The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is distributing $1.3 billion in sales tax allocations to cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts this month, 7.6% more than the agency sent to local governments in September 2025, according to a Sept. 10 news release.
Comptroller Don Huffines paired the announcement with a renewed call for property tax relief, saying the stronger collections give many local entities room to lower rates. The agency said the September allocations are based on sales made in July by businesses that report sales tax monthly.
“The increased sales tax revenue being returned to local governments is an indicator that many local entities may have an opportunity to use these additional funds to help reduce property taxes,” Huffines said in the release. “Lower property taxes are one of the most effective ways to make housing more affordable and ease the financial burden Texans face with gas, groceries, and other everyday costs.”
Cities claimed the largest share of the September distribution at $816.5 million, an 8.1% increase over the same month last year, the comptroller’s office reported. Transit systems received $267.8 million, up 5.6%, and counties received $81.6 million, up 4.7%. Special purpose districts received $135.8 million, a 10.5% increase that was the sharpest year-over-year gain of any category on the agency’s list.
Year-to-date figures showed broadly similar growth, according to the agency. Total allocations were running 6.8% ahead of the prior year, with special purpose districts up 9.8%, counties up 7.8%, transit systems up 6.9% and cities up 6.2% — a pattern that put every category of recipient ahead of where it stood a year earlier.
Huffines, who has made property tax reform a recurring theme of his tenure, has used recent revenue announcements to press the same point. The agency said in an Aug. 27 release that he highlighted what it called an urgent need for property tax reform at an ad valorem taxation seminar, and on Sept. 3 he hosted a small business roundtable on the impact of state taxes.
The comptroller’s office said detailed September allocations for individual cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts are available through its Monthly Sales Tax Allocation Comparison Summary Reports. Local officials across Texas typically weigh those figures as they set budgets and adopt tax rates for the coming year.