State sales tax revenue in Texas reached $4.6 billion in January, according to Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock. This figure marks a 7.1 percent increase compared to January 2025. Most of the revenue reported for January is based on sales made during December and remitted in January.
“State sales tax collections were very strong last month, with growth well above the rate of general price inflation,” Hancock stated. “Results from all major economic sectors were positive, with growth especially strong in receipts from sectors driven by business spending.”
Sectors related primarily to business spending saw the most significant year-over-year gains. Mining and construction both experienced double-digit growth. Manufacturing sector remittances increased by more than 8 percent, while wholesale trade receipts were up 4 percent compared to January of the previous year.
Consumer-driven sectors also showed moderate increases. Retail trade receipts rose by over 3 percent from last January, with electronic shopping within this sector growing nearly 10 percent. However, general merchandise remittances declined slightly.
Receipts from restaurants increased by more than 3 percent compared to a year ago but did not keep pace with food-away-from-home inflation rates.
For the three months ending in January 2026, total sales tax revenue was up 6.1 percent over the same period a year earlier. Sales tax remains the largest source of state funding for Texas, representing 58 percent of all tax collections.
In addition to sales tax revenue, Texas collected $631 million from motor vehicle sales and rental taxes (a 7 percent increase), $327 million from motor fuel taxes (up 4 percent), $384 million from oil production tax (down 18 percent), $189 million from natural gas production tax (up 9 percent), $57 million from hotel occupancy tax (up 19 percent), and $161 million from alcoholic beverage taxes (up 4 percent).
Further details about monthly collections are available through the Comptroller’s Monthly State Revenue Watch at https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/revenue/watch/, and historical information on state tax policy developments can be found in the Sources of Revenue publication at https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/revenue/sources.php.
