Free Texas Quitclaim Deed Form

A Texas quitclaim deed is a legal instrument that facilitates the conveyance of a person’s interest in real property to another party without affirming the existence of a clear and unencumbered title.

This type of deed lacks warranties, meaning the grantor doesn’t guarantee they hold a valid title to the property or that it’s free from encumbrances like liens. Grantors often use this document in transactions among family members. They may also use it to swiftly resolve title disputes, leaving the grantee to assume any associated risks with the property’s title.

How to File

Filing a quitclaim deed in Texas is a simple process when you prepare the deed carefully and record it with the county clerk. Completing these steps protects your legal rights.

Step 1: Obtain the Deed

You will need to reference the current deed of the house to prove your ownership and transfer the title to the new owners. If you don’t have the deed, you can check with the county clerk’s office in the county where the property resides.

Step 2: Find a Legal Description of the Property

While there are no specific requirements surrounding the legal description of property within a deed, all property descriptions should be specific and unique for proper identification.

Here are various ways you can locate the legal description:

• Property Deed: State law requires property deeds to include a clear description of the land. The legal description will be either inside the document or attached separately as an exhibit.
• Other documents: Mortgage or real estate transaction documents, Texas property tax documents.
• Online: Some counties provide online mapping tools you can use to find land parcels and their legal description. Visit the official county government website for accurate information and contact the county clerk’s office for more details.

Step 3: Gather All Necessary Information

You will need to know the personal information of the grantees, such as their full legal names and mailing addresses. If you don’t include the complete mailing addresses of grantees on the quitclaim deed, you may be subject to penalty fines (Tex. Prop. Code § 11.003).

You should also discuss how much money, if any, the grantee will give in exchange for the property. Additionally, iron out details like whether you, as the grantor, can enter, use, or own the property for a specific timeframe or until death.

Step 4: Consider Legal Assistance

A property lawyer can help you understand legal jargon like common property types listed in a quitclaim deed and ensure the deed contains the correct information for state and local requirements.

Reaching out to a lawyer is particularly important in Texas due to a specific section in its property code, which holds that unrecorded title transfers in the past are legally binding for subsequent purchasers. To ensure that the property transfer is done correctly, consult with an attorney to verify that a quitclaim deed is useful for your particular situation.

Step 5: Complete the Quitclaim Form

Using a template or the help of an attorney, fill out all necessary information accurately and to the best of your ability. Necessary information includes:

• Your legal name and address as grantor
• Their legal name(s) and address(es) as the grantee(s)
• The amount of money the grantee will exchange in the transfer (if any)
• The state and county of the property
• A legal description of the property with unique identifiers
• Property type, like if the grantee will have sole ownership or rent to tenants
• Any exceptions that allow the grantor to use the property
• Whether the property is the grantor’s main homestead
• Whether there’s a transfer tax, which is not required in Texas

Step 6: Sign in Front of Witnesses or a Notary

You must sign a quitclaim deed in front of either two witnesses or a notary for it to be legally binding (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001). The witnesses or notary must also sign the document. The grantee does not need to sign their name.

Step 7: File the Form

You must file the quitclaim deed at the Texas county clerk’s office for the county in which the property sits. Once the clerk receives it, they must record the form within a reasonable amount of time, give you a receipt, and keep it indexed with the proper records. Otherwise, you may be able to file for damages (Tex. Prop. Code § 11.004).

Step 8: Provide the Deed to the Grantee

Provide the deed to the grantee so they can prove their property ownership. Moving forward, they can use this document to transfer other responsibilities of the property, like the mortgage, into their name if applicable.

Costs and Fees

Texas quitclaim deed costs and fees are typically lower than other states because Texas doesn’t impose state taxes on transfers or gifts. A small filing fee applies, as do federal taxes on gifts. Otherwise, the experience is relatively affordable when a grantor takes on this task themselves.

Filing Fees

Quitclaim deed filing fees are $25 for the first page and $4 for each supplemental page. Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 118.011 covers filing fees for recording every kind of documentation in full.

Taxes

In general, taxes on Texas property transfers, including quitclaim deeds, are less expensive than in other states. Texas doesn’t impose a state transfer, gift, or capital gains tax, lowering taxes for quitclaim deeds overall. Explore some taxes that may come into effect when you use a quitclaim deed:

1. Documentary Transfer Tax (DTT)

Texas doesn’t have any transfer taxes. Its statewide embargo on transfer taxes makes the transfer process more affordable for grantors of a quitclaim deed.

2. US Gift Tax (Form 709)

Texas also doesn’t have a state-specific gift tax. Federally, the US gift tax applies to all quitclaim deeds. The IRS considers a taxable gift to be any transfer to an individual where the giver doesn’t receive its full monetary value in return.

The grantor generally pays the gift tax, but the grantee can agree to pay the tax in special circumstances. For quitclaim deeds specifically, grantors can find the amount they owe by filling out IRS Form 709. Exceptions exist for property transfers between spouses or trusts.

3. Capital Gains Tax

While Texas again has no capital gains tax, the federal government does. A capital gains tax, which the IRS discusses in Topic No. 409, applies to the grantee only if they sell the property later for more than the adjusted basis amount. Grantees can refer to IRS Publication 551 for more information about how to find the adjusted basis for a property they’ve received as a gift or inheritance.

Texas Quitclaim Deed Requirements

In Texas, quitclaim deeds must satisfy various legal guidelines to be enforceable. Including all the necessary information helps you feel confident throughout the recording process.

Legal Framework

Chapters 11 through 13 of the Texas Property Code lay the groundwork for quitclaim deeds. The statutes define the critical elements of quitclaim deed creation, including what information to include (Tex. Prop. Code, Ch. 11), how to file (Tex. Prop. Code, Ch. 12), and what happens after filing (Tex. Prop. Code, Ch. 13).

Common Texas quitclaim deed requirements include the following:

Legal Description

• State law does not specify any particular language for describing property in a quitclaim deed. Generally, the legal description should uniquely identify a particular piece of property. Check the prior deed for a description you can use.

Signing

• According to Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001, signers should include:
  1. The property owner (the grantor).
  2. Two witnesses or a notary.
• The receiver of the property (the grantee) doesn’t need to sign.

Language/Terminology

• New quitclaim deeds must use English. If the deed is acknowledged outside the US and its territories, it must include a correct English translation sworn as accurate before an authorized officer (Tex. Prop. Code § 11.002).
• Most of these deeds use the word “quitclaim” or an equivalent phrase like “remise, release, and quitclaim” to legally transfer the property to the grantee (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.019).

Additional Documents

• A certified translation of your quitclaim deed should accompany your primary document if it’s in another language.
• A judgment that awards interest in the property should go with your deed to prove your ownership and ability to transfer it (Tex. Prop. Code § 11.0052).

Note: A quitclaim deed doesn’t affect your mortgage. To transfer a mortgage to the new property owners, you must update your mortgage deed separately.

Filing

• After receiving the proper signatures, file at your Texas county clerk’s office.

Community Property

Marital property falls into two categories under Texas community property law:

• Separate Property:
  • Owned before marriage
  • Acquired by gift or inheritance during marriage
  • Personal injury recovery during marriage
• Community Property:
  • Acquired by either spouse during marriage, excluding separate property.

It’s important for legal and tax purposes to clearly state in the deed whether the property is separate or community when transferring it. This ensures clarity and helps avoid potential complications.

Validity Requirements

According to state law, you must consider the following requirements when creating a quitclaim deed to prove its legal validity:

• Location: The deed must be recorded and filed in the county that contains the property (Tex. Prop. Code § 11.001).
• Required Signatures: The grantor must sign the deed before two witnesses or an authorized notary who also signs the document (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001).
• Type of Signatures: Signatures on a quitclaim deed must either be original or acknowledged, sworn to in front of a notary, or proved according to state law (Tex. Prop. Code §12.0011).
• Electronic Signatures: For state law to consider electronic signatures valid, a notary must attach an official seal and declaration of authenticity to the printed copy of the deed that includes the electronic signatures (Tex. Prop. Code §12.0013 (d)).
• Other Potential Interests: Parties should only use quitclaim deeds when they’ve already established trust, as these documents can be risky otherwise. In Texas law, an unrecorded interest is considered binding on a purchaser who does not pay valuable consideration for the property (Tex. Prop. Code §13.001(b)).

Content Requirements

In the content portion of a quitclaim deed for Texas, include the following:

• Effective Date: Note when the deed should go into effect and transfer the title to the new owners.
• Grantor and Grantee Names: Include the full legal names of the person giving the property (the grantor) and the person accepting the property (the grantee).
• Grantor and Grantee Type: Identify whether each party is a single individual, married individual or couple, or an entity like a corporation or limited liability company (LLC).
• Grantor Mailing Address: Include an address for the grantor on your quitclaim deed. While Texas law doesn’t require this information, it’s standard practice to include it.
• Grantee Addresses: The document should include a mailing address for each grantee. Otherwise, you may receive a penalty fee (Tex. Prop. Code § 11.003). While you’ll incur a penalty for not including these addresses, their absence doesn’t invalidate the deed.
• Money Exchanged: If the parties will exchange money during the transfer, note it on the deed. If not, write down a nominal or symbolic amount like $10.
• Property Details: Give the county and state that the property exists in and describe the property by unique details, which you can usually find on the previous deed.
• Property Type: Identify whether the property will be used as a sole ownership, joint tenancy, tenancy in common, or tenancy in the entirety.
• Exceptions: Write down any exceptions, such as if the grantor has permission to live on or use a specific part of the property for a certain period or until death.
• Homestead Status: Note whether the property is the grantor’s homestead.

Title Insurance and Quitclaim Deeds

Title insurance companies in Texas are suspicious of insuring properties that have quitclaim deeds in their history because these documents don’t provide any assurance or legal defense for the new deed holder’s rights. They also worry that property title issues could arise due to undocumented past transactions.

Insurance companies may accept a deed without warranty instead. This document includes the “grant, sell, and convey” terminology that conveys the actual property and not just the interest of the transferor. This way, the new owner won’t have to deal with the consequences of undisclosed liens, as a deed without warranty requires their divulgence.

Quitclaim Deeds vs. Other Property Transfer Methods in Texas

Sample Texas Quitclaim Deed

Below is a free sample Texas quitclaim deed. Personalize it with your details using our editor and download your document in Word or PDF format.

Frequently Asked Questions