One report, then the next
The franchise report is a state report. Mid-May is the franchise filing for 2026, and mid-May is the filing again for 2027, with a separate copy from every company that has to file. A company under 2.65 million in revenue often owes no franchise tax at all. The report is still filed. Retail and wholesale sit on the smaller state rate when franchise tax is actually owed, and every other business sits on the larger one. Those figures are 0.375 and 0.75. Those rates are the state's. This page is not a calculator, and it does not print a bill.
Owners with two companies sometimes file one and assume the other is covered because the owner is the same person. It is not covered. The quiet company gets its own report. The busy company gets its own report. A combined total you use for yourself does not get filed in place of either one.
The midway packs up in October; the franchise report still comes in May, one per company. When the fair opens we enjoy those grounds as much as you do. In May the grounds are quiet, and we still file the franchise report on the 15th. The fair does not move the form, and we do not treat the midway as the form. A quiet company still gets its own copy after the rides are gone. One company still means one report.
Spring weather is not a due date
Spring here is when cool fronts meet humid air off the Gulf, and we ride out the hail, the lightning, and the occasional tornado the same weeks you do. A job pushed by an April storm still belongs in the year the report covers. We put the numbers that landed on the report. We do not swap in a normal spring. If April never got closed, we close it before we treat the report as ready.
If you changed help in the spring, the due date did not move with you. Bring whatever was already filed and whatever was not. A report that was filed stands. A report that was skipped is still owed. The open months and the report are related, because a report built on unfinished books is a report you will not want to sign.
What to have in hand
The legal name of each company. The prior report if there was one. Revenue the way the books show it, after the transfers between companies have been cleared. If a company started or ended in the year, say the month. We will not guess a short year into a full one. You read the draft of the report the same way you read the draft of the return. Filing waits on that read.
Property has its own spring date, and it is not this report. The rendition goes to the appraisal district, with April 15 as the usual day and a written extension that can move it to May 15. If both dates are in front of you, name both in the note. They are different filings. They often get tangled only because they share a month.
What to have before the 15th
Start with the legal name of every company, including the one that barely moved. Pull the prior report if one was filed. Pull revenue after the transfers between companies are cleared, because a deposit that belonged to the other company will inflate this one. If a company opened or closed during the year, write the month. A short year stays a short year. We will not stretch it into a full one to make the form look familiar.
A company under 2.65 million in revenue often owes no franchise tax, and the report is still the thing you file. Retail and wholesale sit on the smaller state rate when franchise tax is actually owed, and every other business sits on the larger one. Those figures are 0.375 and 0.75. Those rates belong to the state. This page will not multiply them for you, and it will not print a bill. You read the draft of the report the same way you read the draft of the return. Filing waits on that read, even when the number on the draft is zero.
Owners sometimes file the busy company and assume the quiet one rides along because the owner is the same person. The quiet one does not ride along. It gets its own report, its own revenue, and its own yes or no on whether tax is due. A combined total you keep for yourself is a reading aid. It does not get filed in place of either report. If you changed help in the spring, bring whatever was already filed and whatever was skipped. A filed report stands. A skipped report is still owed. The open months and the report belong in the same week only because a report built on unfinished books is a report you will not want to sign.
