Texas’ 89th Legislature is in full swing! The 2025 legislative session convened January 14th and is set to adjourn June 2nd. Early in the session, the Senate received their committee assignments and began advancing their legislative priorities with leadership from Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott. The Texas House of Representatives are quickly catching up to speed after recently receiving committee assignments under new leadership from Speaker of the House, Dustin Burrows. Lawmakers have filed legislation at a rapid pace compared to previous sessions with almost 6,000 bills filed, which shows a busy few months ahead.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s 2025 State of the State Address highlighted his key legislative priorities, focusing on property tax relief, investing in infrastructure, border security and more. Gov. Abbott emphasized the opportunity the state of Texas provides to Texans and businesses across the state primarily due to job opportunities, economic development, technology and innovation, the energy industry and more. To ensure prosperity of Texans and Texas businesses, Gov. Abbott wants at least $10 billion in new property tax relief and avoiding loopholes that increase taxes. With the majority of the tax bills relating to property tax, there is an overall drive from lawmakers to provide property tax relief to all Texans. Read more about Gov. Greg Abbott’s legislative priorities.
The bill filing deadline is approaching quickly, but lawmakers are not slowing down. Below is a sample list of key tax bills that have been filed as of March 5th.
Franchise Tax:
SB211 (West): Relating to a franchise tax credit for taxable entities that operate an on-site child-care center for use by the entity’s employees.
SB263 (Perry): Relating to the computation of the cost of goods sold by television and radio broadcasters for purposes of the franchise tax.
SB654 (West): Relating to a franchise tax credit for certain child-care centers that increase their capacity to care for children.
SB1781 (Miles): Relating to a franchise tax credit for taxable entities that provide child care.
SB1875 (Perry): Relating to the repeal of the requirement that certain entities subject to the franchise tax must file a public information report with the comptroller of public accounts.
HB1508 (Metcalf): Relating to the repeal of the franchise tax.
HB2577 (Harrison): Relating to the contents of a notice provided to a taxable entity that fails to file a franchise tax report when due.
HB2740 (Martinez Fischer): Relating to a franchise tax credit for a taxable entity that provides paid parental leave to the entity’s employees.
HB3017 (Money): Relating to imposing an additional franchise tax on certain solar and wind energy producers.
HB3011 (Button): Relating to a franchise tax credit for taxable entities that make certain employer child-care contributions.
Property Tax:
SB4/SJR2 (Bettencourt): Relating to an increase in the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district and the protection of school districts against certain losses in local revenue.
SB489 (Miles & Alvarado): Relating to a requirement that a person provide or contribute to the cost of child care for the person’s employees in order to be eligible to receive a limitation on the taxable value of the person’s property for school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax purposes.
SB459/SJR25 (Middleton): Relating to the exemption of tangible personal property from ad valorem taxation; making conforming changes.
SB819 (Kolkhorst, et al: Relating to renewable energy generation facilities; authorizing fees.
SB1754 (Birdwell): Relating to the authority of a taxing unit to enter into an agreement to exempt from ad valorem taxation a portion of the value of property on which a renewable energy facility is located or is planned to be located.
HB8 (Meyer): Relating to a reduction in the maximum compressed tax rate of a school district.
HB9/HJR1 (Meyer): Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a portion of the appraised value of tangible personal property a person owns that is held or used for the production of income.
HB22 (Noble, et al): Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of intangible personal property.
HB202/HJR26 (Metcalf): Relating to making permanent the limitation on increases in the appraised value of certain real property for ad valorem tax purposes.
HB273/HJR32 (Metcalf): Relating to a limitation on increases in the appraised value of certain commercial real property for ad valorem tax purposes.
HB338/HJR36 (Bell & Keith): Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation.
HB356/HJR39 (Metcalf): Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation.
HB375/HJR45 (Vasut): Relating to a limitation on increases in the appraised value of real property for ad valorem tax purposes.
HB399/HJR 66 (Bernal): Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of income-producing tangible personal property for a certain period of time.
HB698/HJR64 (Harrison): Relating to the abolition of ad valorem taxes and the creation of a joint interim committee on the abolition of those taxes.
HB2743 (Kerwin): Relating to the dedication of certain surplus state revenue for ad valorem tax relief.
Sales & Use Tax
SB29 (Hughes)/HB15 (Meyer): Relating to business entities.
SB 265 (Perry)/HB1681 (Button): Relating to the applicability of sales and use taxes to certain services provided by a marketplace provider.
SJR50 (Parker)/HJR4 (Meyer): Proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the enactment of a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions.
HB924 (Schofield): Relating to the location where certain sales are consummated for purposes of local sales and use taxes.
HB960 (Toth): Relating to the repeal of or limitations on certain state and local taxes, including school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes, the enactment of state and local value added taxes, and related school finance reform; imposing taxes.
HJR78 (Raymond): Proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the taxation of the sale or use of certain food, drinks, medicine, and child-care services.
HJR79 (Raymond): Proposing a constitutional amendment limiting the rate and application of state sales and use taxes.
Severance Tax:
SB782 (King)/HB1359 (Darby): Relating to a severance tax exemption for oil and gas produced from certain restimulation wells; providing a civil penalty.
For a complete list of 2025 tax legislation filed in Texas or for more information on Advantous’ legislative tracking services, please contact jenna.christoffel@advantous.com.