Texas sales tax nexus: the $500,000 safe harbour, explained.

A "remote seller" in Texas is an out-of-state seller whose only activity in the state is the remote solicitation of sales — internet, telephone, catalogue and similar channels. Under the Comptroller's Rule 3.286, a remote seller below the safe harbour "is not required to obtain a tax permit or collect, report and remit state and local use tax". The harbour is measured on total Texas revenue, which the Comptroller defines broadly:

• Gross revenue from sales of taxable and nontaxable tangible personal property and services into Texas;
• Separately stated handling, transportation, installation and similar fees you collect;
• Sales for resale, and sales to exempt entities;
• Marketplace sales — since 1 April 2020, all sales go into the calculation, including sales a marketplace provider collects and remits tax on.

That last point is the trap, and the Comptroller's own example is stark: a seller with $300,000 of website sales and $300,000 of marketplace sales into Texas over twelve months has $600,000 of total Texas revenue, is outside the safe harbour, and must collect on its website sales — even though the marketplaces handled their share perfectly. There is no transaction-count test to trip over, and no de minimis below the dollar line.

Unlike California and Florida, Texas never gives you a clean 1 January reset. The test is always the preceding twelve calendar months, so a strong quarter drops out of the window only a full year later, and crossing can happen in any month. When you cross, the Comptroller allows a run-in: you must "obtain a permit and begin collecting and remitting state and local use tax… beginning no later than the first day of the fourth month after the month that a remote seller exceeds the $500,000 safe harbor amount". Cross in October 2026 and your deadline is 1 February 2027.

The window works in reverse too. A permitted remote seller can end its Texas collection duty only after twelve consecutive months back below $500,000 — and must resume on the first day of the second month after any later twelve-month window goes over again. One good month does not switch the obligation off.

Marketplaces

A marketplace provider must certify to its sellers that it will collect sales and use tax; the certification can sit in the terms of use. If you sell only through a certifying marketplace, you do not need a Texas permit — but you must keep records of all marketplace sales for at least four years. If a provider does not certify, collect the tax yourself until it does. On your return, marketplace sales go into Total Texas Sales but are excluded from Taxable Sales where the provider certified. Both provider and seller remain open to audit.

Physical presence and inventory

The safe harbour protects only sellers whose Texas activity is remote solicitation. Maintaining an office or property in Texas, having representatives who take orders or make sales or deliveries, or holding your own inventory in the state makes you engaged in business and requires a permit regardless of revenue. Texas does, however, publish one narrow carve-out that contradicts the usual "FBA equals nexus" shorthand: a remote seller below the $500,000 harbour whose tangible personal property is only temporarily stored in a marketplace provider's Texas facility needs no permit and has no collection duty, provided the provider has certified it will assume the duties of a seller. Above the harbour, the same stored inventory means a permit is required. Note the Comptroller also flags that temporarily stored inventory can create Texas franchise tax responsibility — a separate tax with its own nexus rules, outside the scope of this guide.

One rate instead of hundreds

Remote sellers normally collect local use tax at the destination rate. Texas instead lets a remote seller elect the single local use tax rate — currently 1.75%, published annually — for a combined 8.00% with the 6.25% state rate, elected or revoked on Form 01-799. Marketplace providers cannot use it, and buyers overcharged versus their local rate can claim the difference back annually.

• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Remote Sellers
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Remote Sellers and Marketplace Frequently Asked Questions
• 34 Texas Administrative Code, Rule 3.286 (Seller's and Purchaser's Responsibilities — remote seller safe harbour)

This guide covers Texas sales and use tax only. It is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice for your situation, and it does not cover Texas franchise tax. Tax rules change — verify with the Texas Comptroller or your tax adviser before registering. Last verified: 21 October 2026.