Doing business in Austin: city taxes on top of state filings

The stack

• File the Texas PIR by May 15 even at $0 franchise tax.
• Sellers of taxable goods and services collect 8.25% combined (6.25% state, 1% city, 1% transit).
• Business personal property over $125,000 per location is rendered to the appraisal district by April 15.

No city income layer

Neither Texas nor Austin taxes business or personal income. For most small companies the only recurring entity-level obligation is the state franchise tax system: no tax at or below $2.65 million of revenue for 2026–2027 reports, but a Public Information Report every May 15.

Business personal property tax

Texas taxes equipment, furniture, inventory, and other business personal property at local property-tax rates. House Bill 9 and voter-approved Proposition 9 raised the exemption to $125,000 of taxable value per location starting in 2026, replacing the old $2,500 floor. Businesses at or below that level can file a simplified certification instead of a full rendition; the normal filing deadline with the appraisal district (Travis Central Appraisal District for most of Austin) is April 15.

Worked example

A 12-person Austin software LLC with $2 million of revenue and $60,000 of laptops and furniture owes no franchise tax (under the threshold), files a PIR, and now owes no business personal property tax (under $125,000). Its Austin tax footprint is sales tax on any taxable services it sells plus the paperwork. The same team hiring one engineer in California adds California’s $800 and registration.

The state layer underneath

City taxes sit on top of state obligations, never instead of them. For the TX side, see Texas no-tax-due & PIR, and check whether a hire or customer in Austin creates a filing duty in the nexus checker.