Sec. 32.03. RESTRICTIONS ON PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX LIEN. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a tax lien may not be enforced against personal property transferred to a buyer in ordinary course of business as defined by Section 1.201(9) of the Business & Commerce Code for value who does not have actual notice of the existence of the lien.

(a-1) With regard to a manufactured home, a tax lien may be recorded at any time not later than six months after the end of the year for which the tax was owed. A tax lien on a manufactured home may be enforced if it has been recorded in accordance with the laws in effect at the time of the recordation of the lien. A properly recorded tax lien may not be enforced against a new manufactured home that is owned by a person who acquired the manufactured home from a retailer as a buyer in the ordinary course of business.

(a-2) A person may not transfer ownership of a manufactured home until all tax liens perfected on the home that have been timely filed with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs have been extinguished or satisfied and released and any personal property taxes on the manufactured home which accrued on each January 1 that falls within the 18 months preceding the date of the sale have been paid. This subsection does not apply to the sale of a manufactured home in inventory.

(b) A bona fide purchaser for value or the holder of a lien recorded on a manufactured home statement of ownership is not required to pay any taxes that have not been recorded with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. In this section, manufactured home has the meaning assigned by Section 32.015(b). Unless a tax lien has been filed timely with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, no taxing unit, nor anyone acting on its behalf, may use a tax warrant or any other method to attempt to execute or foreclose on the manufactured home.

(c) A taxpayer may designate in writing which tax year will be credited with a particular payment. If a taxpayer pays all the amounts owing for a given year, the taxing unit shall issue a receipt for the payment of the taxes for the designated year.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if a manufactured home was omitted from the tax roll for either or both of the two preceding tax years, the taxing unit may file a tax lien within the 150-day period following the date on which the tax becomes delinquent.

(e) If personal property taxes on a manufactured home have not been levied by the taxing unit, the taxing unit shall provide, upon request, an estimated amount of taxes computed by multiplying the taxable value of the manufactured home, according to the most recent certified appraisal roll for the taxing unit, by the taxing unit's adopted tax rate for the preceding tax year. In order to enable the transfer of the manufactured home, the tax collector shall accept the payment of the estimated personal property taxes and issue a certification to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs that the estimated taxes are being held in escrow until the taxes are levied. Once the taxes are levied, the tax collector shall apply the escrowed sums to the levied taxes. At the time the tax collector accepts the payment of the taxes, the tax collector shall provide notice that the payment of the estimated taxes is an estimate that may be raised once the appraisal rolls for the year are certified and that the new owner may be liable for the payment of any difference between the tax established by the certified appraisal roll and the estimate actually paid.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2287, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 846, Sec. 16, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 617, Sec. 12, eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 836, Sec. 5.2, eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 978, Sec. 22, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 988, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 338, Sec. 47, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1284 (H.B. 2438), Sec. 33, eff. June 18, 2005.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1284 (H.B. 2438), Sec. 34, eff. June 18, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 863 (H.B. 1460), Sec. 72, eff. January 1, 2008.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 408 (H.B. 2019), Sec. 84, eff. September 1, 2017.