How to File and Pay Texas Sales Tax Online: Webfile Steps

To file and pay Texas sales tax online, log in to the Comptroller’s Webfile portal at comptroller.texas.gov, enter your gross sales, taxable sales, and tax collected for the period, then authorize payment by electronic check or credit card in the same session. One submission handles both the return and the payment, and electronic check transfers usually settle within one to two business days.¹

What to Have Ready Before You Log In

Webfile sessions can time out. Pull these together before you start:

Your 11-digit Texas taxpayer number, assigned when you first registered your business.²
Your Webfile number, a code beginning with “RT” followed by six digits. It’s printed in the upper-left margin of the preprinted return the Comptroller mails you.³
Gross sales for the period: all revenue from sales, services, leases, and rentals in Texas before any deductions.⁴
Taxable sales: the portion of gross sales subject to tax after exempt transactions come out.
Tax collected: the actual dollar amount you charged customers during the period.
Your 9-digit bank routing number and account number if you plan to pay by electronic check.⁵

If you never received the mailed return or you lost the RT number, call (800) 442-3453. The automated line runs 24/7 and can give you the Webfile number if you can verify details from a previously filed report.³

Filing the Return Through Webfile

First-Time Users: Create a Profile

If you’ve never used Webfile, go to the login page and select “Create Profile.” Choose a user ID of 10 to 25 characters and a password with at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one special character. After setting security questions, link your taxpayer account by entering your 11-digit taxpayer number and your RT number.³

Enter the Return

Once logged in, select “Sales and Use Tax” from your list of tax accounts. The system walks you screen by screen through gross sales, taxable sales, and tax collected. Confirm the reporting period at the top matches the period you’re filing for before you enter any numbers.⁶

A summary screen appears before anything is final. Compare every line to your own books. When the numbers look right, move to the payment screen, pick a payment method, and click “Submit.” That single click files the return and authorizes the payment together.

Choosing a Payment Method

Electronic Check

Electronic check is the standard option and costs nothing beyond the tax itself. Enter your routing and account numbers, and the Comptroller pulls the payment directly from your checking or savings account.⁷ Funds typically leave your account within one to two business days.¹

Credit Card

Webfile accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. A third-party processor charges a non-refundable fee: $1.00 flat for payments up to $100, or 2.25% of the payment plus $0.25 for anything over $100.⁸ On a $5,000 payment, that fee runs about $112.75. For any meaningful tax amount, electronic check is the cheaper route by a wide margin.

Existing Account Credit

If you overpaid in a prior period and hold a credit balance with the Comptroller, you can apply that credit toward the current liability inside Webfile without any new bank transaction.

Deadlines and the Timely Filing Discount

The Comptroller assigns your filing frequency based on how much tax your business generates. Most small businesses file quarterly, with returns due in January, April, July, and October. Larger businesses file monthly, with each return due on the 20th of the following month. When the 20th falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.⁹

The deadline covers both filing and payment. A return submitted on time with a late payment still triggers a penalty.

File on time and Texas takes 0.5% off the tax due as a timely filing discount. Monthly and quarterly filers who make prepayments can claim an additional 1.25% prepayment discount on top of that.¹⁰ Prepayment due dates differ from regular filing dates, so check the Comptroller’s due-date calendar if you plan to use both.⁹

Save the Confirmation

Webfile generates a confirmation page with a unique trace number after you submit. Save it or print it right away. That trace number is your proof of timely filing if the Comptroller ever questions the date, and it’s the only way to track the transaction in the Comptroller’s system.

Log back into Webfile after about 48 hours to verify the payment posted. Cross-check your bank statement to confirm the amount withdrawn matches what you authorized. Catching a discrepancy now is much easier than sorting it out months later in an audit.

Filing With No Taxable Sales

Holding an active sales tax permit means you owe the Comptroller a return every period, even one where you collected nothing. Skipping a zero-dollar return triggers the same $50 late-filing penalty as missing a return with tax due.¹¹ A zero return through Webfile takes about two minutes and keeps your account in good standing.

Penalties for Filing Late

Late penalties escalate quickly. The Comptroller assesses a flat $50 penalty for every late report, whether or not you owe tax for that period. Percentage penalties then apply to the unpaid tax balance:¹²

1 to 30 days late: 5% of the tax due.
More than 30 days late: 10% of the tax due.
After a Notice of Tax Due is issued: an additional 10%, for a 20% total penalty.

Interest also accrues on the unpaid balance starting from the original due date. The Comptroller has discretion to waive penalties if you can show you made a reasonable effort to comply, but that’s a request worth avoiding.¹³

When Electronic Filing Is Required

Some businesses don’t have the option to file on paper. Texas sets mandatory electronic filing and payment thresholds based on tax paid in the preceding state fiscal year (September 1 through August 31):¹⁴

$10,000 or more: you must pay electronically, through Webfile ACH debit or TEXNET.
$50,000 or more: you must file the return and pay electronically.
$500,000 or more: you must use TEXNET rather than standard Webfile for payments. TEXNET uses the same ACH debit mechanism but operates on a different settlement schedule, and the Comptroller notifies you directly when this applies.

Below $10,000 in annual payments, Webfile is optional but still the fastest way to file. Paper returns take longer to process and don’t produce the instant trace number that protects you in a filing-date dispute.

Correcting a Return After You File

If you spot an error after submitting, file an amended return through Webfile. The system pulls up your original filing and you change only the fields that need correction.¹⁵ If the correction produces additional tax owed, pay it with the amended return to keep penalties and interest to a minimum.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. TEXNET and Electronic Payment of Taxes and Fees – Definitions and Frequently Asked Questions
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Sales and Use Tax Frequently Asked Questions – Permits
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Create a Webfile Account Step-by-Step
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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. Pay With Electronic Check (WebEFT)
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Getting Started with Webfile
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Select A Payment Option
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Pay with Credit Card
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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. Texas Sales and Use Tax Frequently Asked Questions – Reporting and Paying
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Requirements for Reporting and Paying Texas Sales and Use Tax
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Penalties for Past Due Taxes
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Cornell Law School. 34 Texas Admin Code 3.5 – Waiver of Penalty or Interest
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Cornell Law School. 34 Texas Admin Code 3.9 – Electronic Filing of Returns and Reports, Electronic Transfer of Certain Payments by Certain Taxpayers
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Main Menu – Sales Tax