Galveston County, TX tax sales
Tax Sale Atlas maps the Galveston County, TX tax sale, one of 2,553 counties in 30 states. Texas sells redeemable deeds carrying a 25% penalty in the first year. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Jul 27, 2026.
How tax deed sales work in Galveston County, seat of Galveston: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Texas tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Format
- RealAuction
- Registration
- Bidding is online only.
- County office
- (409) 766-2284
On this page
How Galveston County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Galveston County Sheriff's Office (sale information published by the Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector, Galveston County Tax Office)
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Bidding is online only.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only. Register on the Galveston County Realauction site at least one business day before the auction, then fund an escrow deposit equal to 5% of the intended total bid amount and allocate it to Galveston County before the sale starts. Deposits are accepted by wire transfer or ACH debit only (no cash, no international funds): wires must be received by 5 p.m. ET two business days before the auction, ACH debits initiated by 4 p.m. ET five business days before the auction. The balance of a winning bid is due by 4:00 p.m. CT on the day of the sale, by wire through Realauction or by cash or certified funds delivered to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. Winning bidders must also obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (Texas Tax Code bidder statement) by filing the application with a $10.00 processing fee at any Galveston County Tax Office location before the sheriff's deed is recorded. Free bidder training is offered on the Realauction site; Realauction customer service is (877) 361-7325.
Sale format and venue
Galveston County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Galveston County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.
Get the advertised list
Use Sheriff's Office Current Sales Listing (PDF, next sale date) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Bidding runs on RealAuction; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Galveston County Sheriff's Office (sale information published by the Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector, Galveston County Tax Office) as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Galveston County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Sheriff's Office Current Sales Listing (PDF, next sale date). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is online only. Register on the Galveston County Realauction site at least one business day before the auction, then fund an escrow deposit equal to 5% of the intended total bid amount and allocate it to Galveston County before the sale starts. Deposits are accepted by wire transfer or ACH debit only (no cash, no international funds): wires must be received by 5 p.m. ET two business days before the auction, ACH debits initiated by 4 p.m. ET five business days before the auction. The balance of a winning bid is due by 4:00 p.m. CT on the day of the sale, by wire through Realauction or by cash or certified funds delivered to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. Winning bidders must also obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (Texas Tax Code bidder statement) by filing the application with a $10.00 processing fee at any Galveston County Tax Office location before the sheriff's deed is recorded. Free bidder training is offered on the Realauction site; Realauction customer service is (877) 361-7325.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Texas due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in Texas before you price the title work.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
unsold properties
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 purchases work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what Texas calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County notes
- Sale platform: Realauction's RealForeclose site for Galveston County at https://galveston.texas.sheriffsaleauctions.com/, verified live and titled "RealForeclose- Galveston County" (source: realauction_galveston).
- The Sheriff's Office posts the official sale notice and the current sales listing PDF at https://sheriff.galvestoncountytx.gov/ and links to the Realauction site from that page (source: gcso_sales).
- Sheriff's Office for sale payments, deeds, and questions: 601 54th Street, Galveston, TX 77551, (409) 766-2300. The Tax Office page directs winning bid payments delivered in person to Rebecca Galloway, 601 54th Street, Ste. 1114, Galveston, TX 77551, (409) 766-2312, and names Captain Pete SiFuentes, (409) 766-2401, for additional information (sources: gcso_sales, gc_sheriff_sale_info).
- Tax Office Property Tax Department direct line for sale questions: (409) 766-2481, toll free (877) 766-2284 (sources: gc_tac_hours, gc_sheriff_sale_packet).
- Struck-off resale inventory: Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP handles property struck off to Galveston County, the City of Texas City, and the City of Galveston, listings at https://taxsales.lgbs.com/, phone 409-948-3401. Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott, LLP handles property struck off to Clear Creek, Dickinson, and Santa Fe ISDs, phone 800-833-5886 (source: gc_sheriff_sale_info).
- LGBS runs an Interested Buyer notification program; investors can register by county or by property on the LGBS tax sale site to get email alerts when listings post or property status changes (source: gc_sheriff_sale_info).
- The county's PT 26 Sheriff Sale Packet PDF is dated 5.20.2020 and still describes the pre-2020 live courthouse auction in places. The Sheriff Sale Information web page is the current authority and supersedes it on bidding mechanics (sources: gc_sheriff_sale_packet, gc_sheriff_sale_info).
- Tax Assessor-Collector is Cheryl E. Johnson, PCC, CTOP; Sheriff is Jimmy Fullen (sources: gc_tac_home, gcso_sales).
Texas 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 Galveston County, Texas sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Galveston County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Galveston County tax sale list?
Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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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