Texas collected $4.4 billion in state sales tax in September, up 11.5% from September 2025, according to the state comptroller. Collections for the first nine months of the year stand at $39.6 billion, up 7.8%. Comptroller Don Huffines said the numbers show sales tax collections “remain above prior-year levels.”
For a household, the figure matters mainly because of what Huffines says it could pay for. He has tied the stronger revenue to property tax relief, which would show up in a tax bill rather than at a checkout counter. Sales tax makes up 59% of all state tax collections, so a month like this one moves the state’s budget picture.
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Which businesses drove September’s gain?
The biggest increases came from business spending, not shoppers. Mining, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and real estate, rental and leasing all posted double-digit growth, the comptroller’s office reported.
The release says part of that reflects weak collections a year earlier, when high refunds held down the total, but mostly reflects more economic activity. Most of September’s revenue comes from August sales, so the month is a look back at late summer.
The yearly pace is also picking up. Through August, collections stood at $35.2 billion, up 7.3% from the same point last year. Adding September lifts the year-to-date total to $39.6 billion and the growth rate to 7.8%, which is the sense in which collections are running ahead of last year’s pace.
Are shoppers keeping up with prices?
Retail trade, the largest single sector, rose 3% in the month. That is slightly below the 3.4% consumer price increase the release cites, which suggests shoppers bought about the same or a little less once prices are counted. Electronics and appliance stores and automotive dealers had the largest gains.
Restaurants were up 2.5%, below inflation for food away from home. By comparison, August’s collections were $4.62 billion, up 7.1% from a year earlier, with retail trade nearly 10% higher and online shopping up more than 20% for the second month in a row.
What happened to the state’s other taxes?
The comptroller’s office also reported September totals for several other state taxes:
- Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes: $684 million, up 5%
- Motor fuel taxes: $337 million, down 1%
- Oil production taxes: $507 million, up 14%
- Natural gas production taxes: $290 million, up 30%
- Hotel occupancy taxes: $65 million, up 10%
- Alcoholic beverage taxes: $147 million, down 2%
Natural gas production taxes posted the largest gain in the group, and motor fuel and alcohol collections were the only ones to fall.
Could the extra revenue lower property tax bills?
Huffines has made that case more than once. In the September report, he said that if collections hold up, the Legislature could use the surplus for property tax relief. After August’s numbers he said the higher revenue “is a positive sign for meaningful property tax relief for Texans” and urged lawmakers to prioritize “lowering the cost of homeownership.”
He has pushed the same point at the local level. When the comptroller’s office distributed $1.4 billion in monthly sales tax revenue to cities, counties, transit systems and special districts in August, up 13.6% from a year earlier, Huffines said many local governments with increased sales tax revenue can dedicate much of it to property tax reduction.
No relief measure is in place, and the comptroller’s office has not said how large a cut it would favor or when one would take effect. Huffines took office Aug. 1, and the relief he describes is still an argument rather than a plan with numbers. Property tax relief would need action from the Legislature or from the local governments that set the rates.
Will Texas sales tax growth show up on a property tax bill?
Strong sales tax collections do not lower a property tax bill by themselves, and a homeowner who waits for relief that has not been passed can overlook breaks that already exist. The story here is state revenue, and the household question it leads to is what a house costs to keep.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
