Federal tax law for Texas taxpayers and DFW businesses

Texas law protects a lot. The IRS plays by federal rules.

No state income tax. An unlimited urban homestead. Community property. Texas has rules you will not find anywhere else, and every one of them collides with federal tax collection in a specific way. These guides explain the collision in plain English.

Browse 53 guides (813) 229-7100

What Texas law does, and what the IRS does anyway

Texas homestead exemption: Does not stop a federal tax lien from attaching. The IRS needs a court for some seizures, but the lien is still there.
Texas ban on wage garnishment: Does not bind the IRS. A federal wage levy needs no court order.
Community property: Can put a spouse's share of community assets within reach of the other spouse's tax debt.
LLC charging order protection: Is state law. The federal tax lien attaches to whatever property rights you own.

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The questions Texans ask first

Community Property

When Only One Spouse Owes the IRS: How Collection Works Against Texas Community Property

Your spouse owes the IRS and you do not. In most states that would mostly be their problem. In Texas, the answer depends on a property concept most married couples have never heard of: management and control.

Read the guide →Texas Law

Can the IRS Take Your Texas Homestead?

Texas has the strongest homestead protection in America. Here is exactly how far it goes against the IRS, and where it stops.

Read the guide →Texas Business

Selling a DFW Business That Owes the IRS: Liens, Discharges, and Closing the Deal

Owners with IRS debt often decide the best exit is to sell. The federal tax lien makes that harder, not impossible. Here is how a sale actually closes when the IRS has a claim.

Read the guide →Texas Business

Texas LLC Charging Order Protection vs. the IRS: What Actually Protects Your Business

Texas has some of the strongest LLC creditor protections in the country. Business owners assume they work against the IRS too. Here is where that assumption holds and where it breaks.

Read the guide →Land & Minerals

Selling Texas Mineral Rights: Capital Gain, Basis, and What the IRS Asks For

Mineral buyers send Texas owners offer letters every month. Before you sign, know whether you are making a sale or a lease, what your basis is, and how the IRS will see the deal.

Read the guide →Settlements

The Offer in Compromise for Texas Taxpayers: Real Numbers, Real Rules

Yes, people really do settle IRS debt for less than they owe. No, it is not because they hired someone from a radio ad. Here is how the formula works and who actually qualifies.

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Topic hubs

Find your situation

Texas Law

Homestead, exemptions, Texas liens, and where state law meets federal collection.

Community Property

How the IRS treats married Texans, their income, and their assets.

Texas Business

LLCs, partnerships, sole proprietors, and selling or closing a Texas business.

Land & Minerals

Ranches, mineral rights, wind and solar leases, and conservation easements.

Living in Texas

No state income tax, sales and property tax deductions, moving here.

Collections

Liens, levies, garnishments, and your appeal rights.

Settlements

Offers, payment plans, penalty relief, hardship status, and the ten-year clock.

Business

Payroll tax, trust fund penalties, and business tax debt.

Audits

Examinations, energy income, and crypto.

Filing

Unfiled returns and getting back into compliance.

How this works

Federal problem. Federal law. Same rules in Dallas as in Tampa.

I am Darrin T. Mish. I am admitted to the State Bar of Texas, The Florida Bar, and the State Bar of Colorado, and I have practiced federal tax law for more than three decades. My office is in Tampa, Florida. I do not have a Texas office, and I do not need one to deal with the IRS for you: the Internal Revenue Code, the collection rules, and your appeal rights are identical in all fifty states.

Where other areas of Texas law matter, such as family law or real estate, these guides say so and tell you when a question belongs with a lawyer who practices in that area.

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Owe the IRS? Let's talk.

The first conversation is free and it is with an attorney. Federal tax problems are handled by phone, mail, and secure upload, so where you live in Texas does not matter.

(813) 229-7100

Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern