The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is the state’s chief financial officer, and the office does four main things: it collects more than 60 state taxes and fees, forecasts and certifies the state budget, manages the treasury, and administers a handful of programs that touch Texans directly, including unclaimed property, prepaid college tuition, and state vendor registration. The position is established under Article IV of the Texas Constitution as an elected executive office with a four-year term.1Texas Secretary of State. Qualifications for All Public Offices
Collecting the State’s Taxes
The Comptroller takes in over $250 billion a year from more than 60 taxes, fees, and assessments.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. State Revenue and Spending The biggest single source is the 6.25 percent state sales tax on most retail sales, leases, and taxable services.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales and Use Tax The franchise tax is the state’s primary business tax. For the 2026 and 2027 reporting years, the rate is 0.75 percent of taxable margin for most businesses, or 0.375 percent for retailers and wholesalers, and businesses with total revenue at or below $2,650,000 owe nothing.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Franchise Tax Motor vehicle sales and use taxes make up another major stream.
Collection comes with enforcement teeth. Title 2 of the Texas Tax Code lets the office audit any taxpayer, examine records under oath, use statistical sampling to project assessments, and, when a taxpayer underpays, issue a deficiency determination that can ultimately lead to seizure and sale of property.5Justia Law. Texas Tax Code Title 2 – Subtitle B – Chapter 111 – Subchapter A If you receive a deficiency determination and disagree with it, you have 60 days from the date the notice is issued to request a redetermination hearing in writing.6Texas Administrative Code. Title 34 Chapter 1 Section 1.10 – Requesting a Hearing
What the Comptroller Does Not Do With Your Property Taxes
Property tax is the common point of confusion. The Comptroller does not administer local property taxes and has no authority to intervene in your individual protest. If you disagree with your appraised value, your remedy is through your local appraisal review board, not the Comptroller.7Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals What the office does do is systemic oversight. The Property Tax Assistance Division runs the biennial School District Property Value Study, which independently estimates taxable values in each school district for school-funding purposes, and the Appraisal District Ratio Study, which checks whether appraisal districts statewide are valuing property consistently.8Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. About Us – Property Tax Assistance Division
Forecasting and Certifying the State Budget
Before each regular legislative session, the Comptroller publishes the Biennial Revenue Estimate, a forecast of how much money the state expects to collect over the upcoming two-year budget cycle.9Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Biennial Revenue Estimate 2026-27 That document carries constitutional weight. Texas runs on a pay-as-you-go system, and Article III, Section 49a of the Texas Constitution forbids the legislature from passing an appropriations bill unless the Comptroller first certifies that projected revenue will cover the spending.10State of Texas. Texas Constitution Article III Section 49a No certification, no budget.
The forecasts draw on oil and natural gas prices, employment trends, consumer spending patterns, and population growth. Because Texas has no personal income tax, the state leans heavily on sales tax revenue and energy-sector activity, both of which move with the broader economy. Those projections set the dollar ceiling for public schools, transportation, and law enforcement for two years at a time.
Managing the Treasury
Once revenue lands in state accounts, the Comptroller’s Treasury Operations Division handles daily deposits, manages cash flow, and issues the state warrants that pay employees and vendors. Idle balances get invested in short-term, highly liquid instruments meant to generate income without putting principal at risk, which helps hold the state’s credit rating and keep borrowing costs down on bond-funded infrastructure.
The office also oversees transfers into the Economic Stabilization Fund, better known as the Rainy Day Fund. The Comptroller has up to 90 days after the close of each fiscal year to move qualifying revenue into the fund, with transfers typically completed in late November. Fund balances are invested through the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, a special-purpose entity chaired by the Comptroller.
The Texas Bullion Depository
Texas runs its own precious-metals vault, and the Comptroller provides oversight. The Texas Bullion Depository is operated day to day by Lone Star Tangible Assets, but a Depository Administrator appointed by the Comptroller holds direct audit privileges over all accounts, and the facility is subject to both independent and state audits.11Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Bullion Depository Frequently Asked Questions Accounts are open to U.S. individuals, businesses, trusts, and estates, not just state agencies.12Texas Bullion Depository. Depository Account Holders
Returning Unclaimed Property to Texans
The Comptroller holds billions of dollars in forgotten assets: dormant bank accounts, uncashed payroll checks, insurance proceeds, utility deposits. You can search for property owed to you at ClaimItTexas.gov by entering a last name or business name.13Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Unclaimed Property Homepage If a match comes up, the site walks you through identity verification and claim submission, and once approved, the office issues a state warrant for the full value. There’s no deadline. The money stays available indefinitely.
Physical contents from unclaimed safe deposit boxes follow a different path. Most items are held for one year before being auctioned through GovDeals under the seller name “txunclaimedproperty,” while significant papers are kept for five years. Filing a claim before the auction returns the items directly. After an auction, the proceeds still belong to you and can be claimed at any time.14Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Unclaimed Property FAQs
Running the Prepaid Tuition Plan
The Comptroller administers the Texas Tuition Promise Fund, the state’s prepaid college tuition plan. It lets you lock in today’s prices for a child’s future undergraduate tuition and required fees at any Texas public college or university, excluding medical and dental schools. Tuition units come in three tiers:
- Type I is priced for the most expensive Texas public four-year school at $165.11 per unit for the 2025–26 enrollment year.
- Type II is based on the weighted average cost across all Texas public four-year schools at $115.89 per unit.
- Type III is based on the weighted average for two-year community colleges at $32.15 per unit.
The plan is governed by the Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board, with the Comptroller’s office handling day-to-day administration and enrollment.15Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Enroll in the Texas Tuition Promise Fund Before Nov. 1 and Save
Alongside the plan, the office runs the Texas Match the Promise Foundation, which offers competitive matching scholarships to Tuition Promise Fund beneficiaries. Students must be in grades three through nine, family income cannot exceed $120,000, and applicants write a career essay. The application window runs from September 1 through December 31 each year.16Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The Texas Match the Promise Foundation
Registering State Vendors
Businesses that want to sell goods or services to the state register through the Comptroller’s Centralized Master Bidders List. Registration requires an Employer Identification Number from the IRS, the relevant purchasing class and item codes for your products or services, and a $70 annual fee. Your business entity needs to be in good standing, and any franchise tax account must show as active before you apply.17Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. How to Register as a Texas Vendor on the CMBL
In December 2025, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced emergency rules restructuring the state’s Historically Underutilized Business program into VetHUB. Certification is now limited to small businesses owned and operated by veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 20 percent or higher. Existing HUB certifications tied to race, ethnicity, or sex are being revoked, and only service-disabled veteran owners qualify going forward.18Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock Announces Emergency Rules for Revamped VetHUB Program
Local Tax Collection and Spending Transparency
Local jurisdictions in Texas — cities, counties, special districts, and transit authorities — can impose up to 2 percent in local sales tax on top of the state’s 6.25 percent rate, for a combined maximum of 8.25 percent.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales and Use Tax The Comptroller collects those local taxes alongside the state portion and distributes the revenue back to each jurisdiction monthly. The allocation reports, showing exactly how much each city, county, or district received, are publicly available.19Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Allocation Reports
The office also maintains online transparency tools that let residents track how state and local governments spend tax dollars, including debt levels, budget summaries, and staffing data. In a state with no personal income tax, where the budget depends on consumption taxes and the Constitution requires a balanced budget, that visibility is the main way Texans can see where their money went.