Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 2, 2026

State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled $4 Billion in February

(AUSTIN) — Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock today said state sales tax revenue totaled $4 billion in February, 3.8 percent more than in February 2025. The majority of February sales tax revenue is based on sales made in January and remitted to the agency in February.

“Texas continues to show steady economic momentum,” Hancock said. “Sales tax remains the backbone of our state budget, and these numbers reflect a resilient Texas economy that continues to outpace inflation and support responsible, conservative budgeting.”

Receipts from the sectors driven mainly by business spending were mostly down last month, with collections from the construction and manufacturing sectors coming in slightly below their February 2025 totals. Collections from the wholesale trade sector were up by more than 8 percent. Remittances from the mining sector were down significantly compared with February 2025, due in part to increased refund activity.

The large sectors affected primarily by consumer spending were up last month. Receipts from services grew by almost 10 percent, while receipts from the retail trade sector, the largest sector, were up more than 4 percent compared with last February.

Within the retail trade sector, most subsectors had robust growth, with remittances from electronics and appliance stores and from sporting goods and hobby stores increasing more than 10 percent compared with the prior year. Exceptions were receipts from home improvement stores and furniture and home furnishings stores, which declined.

Receipts from restaurants were up more than 4 percent from a year ago, slightly ahead of the rate of inflation for food away from home.

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in February 2026 was up 5.6 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 58 percent of all tax collections.

Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:

• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $641 million, down 1 percent from February 2025;
• motor fuel taxes — $310 million, up less than 1 percent from February 2025;
• oil production tax — $386 million, down 21 percent from February 2025;
• natural gas production tax — $181 million, down 18 percent from February 2025;
• hotel occupancy tax — $51 million, down 11 percent from February 2025; and
• alcoholic beverage taxes — $126 million, down 2 percent from February 2025. For details on all monthly collections, visit the Comptroller's Monthly State Revenue Watch. For an extensive history of tax policy developments and fees since 1972, visit our updated Sources of Revenue publication.

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• Caity Jackson
• Karen Hudgins
• Kevin Lyons
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