Military City and Much More
San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas, with about 1.55 million residents in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate, and the seat of Bexar County. Joint Base San Antonio, made up of Fort Sam Houston, Lackland and Randolph, is one of the largest military installations in the country; the Comptroller counted about 74,700 direct jobs there in 2025 and more than 220,000 jobs once indirect effects are included. Around it, the city has built a large health care sector, the headquarters of USAA, H-E-B and Valero, a Toyota truck plant with suppliers on site, a cybersecurity industry and one of the most visited downtowns in the state. BOMCAS works with San Antonio clients remotely.
The statewide picture, from the franchise tax to property tax, is in our Texas overview. Here we look at San Antonio in particular.
The Tax Picture
San Antonio has no city income tax, and Texas has no state income tax. Businesses file the franchise tax report each May, collect 8.25 percent sales tax inside the city, and pay property tax to Bexar County, the city, a school district and other local units. Hotel guests pay the 6 percent state hotel tax, a 9 percent city hotel tax and a Bexar County venue tax. Business personal property renditions go to the Bexar Appraisal District by April 15.
The People We Serve
Our San Antonio clients include defense and cyber contractors, manufacturers and Toyota suppliers, restaurant and hotel groups downtown and on the River Walk, medical and home health businesses, construction firms, Eagle Ford service companies and families who own mineral rights. Many households include active-duty members, veterans or retirees, and many families have relatives and business interests in Mexico.
Neighbourhoods and Business Areas
Downtown and the River Walk hold the hotels, the convention centre and a dense restaurant trade. The Pearl and Southtown have become home to restaurants, studios and small firms in restored buildings. The Medical Center on the northwest side holds hospitals, UT Health San Antonio and many practices. Port San Antonio, on the former Kelly Air Force Base, houses aerospace maintenance, manufacturing and cybersecurity companies, and the South Side holds the Toyota plant and its suppliers. Suburbs inside the metro, such as Alamo Heights, Live Oak and Converse, are separate cities with their own tax rates.
Key Dates
- April 15: renditions due to the Bexar Appraisal District.
- May 15: franchise tax report and Public Information Report due.
- May 15, or 30 days after the notice: usual appraisal protest deadline.
- Monthly or quarterly: sales, mixed beverage and hotel tax returns.
- January 31: property tax bills due.
A Growing Metro
The city has expanded steadily along Loop 1604 and out toward Interstate 10 west and Highway 281 north, bringing new subdivisions, shopping centres, medical offices and the contractors who build them. Growth in the far north and west also brings municipal utility districts and other special districts into some new neighbourhoods, which add to property tax bills, and annexation questions for areas just outside city limits. Businesses that open a second or third location in these areas often find that each address falls under a different set of local taxes, and that the appraisal district values new commercial buildings differently from older ones. We review each new location as it opens, so permits, renditions and returns start correctly instead of being fixed later.
Starting With BOMCAS
A first project in San Antonio might be organising a government contractor's books before an audit, reconciling a restaurant group's sales and mixed beverage returns, preparing a military family's return in the year of retirement, or sorting out inherited royalty statements. We begin by gathering recent returns and statements, then agree on what needs to happen and when. All of our work is done online; we do not provide legal advice or appear at appraisal hearings, but we prepare the numbers clients and their advisers need.
How BOMCAS Helps in San Antonio
San Antonio clients often begin with bookkeeping set up for contracts, parts or locations, sales, mixed beverage and hotel tax returns and payroll that follows federal wage rules and tip reporting. Each year we prepare business returns and franchise tax reports and household returns for military and civilian families, and use them for planning around transitions, minerals and succession. If filings have slipped, start with back taxes and late filing, and families with Canadian or Mexican ties can read about cross-border tax.
For the rules that apply everywhere in the state, read our Texas pages on business taxes, personal returns, sales tax, bookkeeping, payroll, planning, late filing and cross-border work.
San Antonio Questions
Do you work with military families?
Yes, including active-duty members, spouses, retirees and veterans, and the federal rules that apply to each.
What is the sales tax rate in San Antonio?
8.25 percent inside the city. Suburban cities and unincorporated areas of Bexar County can differ.
Do you have a San Antonio office?
No. We work with San Antonio clients remotely through secure uploads, video calls and cloud accounting.
Can you help with income from Mexico?
We prepare the U.S. returns and forms for clients with Mexican income or assets and work with their advisers in Mexico.
Talk to BOMCAS About Your San Antonio Taxes
On the Gulf Coast, our Houston pages deal with energy companies and their contractors, the port and the ship channel, the Texas Medical Center, MUD and flood-zone property questions and Houston's 17 percent hotel tax.
In North Texas, our Dallas pages look at headquarters staff and executives, private companies and funds, a city spread over five counties, Love Field and DART-area sales tax and the restaurants of Deep Ellum and Bishop Arts.
West of Dallas, our Fort Worth pages cover aerospace and rail employers, the AllianceTexas logistics hub and its freeport inventory, Barnett Shale royalties on city lots, ranching families and the Stockyards hospitality trade.
In the capital, our Austin pages focus on tech employees with stock compensation, startups and founders, state employees, University of Texas faculty and students, licensed short-term rentals and the city's music and film freelancers.
Send BOMCAS a short note about your San Antonio business or household and we will come back with next steps and the documents we need for a quote. Reach us through the contact page or the form below, by phone at 780-667-5250 or at info@bomcas.ca. All San Antonio services are on the Texas overview. Nothing here is advice for your particular circumstances.