Texas Bookkeeping Services
Texas looks simple from the outside — no personal income tax, no general statewide business license — but the state replaces both with its own rhythm: a franchise tax whose no-tax-due threshold just moved to $2.65 million, an information report that is still due even when no tax is, a May 15 date most new owners have never heard of, and sales tax rates that change block by block. We have kept books for businesses remotely since 2005, and dedicated bookkeepers from $75/month keep every one of those filings tax-ready.
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Texas owners and their CPAs get a dedicated bookkeeper handling daily transaction logging, monthly reconciliations, and tax-ready financials — plans from $75/month, extra hours at $15/hour, and wholesale $10/hour rates for CPA firms — backed by a 100% money-back guarantee on your first deposit.
On This Page
- Texas’s small-business tax landscape
- The franchise tax: $2.65M threshold, but a report is still due
- No personal income tax — what it actually buys you
- Sales tax: 6.25% plus wherever you sit
- Texas cities we serve
- Texas FAQs
Texas’s Small-Business Tax Landscape
| Tax / Filing | Rate / Fee | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Personal income tax | None — constitutionally prohibited (Prop 4, 2019) | — |
| Franchise tax — no-tax-due threshold | $2,650,000 annualized revenue (2026 & 2027 reports; up from $2.47M for 2024–25) | May 15 |
| Franchise tax rates | 0.375% retail/wholesale; 0.75% all other; 0.331% EZ computation (revenue ≤ $20M) | May 15 |
| Compensation deduction limit | $480,000 per person (2026–27) | — |
| Under the threshold? | No tax report — but a Public Information Report (05-102) or Ownership Information Report (05-167) is still required | May 15 |
| Sales & use tax | 6.25% state + up to 2% local | 20th of the month, monthly/quarterly |
| Unemployment insurance (2026) | New employers 2.70% flat; wage base $9,000; experienced range 0.32%–6.32% | Quarterly |
| General business license | None statewide | — |
Figures from Texas Comptroller and Texas Workforce Commission official sources (July 2026). This is bookkeeping context, not tax advice — confirm current-year specifics with the Texas Comptroller and your CPA before filing.
The Franchise Tax: $2.65M Threshold, But a Report Is Still Due
The franchise tax is where Texas quietly bites. The no-tax-due threshold sits at $2.65 million in annualized revenue for 2026 and 2027 reports — up from $2.47 million in 2024–25 — so most small businesses owe zero franchise tax. The trap is what still has to be filed: the old No Tax Due Report was discontinued for 2024 and later, and in its place every under-threshold entity must file a Public Information Report (Form 05-102) or Ownership Information Report (Form 05-167) by May 15. Skip it because “we don’t owe anything” and the entity drifts toward forfeiture of its right to do business — the failure mode we see most, usually discovered by a lender or a buyer at the worst possible moment.
Cross the threshold and the rate depends on what you do: 0.375% for retail and wholesale, 0.75% for everything else, with an EZ computation at 0.331% available to businesses at or under $20 million in revenue. The margin calculation also allows a compensation deduction capped at $480,000 per person for 2026–27 — which is exactly the kind of number that falls out of clean payroll records and nowhere else. (R&D franchise-credit rules also changed on January 1, 2026 — if you claim it, ask your CPA before assuming last year’s treatment.) Clean revenue classification all year is what makes the May 15 report a formality instead of a scramble; that is the job of daily bookkeeping, not tax season.
No Personal Income Tax — What It Actually Buys You
Texas has no personal income tax, and since Proposition 4 passed in 2019 the ban is written into the state constitution (Article 8, Section 24-a) — it cannot be introduced without another constitutional amendment. For pass-through owners that means profit distributions land free of state income tax, and there is no state return riding on your personal one. What it does not mean is “no state taxes”: the franchise report, sales tax, unemployment insurance, and local property taxes on business equipment all still want accurate books. Texas simply moves the compliance weight off the income line and onto the filings above — which is a good trade only if someone is actually keeping the ledger.
The same logic applies once you hire. There is no state income tax withholding to run, but employers still answer to the Texas Workforce Commission for unemployment insurance: new employers pay a flat 2.70% for 2026 on a $9,000 wage base, and experienced rates range from 0.32% to 6.32% — set on your TWC notice each year, which is why the books should never hard-code a prior year’s rate. It is a small line per employee, but it files quarterly, and quarterly filings are exactly the kind of thing a dedicated bookkeeper keeps current without being reminded.
Sales Tax: 6.25% Plus Wherever You Sit
The state rate is 6.25%, and local jurisdictions can stack up to 2% more — so the combined rate depends on where the sale happens, topping out at 8.25%. Dallas, for example, sits exactly at that 8.25% cap. Returns are due the 20th of the month, monthly or quarterly depending on your volume, and the perennial bookkeeping failure is collected-but-unremitted tax quietly commingled with operating cash. We keep sales tax in its own liability account from day one, so the 20th is a transfer, not a surprise. Months behind on any of this? Catch-up bookkeeping rebuilds the year fast.
Texas Cities We Serve
Dedicated local guide: Dallas — plus Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and every corner of the state, all served remotely. Browse all locations.
Texas Bookkeeping FAQs
Do I need a business license in Texas?
There is no general statewide business license — a genuine simplification compared to most states. Specific activities and professions carry their own permits and registrations, so verify your situation with the Texas Comptroller and your local jurisdiction. What every LLC and corporation does owe is the May 15 franchise-tax filing, even when no tax is due.
My revenue is under $2.65 million — do I really have to file anything?
Yes. The No Tax Due Report was discontinued for 2024 and later reports, but under-threshold entities must still file a Public Information Report (05-102) or Ownership Information Report (05-167) by May 15. Missing it risks forfeiture of your entity’s right to do business — a status problem that surfaces during loans, licenses, and sales.
Which franchise tax rate would apply to my business?
Retail and wholesale businesses pay 0.375% on taxable margin; everything else pays 0.75%; and businesses with $20 million or less in revenue can elect the 0.331% EZ computation. The margin math — including the $480,000-per-person compensation deduction for 2026–27 — comes straight out of your books, which is why the classification work we do all year determines the number your CPA files in May.
Do you have offices in Texas?
We are fully virtual — founded in Vienna, Virginia on May 25, 2005 and headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico today — serving Texas businesses remotely since 2005. You get a dedicated bookkeeper with plans from $75/month, daily transaction logging, and a 100% money-back guarantee on your first deposit.