Article VIII, Section 13 of the Texas Constitution

As amended September 13, 2003:

(a) Provision shall be made by the Legislature for the sale of a sufficient portion of all lands and other property for the taxes due thereon that have not been paid.

(b) The deed of conveyance to the purchaser for all lands and other property thus sold shall be held to vest a good and perfect title in the purchaser thereof, subject only to redemption as provided by this section or impeachment for actual fraud.

(c) The former owner of a residence homestead, land designated for agricultural use, or a mineral interest sold for unpaid taxes shall within two years from date of the filing for record of the Purchaser's Deed have the right to redeem the property on the following basis: (1) Within the first year of the redemption period, upon the payment of the amount of money paid for the property, including the Tax Deed Recording Fee and all taxes, penalties, interest, and costs paid plus an amount not exceeding 25 percent of the aggregate total; and (2) Within the last year of the redemption period, upon the payment of the amount of money paid for the property, including the Tax Deed Recording Fee and all taxes, penalties, interest, and costs paid plus an amount not exceeding 50 percent of the aggregate total.

(d) If the residence homestead or land designated for agricultural use is sold pursuant to a suit to enforce the collection of the unpaid taxes, the Legislature may limit the application of Subsection (c) of this section to property used as a residence homestead when the suit was filed and to land designated for agricultural use when the suit was filed.

(e) The former owner of real property not covered by Subsection (c) of this section sold for unpaid taxes shall within six months from the date of filing for record of the Purchaser's Deed have the right to redeem the property upon the payment of the amount of money paid for the property, including the Tax Deed Recording Fee and all taxes, penalties, interest, and costs paid plus an amount not exceeding 25 percent of the aggregate total.

Editor Comments

As adopted in 1876, this section read: "Provision shall be made by the first Legislature for the speedy sale of a sufficient portion of all lands and other property for the taxes due thereon, and every year thereafter for the sale of all lands and other property upon which the taxes have not been paid, and the deed of conveyance to the purchaser for all lands and other property thus sold shall be held to vest a good and perfect title in the purchaser thereof, subject to the impeached only for actual fraud; provided, that the former owner shall, within two years from the date of purchaser's deed, have the right to redeem the land upon the payment of double the amount of money paid for the land."

The section has been amended three times. The most recent amendment provided a two-year period for the redemption of a mineral interest sold for unpaid taxes.

—Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

None.

Historic Decisions

• Duncan v. Gabler, 215 S.W.2d 155, 162 (Tex. 1948) (citations omitted) ("For several reasons we do not regard the opinion thus expressed in the Berry case as decisive . . . . The amendment of Section 13 in 1932 was not self-executing. It contemplated and required legislation to provide for 'speedy sale, without the necessity of a suit in Court'. There has been no such legislation since the amendment was adopted. And since the Act of 1929 repealed all statutes then in effect that provided for sales for the collection of delinquent taxes without suit and foreclosure, there is now no statute authorizing the sale of land for delinquent taxes except after foreclosure of the tax lien in a court.")

Library Resources

• Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (this multi-volume and up-to-date resource is available at all law libraries and many municipal libraries)

• The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (this one-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)

• The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (this two-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)

Online Resources

• Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (this resource is published and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)

• Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)

• Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)