New Braunfels, TX Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- City tax rate
- Half of the equivalent state occupational tax
- Collected by
- City secretary's office
- Receipt = license
- Tax receipt doubles as occupation license
- Nonpayment
- Criminal offense, prosecutable in municipal court
- Cure option
- Pay tax plus costs to dismiss case
Summary
New Braunfels levies its own occupational tax on top of the state occupational tax under City Code § 18-26, but only against callings the state itself already taxes: the city charge equals half of whatever state license or occupational tax applies, and the tax receipt itself doubles as the business's occupation license.
Sec. 18-26. Occupational tax—Levied. Except as otherwise provided in this Code, there is hereby levied and assessed and shall be collected from every person pursuing, or who may pursue, within the corporate limits of the city, any calling, occupation, profession, trade, vocation or business upon which a state license tax or occupational tax is levied under the laws of the state, a license or occupational tax equal to one-half of such state tax, which tax is in addition to all other taxes imposed by this Code. ... Sec. 18-28. Unlicensed business activity prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person, either for himself or as agent, servant or employee, to pursue or conduct any business, occupation, calling, trade, profession or other activity for which an occupational tax is levied by this article without having paid such tax and complied with all the provisions of this article.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 36).
Full Breakdown
Section 18-26 doesn't create its own list of taxable trades; it piggybacks on state law. " That means the city's occupational-tax classification for a given business is whatever classification the State of Texas already uses for that same calling, and the amount owed is mechanically pegged at half the state figure, on top of every other tax the code imposes elsewhere. The city secretary collects the tax and issues the receipt (§§ 18-27, 18-41), and that receipt itself "shall constitute a license to follow the occupation named therein for the time specified therein" under § 18-42, so the tax receipt doubles as the occupational license.
to pursue or conduct any business, occupation, calling, trade, profession or other activity for which an occupational tax is levied by this article without having paid such tax," and the chief of police and city secretary are jointly assigned to enforce compliance under § 18-30. A person prosecuted for nonpayment isn't left without an out: § 18-29 lets a court dismiss the case if the defendant pays the tax due plus court costs, provided the payment covers the full period the person actually worked the trade.
Violations & Fines
Working a state-taxed calling in New Braunfels without paying the § 18-26 occupational tax is a criminal violation of § 18-28, prosecuted through municipal court. Section 18-29 gives a defendant a way out: paying the back tax plus accrued court costs, covering the full period the calling was actually pursued, gets the prosecution dismissed. The chief of police and city secretary share enforcement duty under § 18-30.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does New Braunfels have its own separate list of taxed occupations?
What proves I've paid the New Braunfels occupational tax?
What happens if I get caught working without paying?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Braunfels
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