How to Complete the Texas Sales and Use Tax Return (Form 01-922)

The Texas Form 01-922 instructions are the Comptroller’s line-by-line guide for completing the Texas Sales and Use Tax Return (Form 01-114). You use them to report total sales, break out taxable sales and taxable purchases, calculate state and local tax, apply any prepayment credits, and arrive at the amount you owe. Texas charges 6.25 percent state sales tax on most retail sales and taxable services, with local jurisdictions adding up to 2 percent for a combined maximum of 8.25 percent.¹

Before you start, pull together your sales records, exemption certificates, and receipts for any out-of-state purchases made during the period. Report all dollar amounts in whole dollars and drop the cents. And file for every assigned period, even a zero-sales period: skipping a return because you had nothing to report still triggers a $50 late-filing penalty.²

Completing the Return Line by Line

Item 1: Total Texas Sales

Enter the full dollar amount of all sales, services, leases, and rentals of tangible personal property during the period, excluding the tax itself. Include sales made from Texas locations and sales made into Texas from out-of-state locations. Enter zero if you had no sales.²

Item 2: Taxable Sales

This narrows Item 1 down to the taxable portion. Exempt sales, such as items sold to resellers with a valid exemption certificate or certain agricultural and manufacturing supplies, drop out here. If you collected tax in error and later refunded it to the customer, subtract that credit from your taxable sales figure in this item.

Item 3: Taxable Purchases

Report use tax here. Enter the total of any taxable purchases you made for personal or business use where no sales or use tax was paid. Common examples include supplies bought from an out-of-state vendor who didn’t charge Texas tax, inventory pulled off the shelf for your own use, and items bought tax-free for an exempt purpose but later put to a taxable use. Do not include items held exclusively for resale.²

Item 4: Total Amount Subject to State Tax

Add Item 2 and Item 3. Do not add Item 1 into this total. Item 1 captures everything including exempt sales; Item 4 captures only the taxable base.

Item 5: Amount Subject to Local Tax

The local tax amount must be the same for all local taxing authorities (city, transit authority, county, and special purpose district) at a given outlet. If the amounts differ between jurisdictions for any outlet, use the List Supplement (Form 01-116-A) instead. If “NOT APPLICABLE” is preprinted in Item 5, leave it blank.²

Item 6: Outlet Information

Enter the trade name, street address (not a P.O. Box), and the five-digit outlet number shown on your sales tax permit.

Items 7a and 7b: The Tax Math

For 7a, multiply Item 4 by the state rate of 6.25 percent. For 7b, multiply Item 5 by your local rate.

Item 8: Totals Across Outlets

Combine the state tax from all outlets into Column a and the local tax from all outlets into Column b.

Item 9: Prepayment Credit

If you prepay your sales tax, Item 9 should have a preprinted credit that includes your prepayment plus the prepayment discount. If you prepaid on time but no amount is preprinted, divide what you actually prepaid by 0.9825 and enter the result. If you paid late, cross out any preprinted amount and enter only the actual prepaid amount with no discount.²

Item 10 and After: Final Amount Due

Item 10 subtracts the prepayment credit from your total tax. The remaining items apply your timely-filing discount and produce the final amount due. If Items 1, 2, and 3 were all zero for every outlet, fill in the zero-report box, sign the return, and mail it.

Short Form or Long Form

Most single-location businesses with straightforward sales can use the short form. The Comptroller requires the long form if you:

Have more than one outlet or place of business
Report tax to more than one city, transit authority, county, or special purpose district
Prepay your state and local taxes
Report use tax from out-of-state locations
Are taking a credit (other than bad debt) to reduce taxes on the return
Have customs broker refunds to report
Are a marketplace provider or remote seller

Certain businesses also have to attach the List Supplement (Form 01-116): out-of-state sellers, contractors working under separated contracts for new construction or residential remodeling, itinerant vendors, auctioneers, and providers of services like telecommunications, waste collection, cable television, or natural gas and electricity.²

Timely Filing Discount and Prepayment

File and pay by the due date and you keep a 0.5 percent discount on the tax reported. Every permitted taxpayer who files and pays on time qualifies.¹

Monthly and quarterly filers can claim an additional 1.25 percent prepayment discount on top of the 0.5 percent. To qualify, prepay a reasonable estimate of your total state and local tax liability for the period before the prepayment deadline, then file the regular return by the normal due date and pay any remaining balance. A “reasonable estimate” means paying at least 90 percent of the current period’s total tax, or at least 100 percent of what you owed for the same period last year.³ Prepayment deadlines generally fall on the 15th of the month, with a few shifted dates during the year.⁴

Sales and use tax returns are due on the 20th of the month following the reporting period. When the 20th lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. Quarterly filers submit in January, April, July, and October; annual filers report once in January for the prior calendar year. Webfile returns must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on the due date.⁴

How to Submit the Return

The Comptroller accepts returns through Webfile, paper mail, or Electronic Data Interchange. If you paid $50,000 or more in sales or use tax during the prior state fiscal year, electronic filing is mandatory.⁵

Webfile is the fastest option. Log into the Comptroller’s eSystems portal at comptroller.texas.gov, register if you’re a new user, and select Webfile. You’ll enter the same figures as the paper form, the system calculates the tax, and payment goes through at the same time.

For paper filing, the Comptroller preprints and mails returns to registered taxpayers. If you don’t receive one, download a blank from the Comptroller’s sales tax forms page.⁶ Sign the completed return and mail it to:

Comptroller of Public Accounts
P.O. Box 149354
Austin, TX 78714-9354

Penalties for Filing Late or Paying Late

Missing the deadline costs you the timely filing discount immediately. Beyond that, penalties stack up:

1 to 30 days late: 5 percent penalty on the tax due
Over 30 days late: 10 percent penalty
After a Notice of Tax Due: an additional 10 percent, bringing the total to 20 percent

A flat $50 penalty also applies to each late report, even if no tax was due for that period. A zero report filed late still triggers the $50 charge.⁷ If you were required to file electronically and submitted paper instead, a separate 5 percent penalty applies for failure to report electronically.⁵

Fixing an Error After You File

If you find a mistake after submitting, you can amend on paper, through Webfile, or via EDI. For a paper amendment, make a copy of the original return (or download a blank), write “Amended Return” across the top, and either cross out and correct the wrong amounts or fill in the blank form with the figures as they should have appeared. Sign, date, and mail it to the same address.²

If the amendment shows you underpaid, send the additional tax along with any penalties and interest. If it shows you overpaid and you want a refund, you’ll need to meet the Comptroller’s refund claim requirements, and the office may request additional documentation to verify the claim.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales and Use Tax
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Instructions for Completing Texas Sales and Use Tax Return
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Sales and Use Tax Frequently Asked Questions
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Due Dates for Taxes, Fees and Information Reports
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. File and Pay
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Sales and Use Tax Forms
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Penalties for Past Due Taxes