Transfer tax
Texas has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county clerk.
Donate a house, ranch or lot in Texas, in any of the 254 counties
Texas property specialists: (888) 228-7320
Donate Real Estate in Texas
Texas has 254 counties, no state income tax and no state real estate transfer tax, which makes the mechanics of a donation here simpler than in most states. What is not simple is homestead: Texas protects it more strongly than almost anywhere, and that protection decides who has to sign. We accept houses, land, ranches, commercial buildings and mineral-severed acreage statewide.
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Texas rules for a property donation
Federal tax rules are the same in every state. These three are set by Texas and by the county where the property sits.
Homestead and who signs
Texas homestead protection is constitutional, and a married owner cannot convey the homestead without the spouse joining in the deed, whether or not that spouse is on title. Rural homesteads and urban homesteads are defined differently by acreage. This is the first thing we check, because a deed signed without the joinder causes problems later.
Recording
Deeds are recorded with the county clerk for the county where the property sits. You sign before a notary wherever you live, and we handle the filing.
What Texas owners call us about
Four situations that come up here more than elsewhere. None of them is a reason a property is turned away.
Surface without the minerals
Severance is normal in Texas, and a great deal of land is owned by one family on the surface and another below it. Surface-only acreage is donated routinely; the appraisal simply reflects what you actually own.
Heir property with a dozen owners
Land passed down for generations without probate, now held by cousins in undivided shares. Texas has a statutory partition process for heir property. Tell us how many names are on it and we will work out who signs.
Acreage that lost its agricultural valuation
Land carrying an agricultural or wildlife use valuation faces a rollback assessment when the use changes. It is a number in the review rather than a bar.
A house with unrepaired storm damage
Wind, hail and flood. The settlement did not cover the rebuild and the contractor quotes keep climbing. We do not ask for repairs before a transfer.
Texas property we accept
Each links to the full guide for that type, including how a donation compares with selling.
Houses in TexasPost-war brick ranch houses, bungalows in the older city cores and newer suburban homes.
Texas landHunting tracts, hill country parcels, coastal plain acreage and infill lots.
Ranch and farm groundCattle country, row crop and irrigated land in the panhandle and the valley.
Commercial propertySmall-town main street buildings, offices, and retail on the older highway frontages.
Industrial buildingsWarehouse, yard and light manufacturing space around the metros and the oil patch.
Land contractsProperty sold on terms years ago. We take over the payments and deliver the deed at payoff.
What a donation looks like by region
Texas is several distinct property markets that happen to share a state government. The deed work is identical; what sits on the ground is not.
Houston and the Gulf Coast
Flood history is the central question here, and it changes block by block. Repeated-loss houses, elevated rebuilds and lots where the house was bought out and removed.
Dallas and Fort Worth
Original-owner houses in the inner suburbs, small commercial along corridors that have been rebuilt around them, and heir property in the older neighborhoods.
Austin and the Hill Country
Steep, rocky acreage where septic and water wells decide what can be built, and land held since long before the metro reached it.
San Antonio and South Texas
Colonias and unplatted subdivisions in the border counties, ranch land, and older housing stock in the city core.
The Panhandle and West Texas
Dryland farming, irrigated circles over the Ogallala, and small-town commercial buildings with no buyer at any listing price.
East Texas
Timber, pine plantations and heir property in the piney woods, much of it held in undivided family shares.
Texas real estate donation questions, answered
Is a donated deed subject to Texas transfer tax?+
Texas has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county clerk.
I live outside Texas. Do I have to travel there to sign?+
No. We prepare the deed in the form Texas requires for the county where the property sits, you sign before a notary where you live, and we record it with the county clerk.
My spouse is not on the deed. Does she still have to sign?+
If the property is your Texas homestead, almost certainly yes. Homestead protection here requires the joinder of both spouses regardless of whose name is on title. We confirm homestead status before a deed is drawn.
Does Texas give a state tax deduction for a property donation?+
Texas does not levy a broad personal income tax on wages, so there is generally no state income tax deduction to claim. Your federal charitable deduction follows the usual IRS rules.
I own an undivided share of family land. Can I donate just my share?+
Often yes. An undivided fractional interest in the whole property is treated differently from a carved-out right, and it is the more workable of the two. Tell us how the interest arose and how many other owners there are.
We do not provide tax or legal advice. State and local transfer tax rules change; we confirm current requirements when we prepare each deed. Consult your own advisor.
Tell us about your Texas property and we will review it
The county and a parcel number are enough to start.