Looking for the taxes a San Antonio business plans cash around? Think of them as a calendar, because that is how the bank sees them. Steven Palmieri, a Tax CFO, keeps this calendar beside the list of customers who owe money, since a tax bill that lands in a slow collection month is the one that hurts most. The table below runs in date order, and the notes after it cover the rows that raise questions.
| Date | What goes out | Size or base |
|---|---|---|
| The 20th of every month | Sales tax on the prior month, if you file monthly | 8.25 percent at a San Antonio address, built from the pieces in the notes below |
| January 20 | Annual sales tax return, and the fourth quarterly return | Same rates |
| January 31 | Property tax bill | Set by each taxing unit |
| January 31, with the bill | Downtown improvement district assessment, for properties inside it | An added 15 cents per $100 on commercial property |
| April 15 | Rendition of business personal property to the appraisal district | A list of your equipment and inventory |
| April 20 | First quarterly sales tax return | Same rates |
| May 15 | Franchise report | Revenue of $2,650,000 or less means no tax, for 2026 and 2027 |
| May 15 | Public information report | A report with no tax attached, due even in a no-tax year |
| July 20 and October 20 | Second and third quarterly sales tax returns | Same rates |
| Any due date | Payments above one million dollars | Initiate by 8 pm Central one banking day ahead |
| With each hotel return | Hotel tax, collected from guests | Up to 17 percent stacked |
| Each quarter | State unemployment tax | The first $9,000 of each worker's wages |
| Each payroll | Federal payroll deposits | Taken by the payroll provider under federal rules |
A sale at a San Antonio address carries the state's 6.25 percent, the city's 1.125 percent, VIA's 0.5 percent and the Advanced Transportation District's 0.375 percent. Together they hit the 8.25 percent ceiling that Texas sets for local taxes. That last piece went from 0.25 to 0.375 percent on January 1, 2026, the same day the city dropped its separate sports venue tax, so the total stayed at 8.25 percent. A register or invoicing tool set up before that date may still carry the old split, so it is worth a look.
Outside the city limits the picture shifts. Across unincorporated Bexar County, most Emergency Services Districts add a local sales tax of their own. A second location, a delivery route or a booth at an event can land in a different district than your first address does. The Comptroller's rate locator settles it address by address.
Say a job is finished in February, the customer pays in April, and the February sales tax is due on March 20. That is a made-up case, and it shows why the collection calendar and the tax calendar have to be read together. Depending on the basis a seller reports on, sales tax on a credit sale can come due before the customer pays. We check which of your sales fall into that pattern so the cash is in the bank on the 20th.
A Texas appraisal district's board can decide to send a notice only when a property's value rises by more than $1,000, so a small rise can arrive with no notice. An owner can also protest a failure to receive a notice the district was required to send, but a quiet mailbox is not proof the value is right. Open the appraisal district's site each spring and look at the number.
Report years 2026 and 2027 carry a revenue line of $2,650,000. Below it no franchise tax is owed, and yet the short public information report still goes in on May 15. Skipping that report puts a company's right to operate in Texas at risk. Whichever side of the line you are on, the date belongs on the cash plan next to the money you are waiting for.
None of these filings calls for a special license. We prepare them from the closed books that sit behind your cash plan, so the amounts line up with what the bank shows.
If your year is seasonal, see Fiesta, the Stock Show and the visitor year. If your customers are slow, start with profit on paper and cash in the mail.
You will be talking to the Steven Palmieri practice.