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Waco, TX Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Tax rate
One-fourth of the state occupation tax
Payment timing
Due annually in advance
Receipt display
Must exhibit tax receipt while operating
Penalty
Each undisplayed day is a separate offense
Origin
Code 1967 §§ 33-3, 33-5

Summary

Waco levies its own occupation tax on every person pursuing a business, calling or profession the state also taxes, set at one-fourth of whatever the state occupation tax would be, due annually in advance. Anyone who fails to display the paid tax receipt while operating is punishable under state law, with each undisplayed day a separate offense.

There is hereby levied, and there shall be collected from every person pursuing any occupation taxed by the general laws of the state, or which may be hereafter so taxed, an annual occupation tax equal in each instance to one-fourth the state occupation tax, which tax shall be paid annually in advance except where otherwise provided by the state law, in which event the same may be paid as provided by the state law.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 88).

Full Breakdown

Sec. 24-71 imposes the city's occupation tax on every person pursuing any occupation, calling or profession that is taxed, or later becomes taxed, by the general laws of the state. The city's tax is set at exactly one-fourth of the corresponding state occupation tax and is due annually in advance, except where state law sets a different payment schedule, in which case the state's timing controls. This ties Waco's local tax classification directly to whichever occupations the Texas Legislature designates as taxable, rather than the city drawing up its own independent list of taxed trades.

Sec. 102, and every day the receipt goes undisplayed counts as a new, separate offense. A cross-reference in the same article points to the coin-operated machine occupation tax at Sec. 13-72 as a related, more specific levy. Both sections trace back to the 1967 Code (Sec. 33-3 and Sec. 33-5) and remain on the books today, layered on top of, not replacing, whatever occupation or business permit fees a given trade also owes under Chapter 13's licenses and business regulations article.

Violations & Fines

Operating without displaying the required state-issued occupation tax receipt is punishable as set out in V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 191.102, and Sec. 24-72 makes each day the receipt is not displayed a separate offense, so a multi-day lapse can stack into repeated citations rather than a single one-time violation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Waco's local occupation tax based on?
It equals one-fourth of whatever occupation tax the State of Texas imposes on that same occupation, calling or profession under Sec. 24-71. If the state doesn't tax an occupation, Waco has nothing to levy against it, since the city's tax only attaches to occupations already taxed, or later taxed, by state law.
When is the Waco occupation tax due?
Annually, and it must be paid in advance under Sec. 24-71, unless state law sets a different payment schedule for that particular occupation tax, in which case the state's timing controls instead of the city's default annual-advance rule.
What happens if I don't display my occupation tax receipt?
You're punishable under V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 191.102 for failing to exhibit the receipt while pursuing the taxed occupation or operating the taxed machine, and Sec. 24-72 treats every day it stays undisplayed as its own separate offense, so the exposure grows the longer it goes uncorrected.

Sources & Official References

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