CPA for Houston, TX Clients: Remote Tax, Payroll and Accounting

We are a Naperville, Illinois CPA firm and we serve Houston-area clients remotely; we do not have an office in Texas. Houston's tax picture rests on two things that matter most to everyday owners: local sales tax that is collected up to the state maximum, and property tax bills that can be challenged each spring. Here is how both work, and where our remote tax, payroll and accounting help fits in.

Sales tax in Houston

Texas imposes a 6.25% state sales and use tax on most retail sales and on certain taxable services. Cities, counties and transit and special districts may add up to 2 percentage points. Houston and its transit authority use that full 2 points, producing 8.25%. Retailers, restaurants, contractors and online sellers must collect the right tax, file on schedule and keep exemption certificates for tax-free sales.

Where the trouble starts is nearby: some Houston-area addresses are outside the city limits, in the county or in special districts that change the local total. A seller with several locations should confirm the rate for each. We can review your setup under our sales and use tax service, along with the permit paperwork for new businesses.

Property tax and the May protest

Harris County property owners get an appraisal notice from the appraisal district in spring. You can protest the value, a missing exemption or an error in the appraisal records by filing with the Appraisal Review Board by May 15 or within 30 days of the notice's mailing, whichever is later. You may ask the appraisal district for an informal meeting first. Decisions apply only to that tax year, so a successful protest does not carry forward.

Exemptions are worth checking each year:

• General homestead: school districts must exempt $140,000 of a home's value, and other taxing units may add a local exemption of up to 20%.
• Age 65 or older or disabled: school districts must give a further $60,000 exemption, and surviving spouses age 55 or older may qualify for the deceased spouse's exemption in some cases.

An owner can appoint an agent to handle a protest hearing by filing the state's appointment form.

Rental property and small landlords

Owners of Houston rental houses should look at how property tax, depreciation and passive-loss rules fit together, especially when the owner lives in another state. Our real estate investor tax work covers entity choices for rentals, cost segregation questions and cross-border owners.

The community and employers

The Houston metro area has about 172,000 residents who identify as Asian Indian alone or in combination, roughly 2.3% of the metro population, and Fort Bend County, which includes Sugar Land, is about 8.2% (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024). We help these families with US-India tax treaty issues and with the filing needs of family businesses. For trucking and transportation companies and other employers in the area, we run payroll and keep state unemployment filings on schedule. More on state-level rules is on our Texas page.

How we can help

We prepare individual and business returns, keep books, run payroll and file sales tax for Houston clients, all remotely from Naperville. If you have a property tax notice, we can help you gather your facts, but for a protest on a specific property, speak with a qualified professional or the appraisal district.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not tax, legal or accounting advice for your situation. Rules, limits and deadlines change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a qualified professional before you act. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship with CPA Tax Payroll and Accounting Corp.