May 1, 2024

State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled Nearly $4 Billion in April

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.96 billion in April, 3.2 percent less than in April 2023. The majority of April sales tax revenue is based on sales made in March and remitted to the agency in April.

“Monthly state sales tax collections fell compared with a year ago, reflecting a slowdown in spending even while employment and income continue to grow,” Hegar said. “A continuing downtrend in remittances from business-related sectors and a drop in receipts from the retail trade sector accounted for the decline. This trend in overall tax collections has been expected for some time now.

“Remittances from the major sectors driven by business spending were all down last month compared with a year ago, as has been the trend this fiscal year. Meanwhile, receipts from the consumer-driven retail trade sector also came in below April 2023 totals, with receipts from most retail subsectors down. Receipts from online merchants, however, increased compared with a year ago, just slightly ahead of the rate of general inflation. 

“Receipts from restaurants grew moderately, though at less than the inflation rate for food away from home.”

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in April 2024 was up 0.7 percent compared with 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.

Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:

• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $468 million, down 8 percent from April 2023;
• motor fuel taxes — $332 million, up 4 percent from April 2023;
• oil production tax — $518 million, up 15 percent from April 2023;
• natural gas production tax — $170 million, down 16 percent from April 2023;
• hotel occupancy tax — $83 million, down less than 1 percent from April 2023; and
• alcoholic beverage taxes — $164 million, up less than 1 percent from April 2023.

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.