San Antonio updates local sales and use taxes for 2026
Texas has announced local sales and use tax changes effective January 1, 2026, including updates in San Antonio and new combined taxing areas. Destination-based sourcing means sellers must apply the updated rates based on the delivery address.
Written by Alex Lamachenka
Head of DemandGen
Published
What’s changing
Effective January 1, 2026, Texas local sales and use tax updates include:
- The abolition of an additional city sales and use tax in San Antonio that was imposed for a sports venue purpose.
- Updated transit district tax treatment for the San Antonio Advanced Transportation District.
- The creation of new combined local tax areas where city boundaries overlap with emergency services districts.
- These changes affect the total combined sales tax rate at the address level, even though the Texas state sales tax rate itself is unchanged.
San Antonio sales tax changes
San Antonio is eliminating a specific city-level sales and use tax while other local components remain in place. Specifically:
- The city has abolished the additional sales and use tax previously imposed for sports venue funding.
- The San Antonio Advanced Transportation District and Metropolitan Transit Authority taxes continue to apply.
- The change affects San Antonio addresses located in both Bexar County and portions of Medina County, depending on location.
- As a result, sellers may see a different combined local rate for San Antonio transactions beginning January 1, 2026, even though multiple local taxes still apply.
San Antonio local tax components affected
Effective January 1, 2026, the following changes apply to sales sourced to San Antonio addresses:
City sports venue sales tax
- Status: Eliminated
- Previous rate: 1.125%
- Purpose: Sports venue funding
Advanced Transportation District (ATD)
- Rate: 0.375%
- Boundary: Matches the City of San Antonio
Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)
- Rate: 0.500%
- Continues to apply where applicable
County treatment
- Applies to San Antonio addresses in both Bexar County and Medina County, depending on location
- These changes adjust the combined local sales tax rate at the address level, not just the city component.
New combined area sales tax jurisdictions
Texas has created new combined areas to administer sales and use tax where cities overlap with emergency services districts. These combined areas require sellers to apply a single combined local rate based on the destination address.
New combined areas effective January 1, 2026 include:
- Briarcliff / Travis County Emergency Services District No. 8-A. Applies to areas within Travis County ESD No. 8-A annexed by the City of Briarcliff on or after June 25, 2025.
- Liberty Hill / Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 4-A. Applies to areas within Williamson County ESD No. 4-A annexed by the City of Liberty Hill on or after August 13, 2025.
- Todd Mission / Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 10. Applies to areas annexed for limited purposes by the City of Todd Mission, including areas subject to a strategic partnership agreement with Colton Municipal Utility District No. 2.
Who this affects
- Sellers with physical locations in affected Texas jurisdictions
- Remote sellers shipping taxable goods or services to Texas customers
- Marketplace facilitators responsible for collecting Texas local sales tax
- Accounting and tax teams managing Texas address-level tax calculation
Next steps for sellers
- Calculation: Ensure sales tax systems apply the correct combined Texas state and local rates for transactions occurring on or after January 1, 2026.
- Review: Identify customer delivery addresses in San Antonio and in newly created combined areas.
- Reporting: Confirm January 2026 returns reflect the updated local tax structure where applicable.
Other US Sales Tax Updates
Mecklenburg County voters approve transit sales tax referendum
Mecklenburg County, NC approved a one-cent transit sales tax. The new rate takes effect April 1, 2026 — and gives Mecklenburg the highest countywide rate in North Carolina.
Tennessee rules mobile health app subscriptions taxable
Tennessee’s Department of Revenue has ruled that mobile health tracking subscriptions — including bundled software and Bluetooth monitors — are taxable as software sales.
Arkansas eliminates state sales tax on groceries in 2026
Arkansas will remove its state sales and use tax on groceries, under the Grocery Tax Relief Act. The repeal applies to food and food ingredients for home consumption, while county and municipal grocery taxes will remain in place.