Professional Services & Consultants Bookkeeping in Texas

Whether professional services and consultants services are taxable in Texas is the question that catches people out — states differ enormously, and several have been broadening what counts. Remote sellers may elect a single local use tax rate instead of tracking every jurisdiction. The franchise tax is a separate annual filing. We code service revenue separately from any product revenue so the treatment is explicit rather than assumed.

Economic nexus in Texas is $500,000 in sales. For professional services and consultants, that threshold is the one to watch, because it is reached by selling into the state — no office, no staff, no physical presence required. Once you cross it you are expected to register with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and begin collecting. We track your Texas sales against it and tell you before you cross, not after.

Registering to do business in Texas runs through the Texas Secretary of State, with tax accounts through the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and employer accounts through the Texas Workforce Commission. Texas treats these as wholly independent, so being in good standing with one says nothing about the others — and the sales tax account is the one that accrues a real balance while you are not looking.

The Texas statewide base rate is 6.25%. That sits mid-table nationally, with local rates layered on top and sourced to the delivery address rather than to your own location. Sourcing is where this is won or lost, and with economic nexus set at $500,000 in sales, it becomes your problem the moment that threshold is crossed.