Why does Texas have no annual report?
If you search for a “Texas LLC annual report,” you will find conflicting answers, and the reason is that the honest answer is there isn't oneat least not with the Secretary of State, which is where most states put their annual report. Texas does not require LLCs to file a yearly report to keep their registration active in the way California, Florida or New York do.
That does not mean Texas asks nothing of you each year. It means the yearly obligation lives with a different agency, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accountsand takes two forms filed together: the annual franchise tax report and the Public Information Report (PIR). People who think “no annual report” means “nothing to file” are the ones who end up out of good standing.
The Public Information Report (PIR)
The Public Information Report is the piece that most closely resembles an annual report. It keeps the public record current: it lists the LLC's managers or members, the principal office and mailing address, and the registered agent details. Every taxable entity that files a franchise tax report also files a PIR, and the two are submitted together to the Comptroller.
Because it travels with the franchise tax report rather than standing alone, the PIR is easy to overlook if you assume “no franchise tax due” means “nothing to send.” It does not. Even a small LLC below the tax threshold has historically owed the informational filing.
The franchise tax report
Texas levies a franchise tax on entities doing business in the state, LLCs included. The tax is based on the LLC's margin (a calculation derived from revenue), not a flat fee. The reason many Texas LLC owners believe they owe nothing is that Texas sets a no-tax-due threshold: if the LLC's total annualized revenue falls below it, no franchise tax is owed.
But, and this is where people trip, being below the threshold has still meant you have a filing obligation. The thresholds, the exact forms, and whether a separate No Tax Due report is required have all changed over recent years, so confirm the current rules with the Comptroller rather than relying on an old guide. The stable principle to carry away is: owing no tax is not the same as owing no filing.
The May 15 deadline
The franchise tax report and the PIR are both due May 15 each year, covering the prior year's activity. If May 15 lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Extensions are available in some circumstances, but the default date to build your calendar around is May 15. Treat it as one combined deadline, because in practice you are filing both pieces to the same agency at the same time.
What happens if you fall behind?
Miss the filing and the Comptroller can add penalties and interest and mark the franchise tax account as not in good standing. Left unaddressed, this escalates: the state can forfeit the LLC's right to transact business in Texas and, ultimately, forfeit its charter or certificate. A forfeited LLC loses the liability protection and standing that were the point of forming it in the first place.
There is also a knock-on effect that surprises people who are trying to close down: you cannot cleanly terminate a Texas LLC while the franchise tax account is delinquent, because termination requires proof from the Comptroller that the account is settled. Falling behind does not just cost penalties, it blocks the exit.
Why the Comptroller clearance matters when you close
This is the specifically Texan wrinkle. To terminate an LLC you file a Certificate of Termination (Form 651) with the Secretary of State, but the state will not accept it without a Certificate of Account Status for dissolution/termination (Form 05-359) from the Comptroller. That certificate confirms the LLC has filed all required franchise tax reports and paid what it owes. In other words, all those yearly filings have to be current before Texas will let the LLC go. We cover the mechanics of that on our page about the Texas Certificate of Account Status.
How dissolving the LLC ends the obligation
Every yearly filing on this page exists because the LLC is still an active taxable entity in Texas. Close the entity and the obligations end. Terminating the LLC ends the franchise tax report and PIR for good.
The Texas sequence is: bring the franchise tax account current, request the Certificate of Account Status (Form 05-359) from the Comptroller, then file the Certificate of Termination (Form 651) with the Secretary of State, the state filing fee for termination is around $40. Once the termination is processed, the LLC no longer exists and no further franchise tax reports or PIRs are due. We walk through the full order on our guide to dissolving an LLC in Texaswith the general steps on how to dissolve an LLC.
If the LLC ever obtained an EIN, terminating with the state does not close your IRS business account. That is a separate federal step, and skipping it leaves an open account behind even after Texas considers the LLC closed.
Deciding what to do next
If the LLC is active and you plan to keep it, the routine is: file the franchise tax report and PIR with the Comptroller by May 15 every year, even if you owe no tax. If the LLC has done its job, continuing to file just keeps a taxable entity alive, and the longer you leave it, the more catch-up work the eventual termination clearance requires. Closing it cleanly ends the cycle.
We do not sell franchise tax or PIR filing; our work is dissolution, terminating a Texas LLC properly, including the Comptroller clearance, so the state agrees it is done. If you are weighing keep-it versus close-it, a specialist can talk it through first. See the wider view on the LLC annual report hub.