Sales Tax
If you sell taxable goods or services in Texas, the Comptroller expects a return on a fixed rhythm whether or not you had sales that period.
When your return is due
| Filing frequency | Due |
|---|---|
| Monthly | The 20th of the month following the reporting month |
| Quarterly | The 20th after the quarter ends — April 20, July 20, October 20, January 20 |
| Annual | January 20 |
The Comptroller assigns your frequency based on how much tax you collect, and it can change as the business grows. When the 20th falls on a weekend or a holiday, the due date generally moves to the next business day.
A period with no sales still needs a return. Filing a zero return is a two-minute job; not filing one produces notices, penalties and eventually a lost permit.
Where it usually goes wrong
- Collected but not remitted. Sales tax was never your money. When it sits in the operating account it tends to get spent, and the shortfall surfaces at filing time.
- The wrong rate. Texas layers city, county and special district rates on top of the state rate, so the correct total depends on where the sale is sourced.
- Taxable and exempt mixed together. Whether a service is taxable is not always obvious, and getting it wrong in either direction costs money.
- Resale and exemption certificates. If you accept them you have to hold them, and produce them if asked.
What we do
We take the figures from your books rather than a separate spreadsheet, prepare the return for your assigned frequency, file it, and tell you what to set aside before the next one. When we also handle your bookkeeping, the sales tax liability is already tracked as its own account rather than reconstructed each period.
Sales tax sits alongside your franchise tax report and federal return as the third Texas obligation. We handle all three.
Talk to us about your return
Tell us what you need filed and we will tell you what it involves and what it costs. New inquiries get a response within the week.
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