property Tax Code (Sec 34.015) and Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code (Sec 34.0445) and is not a tax certificate issued per Texas Property Tax Code (Sec 31.08).

Call or visit the Tax Office at least 5 business days before the sale to request this statement. See the deadlines to file an application in this chart:

You must download a bidder's statement to participate in bidding at a tax sale. This bidder's statement must be mailed or brought in to the main tax office location at 5501 Airport Blvd. in order to be processed no later than five business days before the sale. (This file requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or higher to view or print. The reader can be downloaded free from Adobe.)

The second part of the law states that the bidder at a tax sale shall be listed as grantee of the tax deed. The name on the deed cannot be changed later. This means a bidder may not bid on behalf of another. However, the law does not apply to corporations, partnerships, charities, or agencies.

PLEASE NOTE: The buyer at a tax foreclosure sale on the courthouse steps receives a Constable's Deed. This is not a warranty deed and only serves to convey to the purchaser the ownership held by the tax lawsuit defendants (for better or worse). The deed also conveys the property to the purchaser free of tax liens for tax years that were included in the tax suit from which judgment was taken. Subsequent year's taxes may be due. Processing of a Constable Deed after a public foreclosure sale can take as much as a month.

A list of properties to be auctioned is made available in the Austin Chronicle 21 days prior to the auction. Look for the online posting of properties for sale approximately 21days before the sale date. Auctions are held at 10:00 am on the west steps of the county courthouse at 1000 Guadalupe St., Austin, Texas, on the first Tuesday of the month. Acceptable methods of payment include cash, check, cashiers check, money order and major credit card. Payment made with credit cards will be subject to a service fee of 3%.

Information for Bidders

Bidder's Basic Guide
This is a worksheet designed to help you prepare a bid for either a property available for auction at a tax sale or a property available for resale. View a brief video about the Bidder's Guide. Download a free video player.

Resale Bid Procedures

PLEASE NOTE: FOR PROPERTIES AVAILABLE FOR RESALE YOU MUST SUBMIT A BID. PLEASE FOLLOW RESALE PROCEDURES BELOW EXACTLY AS THEY ARE PROVIDED.

For Properties available for resale you may submit your bid by mail or by personal hand delivery (walk in bid). IN EITHER CASE THE BID MUST BE IN A SEALED ENVELOPE THAT DISPLAYS "TAX RESALE BID" IN THE LOWER LEFT-HAND CORNER..

You must use this form to submit a resale bid.

MAIL YOUR SEALED BID WITH PROPER PHOTO IDENTIFICATION (copy of driver’s license or passport) TO:

Travis County Purchasing Office
ATTN: Cyd Grimes, CPM
P.O. Box 1748
Austin, TX 78767

WALK IN BIDS MUST BE HAND DELIVERED TO:

Travis County Purchasing Office
314 W. 11TH, (The Granger Building)
Fourth Floor, Room 400
Austin, TX 78701

DO NOT MAIL OR DELIVER BIDS TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE AS SUCH BIDS WILL BE RETURNED TO SENDER UNPROCESSED.

Buyers are invited to submit sealed bids for tax resale properties to the above addresses. The front of the sealed envelope containing the bid must be prominently marked with the words “Tax Resale Bid” in the lower left-hand corner. All properly marked envelopes will be stamped with the date and time received by the Travis County Purchasing Agent. Any envelopes not so marked which are later opened will be returned to the bidder unprocessed.

Acceptable bids are those most approximating the minimum bid for the property (or higher). The minimum bid is the lesser of two amounts: (1) the total judgment amount against the property (taxes, penalties, interests, and costs), or (2) the adjudged value of the property (usually the TCAD fair market value).

Sealed bids will be accepted for a property until an acceptable bid is received. Sealed bids will be opened on Mondays at 1:00 p.m. by a representative of the Travis County Purchasing Office. Bids will be opened in public and read aloud. The highest acceptable bid received for a property will be recorded and processed for consideration by the Travis County Commissioner’s Court in a regularly scheduled meeting (always on Tuesdays). Review Travis County Resale Bid Acceptance Procedure .

Persons submitting bids will submit a cashier’s check or money order for each property for which they are bidding. Make out the check or money order to: “Travis County Tax Collector”. The Tax Collector cannot accept cash and will no longer accept credit cards or personal checks in payment for tax resale properties. All acceptable forms of payment will be received, cashed, and deposited by the Tax Collector into the County’s funds the day opened. A receipt for such payment will be mailed to the bidder within about a week. Such receipt and acceptance of payment by the Tax Collector is in no way approval of sale of the property to the bidder. Such approval is only later, if at all, in the sole discretion of the County Commissioner’s Court. Where a bid is later disapproved by the County Commissioner’s Court, the bidder’s money will be refunded.

Bidders submitting bids on more than one property must have a separate (1) check or money order, (2) Bid Submission Form and (3) properly marked envelope for each property. Any bid not so conforming will be returned to the bidder unprocessed.

Bids being processed will be submitted at the earliest available County Commissioner’s Court meeting date. Such dates are usually once a month. If approved by the County Commissioner’s Court, the sale is final and a successful bidder should receive the deed to the property within 6 to 8 weeks. When a bid is disapproved by the Commissioner’s Court the property involved may later be made available for tax resale.

At the time the Bid Submission Form is submitted to the Travis County Purchasing Office the bidder must clearly indicate the grantee name which is to appear on the tax resale deed. This grantee name cannot be later changed so bidders are encouraged to resolve this issue prior to completing the Bid Submission Form.

Prior to consideration by the Travis County Commissioner’s Court, it is within the sole discretion of the Tax Collector at the advice of the Travis County Attorney’s Office to resolve any issues relative to a submitted bid being in conformity with the above procedures. Decisions by the Tax Collector are final and nonconforming bids will be returned to the bidder.

Questions? For information on tax amount due and assistance in researching a property, contact the tax office at (512) 854-9473. If you have submitted a bid for a resale property, or if your bid has been accepted and is in the process of approval by Commissioners' Court, contact the Travis County Attorney at (512) 854-9513.