January 3, 2020

State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled $3 Billion in December

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.01 billion in December, 4.8 percent more than in December 2018.

"Growth in state sales tax revenue was led by receipts from the construction, information services and restaurant sectors," Hegar said. "While revenue growth was slightly buoyed by collections from remote sellers and online marketplace providers, collections from retail trade were depressed due to significantly fewer Christmas shopping days in November this year compared to the previous year."

The majority of December sales tax revenue is based on sales made in November and remitted to the agency in December. Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in December 2019 was up 6.0 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 57 percent of all tax collections.

In December 2019, Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:

• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $427.3 million, up 7.9 percent from December 2018;
• motor fuel taxes — $310.7 million, down 1.1 percent from December 2018;
• natural gas production taxes — $114.0 million, down 33.8 percent from December 2018; and
• oil production taxes — $362.5 million, up 18.3 percent from December 2018.

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.