Payment
Electronic payment options include TEXNET, WebEFT (Electronic Check) and credit cards (American Express, Discover and MasterCard). Using a credit card incurs a non-refundable convenience fee.
NOTE: If you pay by WebEFT or TEXNET your payment effective date can be up to 30 days in advance of the current date. If you pay by credit card, your payment effective date will be the current date.
Franchise Tax WebFile
You can use WebFile to electronically request an extension, submit your franchise tax reports (long form, EZ Computation, No Tax Due or information report) or make a franchise tax payment. When you sign into WebFile, you will be able to select the "smart forms" packet you want to file. Each smart form has built-in edits that reduce errors and speed processing. WebFile presents the forms you need automatically as you enter information. Select the payment only option if you want to make a payment without filing an extension request or a franchise tax report.
Effective Oct. 1, 2011 – $50 Late Filing Penalty
For reports due on or after Oct. 1, 2011, a $50 late filing penalty will be assessed on every report filed after the due date. The $50 penalty is due in addition to any other penalties assessed for the reporting period. For details about these changes, please visit Publication 98-918 – Late Filing Penalties (PDF, 69KB).
You cannot use WebFile to:
- File an amended franchise tax report. You can download the form for amending a franchise tax report, or, learn more about filing an amended report to request a refund.
- File a franchise tax report without payment if tax is due. WebFile will present your payment options and all or part of the tax due must be paid.
- File an individual form, such as an affiliate schedule or credit schedule, in response to a billing or courtesy notice.
- File a final franchise tax report via WebFile, unless the entity has ended its tax responsibility with the Comptroller's office and/or ended the registration with the Texas Secretary of State's office. If you are attempting to close this entity and get tax clearance, you must complete form 05-359 along with any outstanding tax returns and mail them to our office.
Before You Begin:
Determine which forms packet you should file. If you have any problems opening the Smart .PDF forms, please visit our forms help page.
You will need to have your Texas taxpayer ID number and WebFile number to login for the first time.
For all the report forms, you should know the SIC code and NAICS code for your business entity.
If using WebFile to submit your report, no signature is required. Electronic submission is considered a signed document. If you used WebFile, please do not sign and mail the printed copy.
If you owe penalty and interest, you need to manually calculate the amount and enter it on the payment form before submitting.
If you have a prior franchise tax payment you can enter the amount on the payment form prior to submitting and the system will calculate the balance due.
If you are filing a money extension request or owe tax with the report, you will need to click submit after the reports are complete before the payment options are presented. If you WebFile a report and owe tax, you MUST make a payment.
WebFile times out after 30 minutes for security reasons. If you need more time to complete the forms, save them to your computer. When you are ready, click submit and follow the instructions to log back in to WebFile and complete the filing and payment process.
Important: Franchise tax report forms must be opened in your Web browser each time you access the forms to successfully submit them electronically.
Find detailed instructions on how to open the report forms in your Web browser.