# Selling a Texas House With Back Taxes or a Tax Lien Plain-text version of https://htxsellmyhouse.com/sell-house-back-taxes-texas/ for AI assistants and anyone who prefers text. It carries the same facts as the page for people. Every figure names its source and the date it was read. ## The question this page answers Can I sell a Texas house with delinquent property taxes or a tax lien? ## TL;DR Yes. A Texas tax lien attaches to the property and stays on it until it is paid, so a house can be sold with the taxes still owed and the title company pays the taxing units from the proceeds. HTX Sell My House buys it as it stands or takes it to the builders, and says what the payoff does to the number. - Tax lien attaches January 1 and is perfected on attachment, with no further action by the county (Texas Tax Code §32.01, read 2026-10-27) - Delinquent if not paid before February 1 of the following year (Texas Tax Code §31.02, read 2026-10-27) - 6 percent penalty the first month, 12 percent once delinquent on July 1, plus 1 percent interest a month (Texas Tax Code §33.01, read 2026-10-27) - Redemption runs two years for a homestead or agricultural land and 180 days for other property (Texas Tax Code §34.21, read 2026-10-27) - Harris County payment plans run 12 to 36 months (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27) ## The answer Yes. A Texas tax lien attaches to the property until it is paid, so a house can be sold with the taxes still owed, and the title company pays the taxing units from the proceeds. HTX Sell My House buys it as it stands or takes it to the builders, and says what the payoff does to the number. ## Key facts - **January 1** is when the lien attaches, for taxes not yet billed, and it is perfected then with no filing by the county (Texas Tax Code §32.01, read 2026-10-27). - **The lien outranks a mortgage, a home equity loan, an HOA lien and a homestead interest**, even debts that existed first (§32.05, read 2026-10-27). - **6 percent penalty** the first month, 1 percent a month after, a flat **12 percent** once delinquent on July 1, and **1 percent interest a month** with no ceiling (Texas Tax Code §33.01, read 2026-10-27). - **12 to 36 months** is the range of Harris County installment agreements (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27). ## Does a tax lien stop a sale in Texas? No. The lien is a claim on the property, and the sale price carries it out. Because it attaches and is perfected on January 1, the county files nothing to make it good, and a title company can read the account and clear it at closing (Texas Tax Code §32.01, read 2026-10-27). The payoff comes before you, since the lien outranks other creditors, other liens and a homestead interest, with three exceptions: a decedent's survivor's allowance, funeral and last-illness claims, and restrictive covenants or easements recorded before January 1 of the tax year (§32.05, read 2026-10-27). The debt is personal too: it belongs to the January 1 owner, and "A person is not relieved of the obligation because he no longer owns the property" (§32.07, read 2026-10-27). Waiting changes none of it (§33.01, read 2026-10-27). ## Who gets paid first at closing? The taxing units do, then the seller. The Harris County Tax Office, answering owners who close between November 15 and January 31, puts it this way: "The title company handling the closing will require a tax certificate to show that the taxes are paid at the closing. Otherwise you will be required to pay any unpaid taxes at closing" (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27). It orders the amount due through the closing date and pays it from the proceeds to each unit with a lien on the account. Tax liens "have equal priority" among themselves (Texas Tax Code §32.04, read 2026-10-27). What is left after the payoff, any mortgage and closing costs is the seller's. A collection law firm adds a fee of 15 to 20 percent of the balance to the payoff (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27), so order the figure in writing: it moves every month. ## What if the county already sold a tax certificate? Two documents get that name. **The tax certificate from the Tax Office** states an account's status: "A Tax Certificate is a document which shows the current status of an account on a given day and is affixed with the official seal of the Tax Office." It costs $10, takes two to three business days, and only the downtown office at 1001 Preston issues one (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27). Nothing has been sold. **A tax lien transfer** is the other: a company pays the delinquent taxes and takes over the lien, which is what owners mean by "someone bought my tax certificate." The Tax Code calls it a transfer of tax lien (Texas Tax Code §32.06, read 2026-10-27), and the Finance Code calls the advance a property tax loan (Texas Finance Code §351.002, read 2026-10-27). The owner signs a sworn authorization, the collector certifies the transfer, and the transferee records it, with interest capped at 18 percent a year (§32.06(a-1), §32.06(b), §32.06(d), §32.06(e), read 2026-10-27). That lien clears at closing too, but the payoff comes from the transferee, which must supply a payoff statement on request (§32.06(f-3), read 2026-10-27). Order both figures. ## Can I set up a payment plan instead? Yes. The collector may agree to a plan on any delinquent property, and must offer one on request for a homestead whose owner has the homestead exemption: the collector "shall, on request by a person delinquent in the payment of the tax on a residence homestead for which the property owner has been granted an exemption under Section 11.13," enter an agreement if the owner has had none with that collector in the preceding 24 months (Texas Tax Code §33.02(a), read 2026-10-27). It must be written, paid monthly, at least 12 months for an exempt homestead and no more than 36 (§33.02(a-1), read 2026-10-27). While it is kept, the property may not be seized and sold and no suit may be filed (§33.02(d), read 2026-10-27). On a homestead no penalty accrues on the unpaid balance during the agreement, but one missed payment restores it (§33.02(b-1), read 2026-10-27). Harris County publishes 12 to 36 months covering current and prior year taxes, with accounts in a lawsuit, bankruptcy or a pending tax sale subject to pre-qualification. On a homestead, "no additional penalty will be assessed, however 1% interest will accrue each month until the account is paid in full," and the 15 to 20 percent collection fee is not added (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27). A plan keeps the house; it does not clear the balance a sale must clear. ## What if the house is already set for the tax sale? Then the date on the notice is the deadline. A tax sale follows a judgment: property ordered sold to foreclose a tax lien is sold by the officer charged with the sale (Texas Tax Code §34.01(a), read 2026-10-27), and if no bid covers the lesser of the amount due or the adjudged value, the taxing unit that asked for the sale may end it; otherwise the officer bids the property off to that unit (§34.01(j), read 2026-10-27). Harris County sells on the first Tuesday of each month at the Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Road (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27). The owner may still redeem: by paying the bid, the recording fee, and the taxes, penalties, interest and costs the purchaser paid, plus 25 percent of the total in the first year and 50 percent in the second, up to the second anniversary of the recording of the purchaser's deed for a homestead or agricultural land (§34.21(a), read 2026-10-27), or 180 days from that recording for other property (§34.21(e), read 2026-10-27). A sale above the judgment leaves a surplus a former owner may claim by petition before the second anniversary of the sale (§34.04, read 2026-10-27). Before the sale date, a sale to a buyer or a full payoff stops it. Tell us the date first. ## What the payoff changes about your number The tax figure is the deduction sellers most often underestimate: penalties compound, and a collection fee can land on top. - **Sell as it stands.** HTX Sell My House gives you a number with the taxes owed and clears them at closing. No repair is needed for a number, and you see the buyer's name in writing before you sign. [What your lot is worth](https://htxsellmyhouse.com/sell-a-teardown-lot-houston/) matters as much as the house. - **Not us.** A payment plan, a listing, or another buyer; if a listing would net you more, we say so. An inherited house is a title question before it is a tax question: [selling an inherited house in Houston](https://htxsellmyhouse.com/sell-inherited-house-houston/), [an affidavit of heirship](https://htxsellmyhouse.com/affidavit-of-heirship-texas/), and [the Houston page](https://htxsellmyhouse.com/) for how we work. ## Questions people ask ### Can I sell if a company bought my tax lien? Yes. A transferred lien clears at closing like any other lien, and the transferee must give a payoff statement on request (Texas Tax Code §32.06(f-3), read 2026-10-27). ### What if the tax sale already happened? The former owner may still redeem: two years from the recording of the purchaser's deed for a homestead or agricultural land, and 180 days for other property, on the terms in §34.21 (Texas Tax Code §34.21, read 2026-10-27). ### Do I have to pay the taxes before closing? They are paid from the proceeds at closing. The debt still belongs to the person who owned the property on January 1, who is not relieved because the property changed hands (Texas Tax Code §32.07, read 2026-10-27). ## Terms used on this page - **Tax lien:** the claim each taxing unit holds on property for unpaid taxes, penalties and interest, created and perfected on January 1 (Texas Tax Code §32.01, read 2026-10-27). - **Delinquency date:** February 1 of the year after the tax is imposed (Texas Tax Code §31.02, read 2026-10-27). - **Tax certificate:** in Harris County, a sealed document stating an account's status on a given day (Harris County Tax Office, read 2026-10-27); in common use, also a tax lien transfer under §32.06. - **Redemption period:** the window after a tax sale in which the former owner may buy the property back, two years for a homestead or agricultural land and 180 days for other property (§34.21, read 2026-10-27). - **Payoff statement:** the written amount, good through a stated date, that clears an account; a transferee holding a transferred lien must provide one on request (§32.06(f-3), read 2026-10-27), and at closing the title company gets the equivalent as a tax certificate. ## This is general information Not legal advice, and not an account statement. The appraisal district sets the value, the tax office states the amount due on a specific account, and the title company decides what it needs to insure a deed. Those three are the authorities on your house; we are not. To talk about a house with back taxes, [send the address and the sale date, if there is one](https://htxsellmyhouse.com/#sell-form), or call [(346) 752-6836](tel:+13467526836). An assistant answers, takes the details, and Susan or Alex calls back within one business day. You pay nothing to talk to us. ## Sources - [Texas Tax Code, chapter 32, tax liens and personal liability (§32.01, §32.04, §32.05, §32.06, §32.07)](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.32.htm), read 2026-10-27 - [Texas Tax Code, chapter 31, collections (§31.02)](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.31.htm), read 2026-10-27 - [Texas Tax Code, chapter 33, delinquency (§33.01, §33.02)](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.33.htm), read 2026-10-27 - [Texas Tax Code, chapter 34, tax sales and redemption (§34.01, §34.04, §34.21)](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.34.htm), read 2026-10-27 - [Harris County Tax Office, installment payment agreements](https://www.hctax.net/Property/PropertyInstallment), read 2026-10-27 - [Harris County Tax Office, property tax frequently asked questions](https://www.hctax.net/Property/PropertyFAQ), read 2026-10-27 ## About this page - Page for people: https://htxsellmyhouse.com/sell-house-back-taxes-texas/ - Written by Susan Bouchard, co-owner, HTX Sell My House - Last updated: 2026-10-27 - HTX Sell My House, Houston, Texas. Owned by Susan Bouchard and Alex Bouchard. - Phone: (346) 752-6836. Email: hello@htxsellmyhouse.com - Send the address of a property: https://htxsellmyhouse.com/#sell-form