Leon County, TX tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Leon County Tax Assessor/Collector is Victoria Willis, CTOP. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with vehicle and boat title processing ending at 4 p.m. Fax is 903-536-2431.
• •The Tax Assessor/Collector page names two delinquent tax law firms: McCreary Veselka Bragg & Allen, P.C. handles Leon County matters, and Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP handles Normangee ISD and City of Marquez matters.
• •The county's Joint Notice of Sale closes with: "You may contact the attorney for the taxing units at (254) 756-7755."
• •Leon County Sheriff Kevin Ellis signed the posted Joint Notice of Sale. The Sheriff's Office is at 606 E. St. Mary's Street, P.O. Box 278, Centerville, TX 75833, phone 903-536-2749.
• •Sale inventory skews rural and mineral heavy. The posted notice listed manufactured homes, small acreage tracts, town lots in Normangee, and many fractional royalty and overriding royalty interests in oil and gas wells, several of which were marked WITHDRAWN before the sale.
• •Property is sold by legal description and AS IS with all faults; all sales are final with no refunds. Deeds, maps, and plats are in the County Clerk's office or the appraisal district, and the underlying lawsuit files are with the District Clerk.
• •The minimum bid covers taxes delinquent as of the judgment date and does not include the current tax year; the buyer must pay all taxes accruing after the judgment date.
• •A bidder who wins and then fails to pay is liable for 20 percent of the property's value plus the costs of the default, under Rule 652 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
• •Property bought at the sale can still be subject to city or property owners association liens for demolition, mowing, or maintenance fees.
• •Property tax payments (not sales) run through www.leoncountytax.org, a Pritchard & Abbott portal. It carries no tax sale listings.
• •The county's Public Notices calendar was empty for July 2026 at the time of research, with no tax sale entry posted.

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.Texas Tax Code 34.21 - Right of redemptionTex. Tax Code 34.21Verified Jul 25, 2026

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.Texas Tax Code 34.01 - Sale of propertyTex. Tax Code 34.01Verified Jul 25, 2026

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.Texas Tax Code 34.21 - Right of redemptionTex. Tax Code 34.21Verified Jul 25, 2026

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.Texas Tax Code 34.03 - Disposition of excess proceedsTex. Tax Code 34.03Verified Jul 25, 2026

Governing statute

Tex. Tax Code Chapter 34Texas Tax Code 34.01 - Sale of propertyTex. Tax Code 34.01Verified Jul 25, 2026

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.

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