redeemable deed
Texas redeemable tax deed guide
A private purchaser at a tax sale receives property subject to statutory redemption. The purchaser's return is a redemption premium.
When does the clock start?
The redemption period starts when the purchaser’s deed is filed for record. Confirm homestead or agricultural use at the suit or warrant-application date, or mineral-interest status.
How and when is a return earned?
For a direct private tax-sale purchase, the premium is 25% of the eligible total during year one and 50% during year two for qualifying property. Other property has a premium capped at 25%. No daily proration.
What amount earns a return?
The eligible total includes the bid, deed-recording fee, and qualifying taxes, penalties, interest, and costs actually paid by the purchaser. Ordinary improvement spending is not automatically eligible.
What happens at redemption?
Homestead, qualifying agricultural land, and mineral interests may be redeemed on or before the second anniversary of deed recording. Other property may be redeemed no later than the 180th day after recording.
When does earning end?
The premium is contingent on redemption. Expiry does not itself pay the purchaser a premium. Taxing-unit purchases and resales require separate rules.
Does property use change the rules?
Classification sources checked 2026-09-15. Review applies to the procedures described below; calculator support is stated separately.
For a direct private tax-sale purchase, an owner’s residence homestead, land designated for agricultural use, and mineral interests use the ordinary two-year redemption window. Other property uses the ordinary 180-day window. Both run from deed recording.
Residential zoning or a house on the parcel does not by itself establish residence-homestead status. Agricultural appearance or zoning alone does not establish the required designation: agricultural appraisal must have been finally approved under Chapter 23, Subchapter C or D. For homestead and agricultural land, the relevant status is when the suit or warrant application was filed.
Qualifying two-year property carries a 25% redemption premium in year one and 50% in year two; other property is capped at 25%. These are redemption premiums, not annual interest. Taxing-unit purchases and resales follow separate provisions.
What to verify before bidding
Check the suit or warrant filing date, contemporaneous appraisal and homestead/agricultural designation records, sale route, and recorded deed. Resolve conflicting records before choosing a class.
What this calculator covers
The example supports homestead, qualifying agricultural designation, mineral interest and other property. It does not determine legal classification from an address or land-use label. Exact anniversary and extended-deadline cases require review.
Try the rules
A worked redemption example
A direct private tax-sale purchase with no special proceedings. Select the statutory property class and enter only documented, eligible amounts already paid. Change the dates to see how the return behaves.
How the return grows
A flat premium. A change in tiers.
The premium is payable on redemption. It stays level within a tier rather than accruing day by day.
Gaps mean the calculation needs review. No line is drawn through an unvalidated date or before the documented cost cutoff.
View values at each change
| Date | Return |
|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2026 | $6,250.00 |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Review required |
| Jan 2, 2027 | $12,500.00 |
| Jan 1, 2028 | $12,500.00 |
The chart ends at the nominal redemption period; deadline extensions require review. Values use the inputs above and the same calculator as the worked example.
- Interest
- $0.00
- Minimum top-up at redemption
- $0.00
- Redemption premium
- $6,250.00
- Estimated return at redemption
- $6,250.00
- A flat redemption premium, not annual interest. The base includes the original winning bid, recording fee and eligible amounts paid under §34.21.
- The homestead, agricultural or mineral class has a two-year ordinary redemption window measured from deed recording.
- Eligible costs must be documented and paid by the valuation date. This estimate excludes taxing-unit purchases/resales and special proceedings.
Estimated repayment including the base: $31,250.00. This is an illustrative redemption estimate, not received income or a guaranteed payoff.
Before you bid
What to watch for
- A 25% redemption premium is not a 25% annual interest rate.
- An exact first-anniversary tier calculation requires review; this guide does not settle that boundary-day interpretation.
- Weekend, holiday, and proceeding-related extensions can affect the final deadline. The calculator requires review after the nominal period rather than declaring redemption rights extinguished.
- Taxing-unit resales have a different recording-date reference. Do not reuse the direct-sale calculator.
Read the rules
Official sources
Use the governing law and the county’s sale terms to confirm the rules for your certificate or deed.
Keep reading
Related guides
Compare nearby states, then return to the full library or the product page that matches this instrument.