Honorable Joe C. Gladney

Criminal Dlstriot Attorney 'RuskCounty Henderson, Texas
Attention: Honorable O'Neal Morris

Dear Sir: opinion NO. 

### o-5246 Ret Power to collect taxes on homesteadwithout collectingpersonal pr* perty and poll taxes due from owner of the homestead.

Your opinion request, dated April 21, 

### 1993,states:

"Mr. George E. Wood, Tax Assessor-Collector of Rusk Counby, Texas askedme to seoure fran your office an op&nion on the, following question, towit: A homestead ownerwho owes taxeson his homestead and on otherpersonal property and poll, taxes tenderspayment of all the taxes due on his homestead to the exclusion of the personal property taxes and poll taxes due. Can

### Mr.Wood accept payment of all taxes due against this homesteadwithout payment of the other taxesmentioned? In otherwords, can the.,homestead be inoumberad with taxes due on personalproperty and poll taxes?

"It ismy opinion that the Tax AsseeaorCollector can accept payment of taxes due on the homesteadwithout payment on personal property and poll taxes. My opinion is based onArticle 7279 R.C.S. of 1925whi@h says3 No real estate set apart, used or designated as a homestead shallbe sold for taxes other than the taxes due
on such homestead. I also oite the following authoritiesa City of San Antonio vs. Toepperwein, 

### 133S. W. 

### 416: Tate vs. MoGraw, 

### 73 S.W. 2d 

### 559.Honorable Joe C. Gladney,page 2 - 

### (0-5246)

',"It is possible that this question is covered in OpinionNo. O-448made to W. Pat Camp, Assistant CriminalDistrict Attorney, San Antonio, Texas, March 

### 15,1939.

"An opinion on this questionwill be greatly appreciated."

We feel that your opinion is correct. Article 7279 has consistentlybeen construed to mean that a homestead is not liable for any tax save and except the taxes due against the homestead itself. Wright v. Straub 

### 64 Tex. 

### 64,Higgins
v. Bordages, 

### 88 Tex. 

### 458 31 S. W. 52, 

### $03,Barnet v. Eureka Paving Co., 234 S. W. 1081,Tate v. McGraw, 

### 70 S.W. (28) 467,73 S.w. (2d)559. Since this is true, payment of the taxes due on the homesteadwill leave such homestead free and clear of any tax lien, and suchproperty can in no way be used for the collection of personal property or poll taxes due from the owner of such homestead.

In our OpinionNo. 

### o-448,to which you refer,we held that payment of all taxes against the homestead and payment of the poll tax of the taxpayerprior to January 

### 31, 1939, followed by a subsequentpayment Bf the poll tax of thewife of the taxpayer on February 

### 6, 1939,would entitle the taxpayer to a poll tax receipt dated January 

### 31, thus entitling him to vote, despite the fact that all of thesepaymentswere not made prior to such date. In that opinionwe referred, with respect to poll tax payments, to the principles enunciat, ed in the preceding paragraph. Suoh principles are,we feel, applicable to poll taxes,personal property taxes, or to any taxes or assessments other than taxes actually due on the homestead. Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry and confirmsyour opinion,we are

APPROVED MAY 

### 4, 1943 Very truly yours

/a/ Gerald C. Mann

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS
/s/ R. Dean Moorhead
R. Dean Moorhead

Assistant

RDM:db:elb APPROVED OPINION COmITTEE BY Chairman