All of Fayette Co. Sees Sales Tax Gains in 2022

With their October payments from the state, La Grange passed the $2 million mark for sales tax revenue in 2022, while Fayette County passed $2.5 million.

These were record highs for both entities. Among the seven cities in Fayette County that have a local sales tax, Schulenburg has been having the greatest growth. As of October, it had $1,034,291, a gain of 33.5% from the same time last year. Two other towns in the county have double-digit gains. Carmine is up 18.2% and Round Top is up 14.5%. All seven towns are up from this same time in 2021.

For La Grange, the year to date total for sales tax is $2,025,401. That’s more than the city got for the entire year in 2020.

Flatonia remains the third largest sales tax center, with $360,903, but Round Top is closing the gap, with $303,811 so far this year.

Carmine stands at $125,009, Fayetteville at $104,234 and Ellinger, which a year ago did not even have a sales tax, is at $52,315 for 2022.

It’s the growth in revenue for Fayette County, however, that is most remarkable. Both cities and counties are permitted to levy a local sales tax in Texas, with counties limited to a rate of one-half a percent, while towns can go higher. Six of the towns in Fayette County have rates of 1.5%, while Ellinger’s is 1%. The taxes are collected by the merchants who make the sales and sent to the State Comptroller, who rebates them to local entities once a month.

Among the nine area counties that levy a sales tax, Fayette County is up dramatically. As of October last year, the county had not yet hit $2 million in revenue. This year, it is above $2.5 million.

Towns get taxes on sales made inside their city limits, while the county gets taxes on sales made anywhere in the county, including businesses located outside any city limits.

Bastrop County has taken in more than $6.5 million so far this year, up 23.0% from this time last year. Fayette County’s revenue, by comparison, is up 31.6%. Washington County is next, at $3.5 million, which is a 21.6% gain.

Caldwell County is fourth, at $2.4 million, up 11.0%. Among area cities, Bastrop continues to benefit from the explosive suburban gowth of Austin. Bastrop’s city sales tax revenue is over $9.4 million so far this year. Brenham’s is just over $7.5 million.