Sales tax on labor in Texas: taxed on repairs to things, not on new construction; building repairs and installation depend on the job

Repairing a thing in Texas

Taxed. Repairing, maintaining or restoring a thing (appliance repair, furniture upholstery and the like) is a taxable service.

• “Services such as shoe shining or repair, appliance repair, furniture refurbishing or upholstering, jewelry repair or cleaning and dog grooming are taxable.” — Taxable Services (Texas Comptroller pub. 96-259), page date: 01/2026

Repairing a home or building in Texas

It depends. Homes (houses, apartments, nursing homes, retirement homes; not hotels): repair labor is not taxed. Commercial buildings (restaurants): labor, materials and is taxed. Scheduled maintenance of real property that isn't broken is not taxed, but some real property services are always taxed (see services). What it turns on: whether the building is residential or nonresidential, and whether the work is repair/remodeling or scheduled maintenance.

• “Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (Texas Comptroller pub. 94-116), page date: 03/2007
• “On the other hand, the total amount charged for remodeling, repairing, or restoring nonresidential real property is taxable.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007
• “When your contract is for any of the following jobs, you are acting as a contractor and your construction labor is not taxable: building new structures; completing unfinished structures; initial finish out work ...; building, repairing, or remodeling homes, duplexes, apartments, nursing homes, or retirement homes (but not hotels)” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007
• “Charges for maintenance of real property are not taxable.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007

Installation work in Texas

It depends. Installing something into a home as part of building or remodeling: labor not taxed. Installing or replacing part of an existing commercial building is taxable remodeling or repair, labor included. What it turns on: residential vs nonresidential property; new construction vs repair/remodel.

• “On the other hand, the total amount charged for remodeling, repairing, or restoring nonresidential real property is taxable.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007
• “replacing any part of an existing structure, except for minor replacement of parts during maintenance of the real property, such as replacing a belt on a machine” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007
• “When your contract is for any of the following jobs, you are acting as a contractor and your construction labor is not taxable: building new structures; completing unfinished structures; initial finish out work ...; building, repairing, or remodeling homes, duplexes, apartments, nursing homes, or retirement homes (but not hotels)” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007

New construction in Texas

Not taxed. Building new structures (homes or commercial) and initial finish-out: construction labor is not taxed. Lump-sum contract: you pay tax on materials when you buy them and charge the customer no tax. Separated contract: you buy materials tax-free with a resale certificate and charge the customer tax on the materials only.

• “When your contract is for any of the following jobs, you are acting as a contractor and your construction labor is not taxable: building new structures; completing unfinished structures; initial finish out work ...; building, repairing, or remodeling homes, duplexes, apartments, nursing homes, or retirement homes (but not hotels)” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007
• “Under a lump-sum contract, you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007

Listing labor separately on the bill in Texas

It depends. On home and new-construction jobs, separating labor from materials changes who pays the tax on materials (you, on a lump sum; the customer and on a separated contract) — labor stays untaxed either way. On commercial repair/remodeling the total is taxed regardless. When a bill mixes taxable and nontaxable services, the whole charge is presumed taxable if the taxable part is greater than 5 percent, unless the nontaxable part is listed separately.

• “Under a lump-sum contract, you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007
• “You should separately state charges for nontaxable services from charges for taxable services. Otherwise, your total charge will be presumed taxable if the taxable portion is greater than 5 percent.” — Landscaping and Lawn Care Services (94-112), page date: 03/2022
• “Under a lump-sum contract, you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax. Under a separated contract, you give your suppliers resale certificates instead of paying tax on materials you incorporate into the customer's real property. You then collect state sales tax, plus any local tax, from your customer on the amount you charge for the materials. ... The construction labor is not taxable.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (Texas Comptroller pub. 94-116), page date: 03/2007

Materials on jobs in Texas

Either: on a lump-sum contract the contractor is the consumer and pays tax on materials when buying; on a separated contract the contractor resells the materials and collects tax on them from the customer.

• “Under a lump-sum contract, you pay tax on all your supplies, materials, equipment, and taxable services when you buy them. You don't charge your customer tax.” — Real Property Repair and Remodeling (94-116), page date: 03/2007

Trade services Texas taxes

The services Texas's own pages name as taxed, each in the page's words:

• Landscaping and lawn care (mowing, trimming, edging, tree trimming, planting): “Taxable landscaping and lawn care services include the following: Planting, transplanting, relocating and removing indoor or outdoor plants. ... Planting, mowing, trimming and edging grass or other ground cover. Planting and maintaining flower gardens. Trimming, spraying, and maintaining trees.”
• Building cleaning, window washing, chimney and air duct cleaning: “Tax is due on the charge to clean a home, office, warehouse, garage, restaurant, or any other building, or a swimming pool. For example, you should collect tax on your charges for such things as cleaning and straightening; washing windows, floors, walls, and ceilings; cleaning chimneys or air ducts”
• Swimming pool maintenance: “Swimming pool maintenance is a taxable real property service whether done on residential or nonresidential (commercial) property.”
• Pest control: “When you provide structural pest control services, you must collect sales tax from your customers (even when pests are not found).”
• Real property services (summary): “Pest control and extermination, garbage and other waste collection or removal, janitorial and custodial services (including parking lot sweeping or cleaning), landscaping and lawn maintenance (including tree surgery and plant leasing) and surveying are taxable real property services.”
• Carpet, rug and upholstery cleaning: “carpet cleaning and repair ... rug cleaning, dying and repairing services ... upholstery cleaning and repair”
• “you should collect tax on the total charge, including labor and materials, to paint or hang wallpaper in an office.”

Where Texas's list of services comes from

• “Pest control and extermination, garbage and other waste collection or removal, janitorial and custodial services (including parking lot sweeping or cleaning), landscaping and lawn maintenance (including tree surgery and plant leasing) and surveying are taxable real property services.” — Taxable Services (96-259), page date: 01/2026
• “Planting, mowing, trimming and edging grass or other ground cover.” — Landscaping and Lawn Care Services (94-112), page date: 03/2022
• “Lawn care and landscaping (other than pest control services requiring a license) are nontaxable when done by a self-employed individual who: does the actual lawn care or landscaping services; has no employees, partners or other persons providing the services; and has gross receipts from the services of $5,000 or less during the most recent four calendar quarters.” — Landscaping and Lawn Care Services (94-112), page date: 03/2022
• “Tax is due on the charge to clean a home, office, warehouse, garage, restaurant, or any other building, or a swimming pool.” — Cleaning and Janitorial Services (94-111), page date: 10/2006
• “When you provide structural pest control services, you must collect sales tax from your customers (even when pests are not found).” — Pest Control Services (94-114), page date: 08/2021

What was not checked for Texas

• Installing something that stays a movable thing, not attached to the building, is not covered by any Texas page opened here.
• The Texas rules themselves (3.291, 3.292 and 3.357) could not be opened on the Secretary of State's site, so the Comptroller's publications were used. Publication 94-116 is dated March 2007 but is still the one the Comptroller's January 2026 taxable services page points to.
• Whether Texas taxes snow removal was not checked.

Check with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Before you bill: check with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. As of November 6, 2026.

This is a plain-words summary of each state's own revenue guidance as of November 6, 2026, not tax advice. Rules have exceptions, and cities and counties can add taxes of their own. Check with the state's tax department, linked on every state's page, before you bill.

Compare Texas with every state's answer, or with its neighbours just below.

Next door to Texas

• Arkansas: home repair depends, installation depends
• Louisiana: home repair not taxed, installation depends
• New Mexico: gross receipts tax; home repair taxed, installation taxed
• Oklahoma: home repair not taxed, installation depends

Official sources for Texas

• Real Property Repair and Remodeling (Texas Comptroller pub. 94-116) — 03/2007
• Taxable Services (96-259) — 01/2026
• Landscaping and Lawn Care Services (94-112) — 03/2022
• Cleaning and Janitorial Services (94-111) — 10/2006
• Pest Control Services (94-114) — 08/2021

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