From the Archives: The transfer tax that never was

March 01, 2025

JULY 2001

A bill filed in the 77th Texas Legislature that would have taxed all real estate transfers never made it out of committee—thanks in large part to efforts by Texas REALTORS®.

Several of the bill’s authors were later defeated in their re-election bids by candidates who received Texas REALTORS® and TREPAC support.

Though most U.S. states levy real estate transfer taxes, Texas REALTORS® has continued to successfully thwart proposals to adopt transfer taxes and other burdensome costs on homebuyers and property owners.

Legal Disclaimer

Texas REALTORS® provides content through various online platforms, including this blog. By interacting with any of our blog posts, you agree to comply with the following terms and conditions:

a. You will not post any defamatory, discriminatory, libelous, threatening, vulgar, sexually explicit, abusive, profane, rude, or obscene content (including comments);
b. You will not use our blog posts or posted content to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory; and
c. You will not post content or take any action on our blog posts that infringes someone else’s rights or otherwise violates the law.
d. You will not post any information intended to sell or advertise a business, product, or service.

Texas REALTORS®, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to remove any content you have uploaded, posted, or submitted onto any of our blog posts if we believe that it violates these terms or conditions.

The material provided here is for informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be considered as legal advice for your particular matter. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Applicability of the legal principles discussed in this material may differ substantially in individual situations.

While Texas REALTORS® has used reasonable efforts in collecting and preparing materials included here, due to the rapidly changing nature of the real estate marketplace and the law, and our reliance on information provided by outside sources, Texas REALTORS® makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee of the accuracy or reliability of any information provided here. Any legal or other information found on this page or at other sites to which we link, should be verified before it is relied upon.