Harris County sales tax is a rate of tax a consumer must pay when purchasing goods (and some services) in Harris County, Texas, and that a business must collect from their customers. The base rate of Harris County sales tax (Houston) is 1%, and the Harris County sales tax (Houston MTA Transit) is 1%, so when combined with the Texas sales tax rate of 6.25%, the Harris County sales tax rate totals 8.25%.
Houston MTA Transit stands for, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County. The world-famous city of Houston is situated in Harris County and plays a big factor in how Harris County sales tax is calculated. The Harris County sales tax rate is 0%, however, the Houston and Houston MTA sales tax rates are 1% and 1% respectively, meaning that the minimum sales tax you will have to pay in Harris County when combined with the base rate of sales and use tax in Texas is 8.25%.
The Harris County sales tax rate is only applicable to businesses and sellers that are doing business in or selling to customers within Harris County, TX. The minimum combined Harris County sales tax of 8.25% is applicable in most areas within the county but there may be other circumstances that allow for more sales tax to be paid or collected within Harris County, so you should always do an address search to confirm this.
Harris County Sales Tax: 8.25%
Sales Tax in Harris County
Since the sales tax in Harris County can vary depending on where your business is based, it is important to look up the county and local level sales tax rate and calculate tax based on a specific address since the area and zip code your business is located in, or the specific area in which your customers are based or having products shipped to can affect the rate you pay or must collect from your customers.
Sales tax in Harris County is no different than most other counties in various states throughout the U.S. There is typically no specific standard rate that you can completely rely on to determine the rate you should pay or collect, so it is important to utilize the services of a professional tax collection company to maintain compliance and abide by U.S. sales and use tax laws.
If you would like to know the sales tax in Texas by county then head over to our page that has a table listing all the Texas county sales tax rates in alphabetical order. There are 254 counties in Texas and the list is pretty long, but it will be very helpful to you in determining the various local level rates in the state of Texas.
If you would like to look up a specific address in Harris County TX or any other county in Texas to determine the specific rate you must collect at a local level, then you can either head over to the Avalara website and enter the street, city, and region to determine your Texas sales and use tax rate by specific location or visit the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website to search for sales tax rates by address
If you are unsure whether your business should collect Harris County sales tax or you would like to apply for a sales and use tax license for your Texas business, you will want to visit the Texas Comptroller website. For other ways to contact the Texas Comptroller, here is their address and phone number.
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Lyndon B. Johnson State Office Building
111 East 17th Street
Austin, Texas 78774
United States
800-252-5555
Several online services are available 24/7 on the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website, including electronically filing a return, making a payment, setting up payment plans, checking the status of a refund, or making a general inquiry on your account.
