The Collin County delinquent property tax list is published by the county Tax Assessor-Collector as a downloadable data file covering every account with unpaid taxes going back 20 years. The file is regenerated each Saturday and posted the following Monday, so it refreshes weekly.1Collin County. Tax Assessor: Property Taxes You can download it free from the Tax Assessor-Collector’s website, but for a single property, the county’s online search portal is almost always the better tool.
Two Ways to Access the List
The formal delinquent tax roll is a raw data file, not a search interface. To work with it you need spreadsheet or data-processing software, and you have to filter through every delinquent account in the county to find anything specific. It’s built for bulk users: investors, researchers, title companies.
For almost everyone else, the county’s property tax search portal at taxpublic.collincountytx.gov is faster. You can look up any property by account number, owner name, mailing address, property address, or legal description, and the record shows whether taxes are current or overdue along with the amount owed.2Collin County. Search and Pay Property Tax If you’re verifying your own balance or checking a property you’re thinking of buying, the search portal gives you everything the roll would, without the download.
When an Account Lands on the List
Collin County property taxes are due when the bill arrives and become delinquent on February 1 if not paid by January 31.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 31.02 – Delinquency Date An account moves onto the delinquent roll on that date, and penalties and interest begin accruing the same day.
The roll itself goes back 20 years, so an account can carry unpaid taxes from multiple tax years. When you pull a record, check the year each unpaid amount belongs to, because penalties and interest compound differently depending on how long each year’s bill has been outstanding.
What the Delinquency Actually Costs
On February 1, a 6 percent penalty plus 1 percent interest attaches to the unpaid balance. Each additional month adds another 1 percent penalty and 1 percent interest. On July 1, the penalty portion caps at 12 percent, and total interest through that date is 5 percent (one percent for each of the five months from February through June).4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 33.01 – Penalties and Interest Interest keeps running at 1 percent per month after that, with no cap.
July 1 is the hard turning point. On that date the county can impose an additional collection penalty to cover the cost of the private law firm it contracts with to pursue unpaid accounts. That penalty can reach 15 to 20 percent of the outstanding tax, depending on the terms of the contract.5State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 33.07 – Additional Penalty for Collection Costs for Taxes Due Before June 1 The county must mail a notice of this penalty at least 30 days before July 1.
If the account goes to court, the taxing unit can recover another 15 percent in attorney’s fees on top of the taxes, penalties, and interest already owed.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 33.48 – Recovery of Costs and Expenses A bill left unpaid through July can grow by 40 percent or more once you stack the 12 percent penalty, five months of interest, the collection penalty, and litigation fees.
Paying What You Owe
Collin County accepts payment three ways.1Collin County. Tax Assessor: Property Taxes
- Online at taxpublic.collincountytx.gov by credit card or electronic check. A convenience fee applies and is displayed before you authorize the payment.
- By mail, using the return envelope from your tax statement or sending a check or money order to the McKinney office at 2300 Bloomdale Road, McKinney, TX 75071.
- In person at the McKinney, Frisco, or Plano office. In-person payment produces an immediate receipt, which is worth keeping if the account is seriously delinquent.
Before paying, confirm the total includes all penalties and interest through the payment date. Partial payments reduce the balance but don’t stop penalties from accruing on whatever remains.
Installment Agreements
If you can’t pay in full, you can ask the Tax Assessor-Collector for an installment agreement. For a residence homestead, the collector must grant the agreement if you haven’t entered one in the previous 24 months. For other properties, the collector has discretion.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 33.02 – Installment Payment of Delinquent Taxes
The plan must run at least 12 months and cannot exceed 36. Interest keeps accruing on the unpaid portion, but a valid plan blocks a tax foreclosure lawsuit as long as you keep up with the scheduled payments. Default lets the county accelerate the full balance and sue.
Deferral for Seniors, Disabled Owners, and Disabled Veterans
If you are 65 or older, legally disabled, or a qualified disabled veteran, and the delinquent tax is on property you own and occupy as your homestead, you can defer collection entirely by filing an affidavit with the Collin Central Appraisal District.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 33.06 – Deferred Collection of Taxes on Residence Homestead of Elderly or Disabled Person or Disabled Veteran Once filed, no taxing unit can sue you and the property cannot be sold at a tax sale. The deferral lasts as long as you own and live in the home. The lien stays in place and interest keeps running, but you don’t lose the house while you’re in it.
The deferral can also stop a lawsuit or sale already underway. If a suit has been filed, you file the affidavit with the court. If a sale date is set, you deliver the affidavit to the chief appraiser, the collector or taxing unit’s attorney, and the officer conducting the sale at least five days before the auction. Qualifying homeowners who don’t know about this provision sometimes lose homes they could have kept.
What a Tax Lien Means for Mortgages and Sales
A delinquent balance creates a lien on the property, and in Texas, tax liens take priority over nearly every other claim, including the mortgage. If taxes go unpaid long enough, the lender’s collateral is at risk of being wiped out at a tax foreclosure auction.
Most mortgage agreements require an escrow account to cover property taxes. If a delinquency arises because the lender failed to pay from escrow, that’s a dispute between you and the lender. If you pay taxes directly and fall behind, the lender may advance payment and add the amount to your loan balance, or treat the delinquency as a default.
Since 2018, the three major credit bureaus stopped reporting most tax liens under the National Consumer Assistance Plan, so a delinquent Collin County property tax lien should not appear on your Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion reports. Mortgage underwriters and title companies still run public-record searches, however, and a lien surfaced that way can block a refinance or sale until it’s cleared.
Tax Foreclosure Sales
When taxes stay unpaid and no deferral or installment agreement is in place, the county’s contracted attorneys file suit for a judgment against the property. If the court enters judgment, it can order the property sold to satisfy the debt.
Sales happen on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse. Notice of each auction is published in a local newspaper and posted publicly, and the officer conducting the sale (typically the constable or sheriff) executes a deed to the winning bidder. That deed transfers the former owner’s interest subject to redemption rights, recorded restrictive covenants, and valid easements that predate the tax lien.9State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Chapter 34 – Tax Sales and Redemption
Redemption After a Sale
If the property sold was the owner’s residence homestead, was designated for agricultural use, or was a mineral interest, the former owner has two years from the date the purchaser’s deed is recorded to redeem it. During the first year, redemption costs the bid price plus all taxes, penalties, interest, and costs the purchaser paid, plus a 25 percent premium on that total. In the second year, the premium rises to 50 percent.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 34.21 – Right of Redemption
For other property types, including commercial buildings and vacant non-agricultural land, there is no statutory redemption right. Once the deed is recorded, the sale is final.