Staying compliant in Texas

What goes in the yearly Comptroller report, and when is it due?

The Public Information Report (PIR) is filed with the Comptroller alongside the franchise tax report, due May 15 each year.¹

Texas has no separate annual report for LLCs at the Secretary of State, so the PIR is where the state collects the yearly update. The Secretary of State's FAQ confirms the split: "Only certain types of entities file annual or periodic reports with the Secretary of State", and LLCs aren't among them. The same FAQ adds the other half: "As part of the annual franchise tax reports, these taxable entities file a Public Information Report (PIR)."³

What the report asks a Texas LLC for

According to the Comptroller's instructions, a domestic LLC lists these items.

• all managers (and all members if member-managed)⁴
• its registered agent name and office address⁴
• the address where the entity's records are kept⁴

Each one is a fact you are confirming to the state once a year. If a manager left, a new member joined, or the books moved to a new office, the report is where the Comptroller sees it.

How the report fits with the Secretary of State's record

The PIR asks for your agent's name and office, but this page's sources don't say it changes the agent on the Secretary of State's record. That change is made on Change of Registered Agent/Office (Form 401) for $15. Treat the PIR as a yearly check, and file the form whenever the check turns up a difference.⁵

If you also run an LLC in another state, the yearly filing may look different there. Compare staying compliant in Oklahoma, staying compliant in Louisiana or the Arizona compliance guide. Our explainer on annual reports covers the general idea.

Do Texas LLCs pay franchise tax?

Yes. Texas franchise tax applies to LLCs, single-member LLCs included, with no tax due at or below the $2,650,000 revenue threshold (2026 to 2027 report years); an LLC under that line still files a report each year.¹

The Comptroller's list of entities subject to the tax names "limited liability companies (LLCs), including single member LLCs (SMLLCs) and series LLCs". A one-person LLC with modest sales is in that group.¹

Two figures from the Comptroller frame the question.

1. The threshold: no tax due at or below the $2,650,000 revenue threshold (2026 to 2027 report years). Revenue at or below it means no franchise tax is due for that report year.¹
2. The filing duty doesn't depend on owing tax. Below the threshold, an information report is still required, filed together with the PIR.¹

This page doesn't list the tax rates or explain how revenue is measured for the threshold; the Comptroller publishes that detail. Ask the Comptroller or a tax professional how the tax applies to your LLC, and keep in mind that federal filings with the IRS run on their own separate schedule.

What happens if a Texas LLC files late or loses good standing?

Texas charges a $50 penalty per franchise tax report filed late, even when no tax is due. The penalty applies per report, so an LLC that misses the deadline repeatedly owes it each time, plus whatever tax was owed.¹

Longer neglect can cost the LLC its good standing. The Secretary of State's reinstatement instructions list a separate reinstatement filing for LLCs that lost their rights through tax forfeiture: $75 (Form 801 after tax forfeiture). In other words, a tax problem alone can cost an LLC its rights, even when its agent and filings at the Secretary of State are in order. The Comptroller pages checked for this page don't set out when forfeiture happens, so treat a notice from the Comptroller as urgent and ask it what is outstanding.⁶

Reinstatement has two conditions beyond the fee. The application requires a Comptroller tax clearance letter; the Comptroller pages checked here don't list what it needs before issuing that letter. It also needs an available name: if another business has taken a name that isn't distinguishable from yours, the old name can't come back with the LLC.⁶

The agent rule is a separate route to the same place. Failing to keep a registered agent may lead to involuntary termination of a domestic LLC, or revocation of a foreign entity's registration for an LLC formed elsewhere. The Texas registered agent guide covers that path and its reinstatement form. If the business kept trading while it was forfeited or terminated, talk to a lawyer about the contracts it signed in that period.⁷

How do you keep your Texas registered agent current?

Texas law says each LLC "shall designate and continuously maintain in this state" a registered agent and registered office (Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.201). Staying compliant means keeping that pair accurate all year, and filing Form 401 for $15 when either changes.^{2, 5}

Situations that call for the form are common.

• You or the person acting as agent moves house.
• The agent leaves Texas and stops qualifying as a resident.
• You switch to a commercial service, or from one service to another.
• Your agent resigns. That resignation takes effect on the 31st day after the SOS receives notice, so the replacement filing should go in before that date.⁸

The Secretary of State accepts Form 401 online through SOSPortal, by mail, or by delivery in person. Change first, then cancel the old service. The guides to changing a registered agent and cancelling a service take you through it, and the Texas agent rules in full are on the registered agent requirements page.^{5, 9}

What provider compliance features do in Texas

Most compliance plans are described around an "annual report", and Texas LLCs don't file one with the Secretary of State. The yearly filing is the Comptroller's franchise tax report and PIR. The plans below follow our score, highest first. The provider facts used here don't say whether any of these plans files the Texas PIR or franchise tax report, so ask before you pay.

• Tailor Brands lists annual compliance filing as included in Essential and Elite (annual compliance report filing and updates); not in Lite.¹⁰
• ZenBusiness lists Annual Report Filing $100 per report.¹¹
• LegalZoom charges $99 + state filing fees, bills once.¹²
• Bizee (formerly Incfile) offers annual report filing, with no standalone price stated.¹³
• Swyft Filings sells ComplianceGuard $199/year.¹⁴
• Northwest Registered Agent charges $100 + state fees, charged at filing.¹⁵
• InCorp Services charges $89 + state fees.¹⁶
• Harbor Compliance charges $199 per state per year plus filing fees.¹⁷

Reminder features vary too. LegalZoom describes email reminders about annual report deadlines via Compliance Calendar. The agent service from Swyft Filings lists notifications of state correspondence, and the one from InCorp Services includes email reminders before deadlines (annual reports, franchise tax). Whatever a provider sends, the Comptroller's deadline stays your responsibility.^{18, 19, 20}

The agent fee is the other recurring bill. Tailor Brands renews at $199/year, ZenBusiness at $199/yr, LegalZoom at the purchase rate each year, Bizee (formerly Incfile) at $149/year, Swyft Filings at $149 per quarter, InCorp Services at $129 per year flat rate, and Harbor Compliance at $159 annually. Side-by-side terms are on the Texas registered agent comparison, and a wider view is on services with compliance tools.^{18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24}

What does a Texas LLC compliance calendar look like?

The yearly date to know for a Texas LLC is May 15 each year, plus agent upkeep whenever something changes. The first year mostly involves setting things up.¹

Year one

1. Certificate filed. The Secretary of State accepts your certificate of formation. There is no newspaper notice to arrange afterwards, since that rule was repealed in 2003. How to file is covered in the Texas LLC formation guide.³
2. First franchise tax report. The Comptroller pages checked for this page give the yearly due date but not the rule for a new LLC's first report year. Ask the Comptroller when your first report is due, and put it on your calendar.
3. Confirm the email and phone your agent uses to reach you, and note the date your agent service renews.
4. Keep a current list of managers and members and the address where your records sit, since the PIR will ask for all three.

Year two and later

1. Franchise tax report and PIR, due May 15 each year. File even if no tax is due.¹
2. Agent renewal, if you pay a service. Decide whether to keep it before any notice deadline in its terms.
3. Record check. While preparing the PIR, compare the agent details with the Secretary of State's record and file Form 401 if they differ.⁵
4. If the LLC also registered in another state, that state keeps its own calendar. A foreign LLC registered in Texas (registration costs $750) has the same agent duty; this page's sources don't say how the franchise tax report applies to it, so ask the Comptroller.²⁵

What the year costs depends on your formation choices; the cheapest ways to form a Texas LLC adds up the state fees and provider renewals. Terms used on this page are defined in the glossary, and what a registered agent does explains the agent's role.