Texas, TX CPA Services Built Around State-Specific Decisions
Texas CPA work for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois starts with the state tax posture, not just a city-name swap. The current snapshot we plan around is Personal income tax: none — Texas is one of nine states with no broad-based personal income tax (constitutionally protected). Corporate income tax: none . Texas Franchise Tax (margin tax): 0.375% for retailers and wholesalers.
For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, the next layer is filing execution: No individual income tax return. Corporate, S-corp, LLC, and partnership entities file the Texas Franchise Tax Report on Form 05-158-A (long form) or Form 05-169 (E-Z computation), plus. We tie those mechanics to entity records, owner documents, payroll, sales tax, lender requests, and federal planning before a return, notice, or audit deadline narrows the options.
Local industry, ownership, funder, and residency facts shape the engagement scope. For attestation or other state-sensitive work involving Texas Nonprofit & Charitable Organization Audits, Texas 401(k) & Employee Benefit Plan Audits, Texas Single Audits (Uniform Guidance) for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, we confirm CPA mobility, firm registration, and engagement-scope requirements before accepting the work.
Tax posture
For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, we start with personal income tax: none — texas is one of nine states with no broad-based personal income tax (constitutionally protected).
Filing mechanics
For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, the filing calendar starts from this baseline: No individual income tax return.
Economic reality
Texas client work is shaped by local industry, ownership, funder, and residency facts: Texas is the second-largest state economy in the U.S., anchored by energy (oil, gas, and growing renewables in the Permian Basin and Gulf Coast), technology ("Silicon Hills" in Austin), aerospace and defense...
Assurance triggers
Common assurance work includes Texas Nonprofit & Charitable Organization Audits, Texas 401(k) & Employee Benefit Plan Audits, Texas Single Audits (Uniform Guidance) for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York. We scope the engagement around the reporting user, support schedules, and deadline.
Texas Planning Triggers We Review First
Before we quote a scope, we identify the documents, deadlines, and decisions most likely to shape the work. For Texas, that usually means tying local industry, owner, funder, and entity facts back to clients such as energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York.
State tax posture and owner decisions
For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, we tie the issue to personal income tax: none — texas is one of nine states with no broad-based personal income tax (constitutionally protected), then map the entity records, owner documents, and support that would survive tax authority, lender, or board review.
Filing calendar, nexus, and source records
No individual income tax return. For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, this usually means reconciling source documents before choosing a filing position, notice response, or advisory path.
Industry, funder, and reporting context
Texas work often turns on the local audience: energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York. The output is a practical workplan for returns, reconciliations, estimated payments, audit schedules, notices, or owner-level decisions.
Priority CPA Services for Texas (TX)
State & Federal Tax Planning
For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, we coordinate federal planning with personal income tax: none — texas is one of nine states with no broad-based personal income tax (constitutionally protected) and model the state effect before the return becomes the only planning tool left.
Learn More →Business Entity & Owner Advisory
Entity structure, owner compensation, PTE decisions, and TX filing positions for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois when the books need to match the tax plan.
Learn More →Audit, Review & Compilation Support
GAAS audit, review, compilation, and AUP support scoped around texas nonprofit & charitable organization audits, texas 401(k) & employee benefit plan audits, texas single audits (uniform guidance) for energy professionals, austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from california, new york rather than a generic assurance checklist.
Learn More →Employee Benefit Plan Audits
ERISA audit support for plans sponsored by energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, with attention to payroll records, census data, remittances, and Form 5500 timing.
Learn More →Nonprofit & Single Audit Readiness
Grant, board, donor, and Uniform Guidance readiness for Texas organizations serving energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois when reporting has to satisfy funders and oversight bodies.
Learn More →IRS & State Tax Resolution
Notice response, amended returns, collections strategy, and state filing coordination for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois when a deadline, amendment, or collection issue traces back to no individual income tax return.
Learn More →Real Estate & Cost Segregation
Depreciation, passive activity, basis, and cost segregation planning for Texas real estate projects connected to energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois.
Learn More →Crypto, Trader & Investment Tax
Digital asset, active trading, brokerage, and investment reporting for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois when records cross wallets, exchanges, K-1s, and state residency facts.
Learn More →Virtual CFO & Forecasting
Cash-flow models, KPI dashboards, close discipline, and lender-ready reporting for Texas operators in markets such as energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois.
Learn More →Capital Markets, 83(b) & Equity Planning
83(b) elections, investor reporting, diligence support, and securities-aware planning when equity, financing, or growth decisions touch Texas tax facts for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois.
Learn More →Controls, Close & Business Consulting
Month-end close cleanup, internal controls, reconciliations, and management reporting for Texas teams in markets such as energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois.
Learn More →Texas Audit Services in Detail
Texas assurance work usually starts with Texas Nonprofit & Charitable Organization Audits, Texas 401(k) & Employee Benefit Plan Audits, Texas Single Audits (Uniform Guidance) for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York. We scope audit, review, compilation, Single Audit, benefit-plan, lender, bonding, or investor reporting work around the actual reporting user, support schedules, and deadline rather than treating every request as the same full-audit workflow.
Texas Nonprofit & Charitable Organization Audits
Texas does not impose a statewide audit requirement on nonprofits, but audited financial statements are routinely required by major Texas funders — including the Houston Endowment, the Meadows Foundation, the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, the Communities Foundation of Texas, and the United Way of Greater Houston — as well as by federal subrecipient grantors. We deliver nonprofit audits that meet major funder expectations and Form 990 supporting requirements.
Texas 401(k) & Employee Benefit Plan Audits
Texas plan sponsors filing Form 5500 generally require an ERISA-compliant audit when the plan has 100 or more participants with account balances at the start of the plan year — the participant-counting rule effective post-SECURE 2.0. We perform full-scope and §103(a)(3)(C) limited-scope benefit plan audits for 401(k), 403(b), and defined-benefit plans across Texas, including plans sponsored by Houston energy companies, Dallas–Fort Worth professional services firms, Austin technology companies, and the Texas Medical Center healthcare network.
Texas Single Audits (Uniform Guidance)
Texas Single Audit work is scoped around the federal awards, subrecipient relationships, and internal controls most relevant to energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois. We plan major-program testing, SEFA support, and grant-compliance documentation around the programs that actually drive the reporting risk.
Texas Lender, Bonding & Investor Audits
Texas lender, bonding, and investor reporting is shaped by the companies, funders, and ownership groups active in energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois. We align the assurance level, support schedules, and delivery timeline with the actual credit, surety, diligence, or capital request.
Texas Reviews & Compilations
For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, review or compilation work is often the right fit when a bank, acquirer, board, grantor, or owner needs CPA-prepared financial statements but a full audit is not required. We define the level of assurance before work starts so the deliverable fits the actual request.
Texas (TX) Tax & Business Landscape
Key Texas Tax Numbers. Personal income tax: none — Texas is one of nine states with no broad-based personal income tax (constitutionally protected). Corporate income tax: none. Texas Franchise Tax (margin tax): 0.375% for retailers and wholesalers, 0.75% for most other businesses, calculated on margin (the lesser of total revenue minus COGS, total revenue minus compensation, 70% of total revenue, or total revenue minus $1 million); No-Tax-Due threshold of approximately $2.47 million in total revenue (entities below the threshold owe no tax but must still file the Public Information Report). Sales and use tax: 6.25% state, with local add-ons up to a combined 8.25%. Estate tax: none. Property tax: among the highest effective rates in the nation (no state income tax means schools and counties rely on property tax). For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, these numbers matter most when entity structure, owner compensation, residency, property, or investment decisions change the federal and state result.
Filing Mechanics. No individual income tax return. Corporate, S-corp, LLC, and partnership entities file the Texas Franchise Tax Report on Form 05-158-A (long form) or Form 05-169 (E-Z computation), plus the Public Information Report on Form 05-102. Texas franchise tax returns are due May 15 (not April 15). Returns are administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. We use those mechanics to build a filing calendar and document request list for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois before deadlines compress the planning options.
Residency & Relocation Planning. Texas has no personal income tax, so there is no state-level residency audit risk for Texas tax purposes. However, residents who recently moved to Texas from high-tax states (CA, NY, IL, NJ, MA) often face residency audit exposure from their former state — particularly if the move coincided with a major liquidity event. We help document genuine Texas domicile (driver's license, voter registration, homestead exemption, days-in-state log) to defend against former-state audits, and we coordinate pre-departure planning for clients still in transition.
Texas Economy & Who We Serve. Texas is the second-largest state economy in the U.S., anchored by energy (oil, gas, and growing renewables in the Permian Basin and Gulf Coast), technology ("Silicon Hills" in Austin), aerospace and defense (Houston/Johnson Space Center, Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth), healthcare (the Texas Medical Center in Houston is the largest medical complex in the world), financial services in Dallas, agriculture and ranching, logistics, and a rapidly expanding semiconductor and crypto sector. Our typical TX clients include energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois.
CPA Mobility in Texas. We serve clients nationwide under CPA mobility rules where applicable. Before accepting Texas work for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, we confirm the engagement type, CPA mobility, firm registration, and any attest or state-sensitive requirements.
Cities and Communities We Serve. Our virtual-first practice serves clients across all of Texas, including Houston (energy, healthcare, aerospace, port logistics), Dallas (financial services, telecom, defense), Austin (state capital; technology, semiconductors, music), San Antonio (military, healthcare, tourism), Fort Worth (aviation, defense, energy), El Paso, Arlington, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, the Rio Grande Valley, and every community across East, Central, West, and South Texas.
Why Texas Clients Choose Us
- For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, planning starts with the specific state posture: Personal income tax: none — Texas is one of nine states with no broad-based personal income tax (constitutionally protected). Corporate income tax: none . Texas Franchise Tax (margin...
- Engagement scoping is tied to real reporting triggers, including Texas Nonprofit & Charitable Organization Audits, Texas 401(k) & Employee Benefit Plan Audits, Texas Single Audits (Uniform Guidance) for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York
- For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, filing mechanics, entity decisions, payroll, sales tax, owner compensation, and federal planning are handled together; the baseline is No individual income tax return. Corporate, S-corp, LLC, and partnership entities file the Texas Franchise Tax Report on Form 05-158-A (long form)
- Specialized support is available for energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois when crypto, trader tax, cost segregation, 83(b) elections, IRS/state notices, or capital-markets questions are part of the fact pattern
- Virtual-first delivery gives Texas clients secure portal access, e-signature, video meetings, and fixed-fee clarity for engagements shaped by Texas is the second-largest state economy in the U.S., anchored by energy (oil, gas, and growing renewables in
Texas CPA — Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Texas-licensed CPA, or can an out-of-state CPA handle my TX tax and audit work?
CPA mobility often allows an out-of-state CPA in active good standing to serve Texas clients, but the right answer depends on the engagement type. For energy professionals, Austin tech founders and executives, real estate investors, crypto traders, and high-net-worth clients who have relocated from California, New York, or Illinois, we confirm whether the work is tax, advisory, attest, employee-benefit-plan, or state-sensitive before accepting the engagement.
Does Texas have a personal income tax?
No. Texas is one of nine states with no broad-based personal income tax. Texas does, however, impose a Franchise Tax (also called the "margin tax") on most LLCs, corporations, and partnerships doing business in the state, and a 6.25% state sales tax with local add-ons up to a combined 8.25%.
What is the Texas Franchise Tax and who has to pay it?
The Texas Franchise Tax applies to LLCs, corporations, S-corps, limited partnerships, and most other entities doing business in Texas. Entities below the No-Tax-Due threshold (currently $2.47 million in total revenue) owe no tax but must still file the Public Information Report (Form 05-102). Above the threshold, the rate is 0.375% for retailers and wholesalers and 0.75% for most other businesses, calculated on margin (the lesser of total revenue minus COGS, total revenue minus compensation, 70% of total revenue, or total revenue minus $1 million). Returns are due May 15.
Does Texas have a SALT-cap workaround for partnerships and S-corps?
No. Because Texas has no personal income tax, there is no state pass-through entity election. The federal $10,000 SALT cap does not affect Texas residents in the same way it affects taxpayers in high-tax states — Texas residents typically itemize state and local taxes through property tax and sales tax.
I just moved to Texas from California or New York. What do I need to know?
Beyond the benefit of no state income tax, key issues: documenting genuine Texas residency to defend against your former state's potential residency audit (especially if the move coincided with a major liquidity event), the timing of any pre-move stock options or RSU exercises, Texas homestead exemption registration, and structuring LLCs or trusts to take advantage of Texas's favorable trust law and asset protection regime.
When does my Texas nonprofit need an audit?
Texas does not impose a state-mandated audit threshold for nonprofits. Audited financial statements are typically required by lenders, federal grantmakers, the United Way, the Meadows Foundation, the Houston Endowment, and similar major Texas funders. Federal Single Audit requirements under 2 CFR Part 200 apply when federal award expenditures exceed $1,000,000 in a fiscal year.
Do you serve Texas clients outside Houston, Dallas, and Austin?
Yes. Our practice is virtual-first, so we serve clients across all of Texas — including San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso, Arlington, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, and every community in the state — with the same level of access and service.