State sales tax revenue in Texas reached $4.6 billion in January, marking a 7.1 percent increase compared to January 2025, according to Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock. The majority of this revenue is attributed to sales made in December and reported to the agency in January.
“State sales tax collections were very strong last month, with growth well above the rate of general price inflation,” Hancock said. “Results from all major economic sectors were positive, with growth especially strong in receipts from sectors driven by business spending.”
Business-related sectors experienced the largest gains over the previous year. Both mining and construction showed double-digit growth, while manufacturing sector remittances rose more than 8 percent and wholesale trade receipts increased by 4 percent compared to January 2025.
Consumer-driven sectors also saw moderate increases. Retail trade receipts climbed more than 3 percent year-over-year, with electronic shopping up nearly 10 percent but general merchandise slightly down. Restaurant receipts grew by more than 3 percent from a year ago, though this was below the rate of inflation for food away from home.
For the three months ending in January 2026, total sales tax revenue was up 6.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Sales tax remains the largest source of state funding for Texas’s budget, accounting for about 58 percent of all tax collections.
The state also collected revenue from other taxes: motor vehicle sales and rental taxes totaled $631 million (up 7 percent), motor fuel taxes reached $327 million (up 4 percent), oil production tax amounted to $384 million (down 18 percent), natural gas production tax was $189 million (up 9 percent), hotel occupancy tax stood at $57 million (up 19 percent), and alcoholic beverage taxes were $161 million (up 4 percent).
Further details on monthly collections are available through the Comptroller’s Monthly State Revenue Watch website, which provides regular updates on state revenue figures and trends: https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/revenue/watch/. A comprehensive history of Texas’s tax policy developments since 1972 can be found in their updated Sources of Revenue publication: https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/revenue/sources.php.
