Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

Tex. Tax Code § 33.41

SUIT TO COLLECT DELINQUENT TAX

Known as the Property Tax Code

The act spans §§ 1–43 (594 sections).

Applied in 11 court decisions — leading case Herring v. Welborn (2000)

Most recently applied in Joseph R. Willie, II v. Harris County, City of Houston, Houston Independent School District, and Houston Community College System (July 2016)

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2293, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff

How often courts cite this section

198920002010201620
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) At any time after its tax on property becomes delinquent, a taxing unit may file suit to foreclose the lien securing payment of the tax, to enforce personal liability for the tax, or both. The suit must be in a court of competent jurisdiction for the county in which the tax was imposed.

(b) A suit to collect a delinquent tax takes precedence over all other suits pending in appellate courts.

(c) In a suit brought under Subsection (a), a taxing unit may foreclose any other lien on the property in favor of the taxing unit or enforce personal liability of the property owner for the other lien.

(d) In a suit brought under this section, a court shall grant a taxing unit injunctive relief on a showing that the personal property on which the taxing unit seeks to foreclose a tax lien is about to be:

(1) removed from the county in which the tax was imposed; or

(2) transferred to another person and the other person is not a buyer in the ordinary course of business, as defined by Section 1.201, Business & Commerce Code.

(e) Injunctive relief granted under Subsection (d) must:

(1) prohibit alienation or dissipation of the property;

(2) order that proceeds from the sale of the property in an amount equal to the taxes claimed to be due be paid into the court registry; or

(3) order any other relief to ensure the payment of the taxes owed.

(f) A taxing unit is not required to file a bond as a condition to the granting of injunctive relief under Subsection (d).

(g) In a petition for relief under Subsection (d), the taxing unit may also seek to secure the payment of taxes for a current tax year that are not delinquent and shall estimate the amount due if those taxes are not yet assessed.

(h) The tax lien attaches to any amounts paid into the court's registry with the same priority as for the property on which taxes are owed.

Official source: Texas Constitution and Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Texas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.