Bookkeeping in Texas

Bookkeeping services for Texas businesses.

Visory provides bookkeeping services for growing Texas businesses, from professional firms and consultancies to architecture and engineering practices. A dedicated team you know by name works remotely inside your own QuickBooks or Xero file, with Delphi AI taking the repetitive parts under that team’s oversight, and keeps your books to Texas franchise tax, sales tax, and unemployment tax rules. One flat monthly fee covers the agreed scope.

  • A dedicated team you know by name
  • Texas rules in every pay run and close
  • One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
Downtown Austin in late-afternoon sun, looking up Congress Avenue from the Lady Bird Lake bridge to the Texas State Capitol.
Photo: Mitchell Kmetz, Unsplash License

Who we work with in Texas

Growing businesses across Texas.

Health care and social assistance is Texas’s largest private industry, with about 1.72 million jobs, and professional, scientific, and technical services employ about 1.06 million people in more than 135,000 establishments (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages). Across the state, private employers averaged 12.1 million jobs in 2025.

Texas rules

The Texas rules your finance function runs on.

Four rules set by Texas, each with the law that sets it and what it does to your month. Your team works to them every pay run and every close.

Payroll carries one income tax, not two.

Pay runs withhold federal tax only for staff working in Texas, so the state cost of employing people sits in unemployment tax, and the state tax on the business itself arrives once a year as the franchise tax.

Set by Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a

The Texas Constitution bars the legislature from imposing a tax on the net incomes of individuals, including an individual’s share of partnership and unincorporated association income, so there is no Texas income tax to withhold from wages. Employers withhold federal income tax only. What Texas levies instead is the franchise tax on taxable entities, the state and local sales tax, and unemployment tax on wages.

Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a; prohibition added to the constitution November 5, 2019.

The cost lands early in the year.

Tax stops once an employee’s wages pass $9,000, so the first quarter carries most of the year’s cost, and a budget that spreads it evenly overstates every quarter after it.

Set by Texas Labor Code, Sections 201.082, 204.003, 204.006, and 204.121

Employers pay unemployment tax on the first $9,000 of each employee’s wages in a calendar year, and it may not be deducted from wages. A new employer pays the greater of 2.6% or its industry’s average rate less 0.1 percentage point until it earns an experience rate, plus an employment and training investment assessment of 0.1% of wages. The US Department of Labor reports 2.70% as the base new-employer rate, and experience rates from 0.00% to 6.00% before surtaxes, effective July 2026.

Texas Labor Code, Sections 201.082, 204.003, 204.006, and 204.121; initial rate rule and training assessment from January 1, 2006; rates as summarized by the US Department of Labor effective July 2026.

A computer does not make it data processing.

An architect’s drawings or a firm’s financial reports are not data processing just because a computer produces them, but software sold as a service is, so invoices separate the two and the tax collected is held for the report due on the 20th.

Set by Texas Tax Code, Chapter 151, Sections 151.0101, 151.051, 151.351, and 151.401

Texas imposes a 6.25% state sales and use tax on retail sales, leases, and rentals of most goods, and on taxable services in 16 broad categories, among them data processing, information services, and insurance services. Cities, counties, special purpose districts, and transit authorities can add up to 2%, for a maximum combined rate of 8.25%. Twenty percent of the charge for data processing and information services is exempt. Reports are due on the 20th of the month after each month, or after each quarter for a seller owing less than $500 a month or $1,500 a quarter.

Texas Tax Code, Chapter 151, Sections 151.0101, 151.051, 151.351, and 151.401.

The threshold is a cliff, not a bracket.

Revenue one dollar above $2.65 million brings tax on the whole margin, not on the excess, so the books need revenue tracked against the threshold all year and the margin method chosen before the May report.

Set by Texas Tax Code, Chapter 171

The franchise tax applies to corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and most other entities formed or doing business in Texas, but not sole proprietorships or general partnerships of natural persons. For 2026 and 2027 reports, entities with revenue at or below $2,650,000 owe no tax and file only a Public Information or Ownership Information Report. Above it, the rate is 0.75% of taxable margin (0.375% for retail or wholesale), or 0.331% of revenue under the EZ computation up to $20 million. Reports are due May 15.

Texas Tax Code, Chapter 171; rates and thresholds for the 2026 and 2027 report years.

Rules last checked October 9, 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. General information only. It does not take your circumstances into account.

Local rules

Where the rules change across Texas.

Your team applies the local rules as well as the Texas ones. These are the places where a local tax, a wage rate, or a leave law differs from the rest of the state.

Houston, Dallas, and Austin

Houston, Dallas, and Austin each split the 2% local sales tax evenly between the city and its transit authority, for the 8.25% maximum combined rate.

  • The city rate is 1% in each, and the transit authority adds another 1%: the Houston MTA since October 1, 1978, the Dallas MTA since January 1, 1984, and the Austin MTA since July 1, 1985.
  • In parts of Houston, emergency services districts take the second 1% in place of the transit authority, so the total stays 8.25% but the Comptroller lists each district’s own local code alongside the city’s.
  • Local sales tax generally follows the seller’s place of business, and local use tax follows where the customer first stores, uses, or consumes the item. Boundaries do not follow ZIP codes, so the rate is checked by address in the Comptroller’s Sales Tax Rate Locator.

San Antonio

San Antonio divides its 2% local sales tax three ways, and the split changed on January 1, 2026.

  • The combined rate is 8.25%: the 6.25% state rate, the city’s 1.125%, 0.375% for the San Antonio Advanced Transportation District, and 0.5% for the San Antonio MTA.
  • From January 1, 2026, the city abolished its additional sales tax for a sports venue, and the Advanced Transportation District raised its rate from 0.25% to 0.375%.
  • The Advanced Transportation District covers the city of San Antonio only, while the San Antonio MTA also covers cities such as Alamo Heights and Leon Valley and the unincorporated areas of Bexar County.

How it works from anywhere

Can a team outside Texas run a Texas business?

Yes. Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with businesses across the United States remotely, inside your own accounting file, so nothing about the work depends on where your office is.

Your own file

Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file. Your team works inside it, so you see the same numbers they do, whenever you look.

A team you know by name

A dedicated team runs the work, led by a Business Performance Partner. You meet them by video call, and you always know who to ask.

Texas rules, built in

Visory runs the finance function for growing businesses across the United States, with its US leadership team in New York. Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file, and your team works inside it with you. Every pay run and every close is checked against the rules on this page.

Business hours, and the platform after them

Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round, and the Visory platform is open to you around the clock for documents, approvals, and your numbers.

Visory Insights

What your numbers should show in Texas.

Clean books are the start. Every month, Insights turns them into a plain-English report, and a named Business Performance Partner walks your leadership team through what they mean for the year ahead.

The franchise tax arrives above $2.65 million

At or below $2,650,000 of revenue, no franchise tax is due. Just above it, the EZ computation at 0.331% on $2.7 million of revenue comes to $8,937, due on May 15. Insights shows the month your revenue forecast crosses the threshold, so the tax is in the cash plan.

Unemployment tax is a first-quarter cost

At the 2.7% base rate for new employers on the first $9,000 of wages, each employee costs up to $243 a year, and anyone paid more than $36,000 a year reaches the cap within the first quarter. Insights accrues that cost on January to March wages and puts the payment on April 30, when first-quarter tax is due.

Data processing is taxed on 80%

Twenty percent of a data processing charge is exempt, so at the 8.25% maximum combined rate a $10,000 invoice carries $660 of sales tax. That tax is held for the state until the 20th of the following month for monthly filers. Insights keeps it apart from operating cash.

Looking for a fractional CFO in Texas? Visory has no standalone CFO offer. That work sits inside Visory Insights and your sessions with a Business Performance Partner. See Visory Insights

What customers say

In a customer’s words.

“Visory ensures we have a clear view of who we need to pay and how that impacts cash flow so that there are no surprises.”

Rachelle Harper Co-founder and COO, BrandBossHQ

Common questions

Questions Texas businesses ask.

Straight answers about bookkeeping for a Texas business, from a team that works remotely.

Does Visory have an office in Texas?

Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with growing businesses across the United States remotely, so we support businesses in Texas as we do everywhere else. A Texas business gets a dedicated team you know by name, who work inside your own QuickBooks or Xero file and meet you by video call. Your records stay in your file, which you can open at any time.

What hours does my Visory team work?

Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your financial information is there whenever you need it.

Can a bookkeeper outside my office look after a Texas business?

Yes. What matters is that the team knows Texas’s rules and works inside your own accounting file. Visory connects to your bank feeds and software, codes and reconciles transactions through the month with Delphi AI working under an expert team, and meets you by video call. Nothing about the work depends on where your office is.

How much does a bookkeeper cost in Texas?

Visory charges one flat monthly fee for the scope we agree, with no hourly billing and no timesheets. The fee reflects the services you take, from bookkeeping and payroll to accounts payable, accounts receivable, and Insights, and the volume of work in your business. After a discovery call, you get a clear proposal, so you know the monthly cost before you start.

See how pricing works

Do you work in QuickBooks and Xero?

Yes. Visory works inside the systems you already use: QuickBooks and Xero for the ledger, Gusto and Rippling for pay runs, and Bill, Ramp, and Stripe for payments, along with your bank feeds. Your books stay in your own accounting file, which you own and can open at any time. Any change to your setup is agreed with you first.

Does my business owe the Texas franchise tax?

Corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and most other entities formed or doing business in Texas are subject to it. For 2026 and 2027 reports, those with revenue at or below $2,650,000 owe nothing and file a Public Information or Ownership Information Report; above it, the rate is 0.75% of margin, due May 15. This is general information; the Texas Comptroller sets the rules.

Do Texas businesses charge sales tax on services?

Only on the taxable services the law lists, in 16 broad categories that include data processing, information services, and insurance services. For data processing and information services, 20% of the charge is exempt. The state rate is 6.25%, and local taxes can bring the combined rate to 8.25%. This is general information; the Texas Comptroller sets the rules.

When are Texas sales tax reports due?

Once your sales tax permit is approved, the Texas Comptroller tells you by letter whether you file monthly or quarterly. Monthly reports are due on the 20th of the month after the reporting month, so April’s report is due May 20, while a seller owing less than $500 a month or $1,500 a quarter files by the 20th of the month after the quarter ends. A report filed late carries a $50 penalty, and tax paid late a 5% penalty, rising to 10% after 30 days. This is general information; the Texas Comptroller sets the rules.

Can you look after staff in more than one state?

Yes. Each state sets its own income tax withholding, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, and leave rules, and the Texas Constitution bars a state income tax on individuals, so staff working in Texas have federal tax withheld only. Visory keeps one set of books and runs payroll with each state’s rules applied to the staff who work there, so every state’s cost shows in one monthly report.

Do you offer a fractional CFO in Texas?

A fractional CFO advises on numbers someone else produces. Visory runs the books, payroll, and payments, then delivers the insight from the same team: Visory Insights is a plain-English monthly report and a session with a named Business Performance Partner. There is no handover between the doing and the advising, and it comes on one flat monthly fee.

See how Visory Insights works
More questions, longer answers. Every question has its own link. See all common questions

Getting started

Start with clarity, not a contract.

Three steps, in whatever rhythm suits you. Each one is useful on its own.

  1. Two people shake hands across a desk beside a laptop

    Book a discovery call

    An obligation-free conversation about your goals and what you want the numbers to tell you.

    Obligation-free
  2. A woman takes notes beside a laptop showing a financial report

    Get your free financial health check

    A senior member of the Visory team analyzes your financials and shows you where your finance function can improve. It is free, and it is your own numbers.

    Free · your own numbers
  3. Top-down view of hands on a laptop showing the Visory accounts receivable workflow

    Receive a clear proposal

    A clear commercial proposal for the scope we agree, on one flat monthly fee. No hourly billing. You decide whether to go ahead.

    Flat monthly fee

Get started

The best is ahead for your business.

Start with a discovery call. We will listen first, then show you what your own numbers have been trying to tell you.

Sources (27) · rules last checked October 9, 2026

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