Texas Charity Registration and Nonprofit Compliance

Texas spreads oversight of charitable activity across several offices. The Office of the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Comptroller, the Texas Lottery Commission, and local appraisal districts each handle a different part of the rules for fundraising, tax exemption, and property use. Most charities and nonprofit organizations which ask Texans for donations do not register under a general charitable solicitation statute, while public safety, law enforcement, and veterans organizations which solicit by telephone follow special registration requirements with either the Attorney General or the Secretary of State.

Churches, ministries, schools, hospitals, and community nonprofits which focus on Texas donors still face consumer protection enforcement, rules for paid fundraisers, charitable gaming limits, sales and use tax rules, and detailed property tax standards. Early planning around entity structure, tax exemption, and fundraising methods reduces surprises when campaigns grow or when new facilities enter the picture.

Donor Solicitation in Texas

Registration expectations

Texas has no broad charitable solicitation registration filing for most nonprofit organizations. The focus instead falls on a cluster of special regimes. Law enforcement related groups, public safety organizations, and veterans organizations which raise funds from Texans through telephone appeals register under the Law Enforcement Telephone Solicitation Act, the Public Safety Solicitation Act, or the Veterans Solicitation Act. Those regimes involve registration, bonding, and reporting duties for the soliciting organization and its paid callers.

Professional fundraisers and solicitors which support Texas campaigns also follow separate registration rules with the Secretary of State, including a filing fee and public disclosure of contracts and relationships. Even when the sponsoring charity does not register, the presence of a paid solicitor places the engagement under state oversight. The Attorney General then relies on the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and charitable trust authority to address misleading campaigns or misuse of charitable assets.

Many organizations treat Texas as a high scrutiny jurisdiction despite the absence of a general charitable registration form. Boards review scripts, mailers, email templates, and online descriptions so statements about programs, overhead, matching gifts, and co-venturers align with reality. A pattern of complaints to the Attorney General about misleading appeals often matters more than the lack of a traditional registration requirement.

Online giving and digital outreach

Donation pages, recurring giving tools, email campaigns, text appeals, livestream funding drives, and social media outreach aimed at Texas residents fall under the same consumer protection approach as mail and phone campaigns. A charity based in another state still draws attention once it targets Texas addresses in databases, runs geo targeted ads, or features Texas stories in a focused way across digital channels.

Many churches and nonprofits rely on third party giving platforms or church management systems for recurring gifts. Others run peer campaigns or cause marketing partnerships with Texas businesses. Donation flows, legal names, and disclosure text on those platforms work best when they match Secretary of State and IRS records, describe any professional fundraisers accurately, and avoid language about tax deductibility which does not match the organization’s current status.

Events and campaigns in Texas

Banquets, breakfasts, concerts, golf outings, conferences, and community drives in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and smaller cities all count as fundraising events when ticket revenue, sponsorships, auctions, or live appeals support a charitable purpose. Those receipts feed contribution totals for federal Form 990 reporting and often sit beside separate requirements for public safety or veterans campaigns which rely on telephone outreach.

Texas also treats certain gaming style events in a detailed way. The Charitable Raffle Enabling Act allows qualified organizations to hold a limited number of raffles each year under strict prize, disclosure, and recordkeeping limits, and charitable bingo runs through a licensing structure with the Texas Lottery Commission. Informal raffles or casino themed nights which fall outside these structures risk treatment as unlawful gambling under state law.

Tax Topics for Texas Nonprofits

Income and franchise tax

Texas does not impose a traditional corporate income tax, but it does apply a franchise tax to many business entities. Exempt organizations which hold federal recognition under section 501(c)(3), (4), (8), (10), or (19) apply to the Comptroller for exemption from franchise tax. State exemption does not appear automatically after an IRS determination letter, so leadership teams confirm which franchise tax accounts reflect exempt status before unrelated ventures start to grow.

Unrelated business activity raises separate questions. When an exempt organization earns revenue from lines of business outside its charitable, educational, or religious purpose, federal Form 990 T returns to focus, and Texas franchise tax exposure often follows. Joint ventures, facility sharing, and economic development projects receive careful review so state and federal descriptions of each revenue stream align.

Sales and use tax

Texas sales and use tax rules draw a firm distinction between purchases by exempt organizations and sales by those organizations. Once a qualifying organization receives a sales tax exemption letter from the Comptroller, purchases of taxable goods and services which support the exempt purpose occur without state sales tax when the organization pays directly and presents the exemption certificate. The exemption covers purchases, not personal reimbursement arrangements by staff or volunteers.

Sales by exempt entities often remain taxable. General rules require exempt organizations to hold a sales tax permit and collect and remit tax on most sales of taxable goods or services, subject to limited exceptions such as occasional tax free sales days or certain civic and school related events. Many churches, schools, and nonprofits build a sales tax matrix for Texas so staff treat tickets, concessions, thrift sales, and online merchandise in a consistent way.

Property tax

Texas Property Tax Code provisions grant exemption for property which belongs to religious organizations, charitable organizations, and qualifying educational and hospital institutions when the property is used primarily for exempt purposes. Churches receive specific protection under section 11.20, and charitable organizations rely on section 11.18 and related guidance from the Comptroller and local appraisal districts. Exemption often extends to both real property and tangible personal property which support the exempt function.

Mixed use property draws closer review from appraisal districts. Space leased to commercial tenants, used for unrelated business, or held for future development receives partial or no exemption, while sanctuaries, classrooms, clinics, and mission focused program space receive stronger protection. Early conversations with the appraisal district and clear documentation of how each part of a site supports exempt purposes often improve outcomes during exemption applications and periodic reviews.

Entity Types with Special Questions in Texas

Churches and religious ministries

Churches and religious ministries in Texas benefit from strong property tax protection for worship space and related facilities, along with broad exemption from franchise and sales tax on purchases once the organization holds the proper letters from the Comptroller. At the same time, political activity, paid solicitation for law enforcement causes, and charitable gaming events generate attention from both state and federal regulators.

Separate corporations for schools, camps, missions, or outreach programs change the analysis. Each entity holds its own franchise, sales, and property tax profile and its own obligations under charitable raffle, bingo, or solicitor rules. Many churches and ministries face special exemption questions in Texas once multiple entities, facilities, and donor streams interact with the state’s mix of exemptions and special solicitation statutes.

Faith based and community nonprofits

Faith based charities, human service providers, rescue missions, campus ministries, and neighborhood organizations often organize as Texas nonprofit corporations or foreign nonprofits registered to transact business in the state. These organizations rarely submit a general charitable registration, yet they still attend to professional solicitor rules, raffle and bingo limits, sales tax treatment, and property tax applications for program facilities.

Boards in this group often focus on clear gift acceptance policies, grant agreements, donor acknowledgments, and co venture arrangements which match both IRS filings and Texas expectations. Strong alignment between written policies, public messaging, and financial reporting supports donor confidence and helps leadership respond when regulators or grant makers ask how Texas revenue flows through the organization.

Hospitals and health organizations

Nonprofit hospitals, health systems, behavioral health providers, and community clinics in Texas rely heavily on property tax exemption for clinical facilities and on franchise and sales tax relief for qualifying entities. Many systems operate separate charitable foundations which handle grateful patient programs, capital campaigns, and regional fundraising, with those foundations holding their own state tax exemption letters and observing raffle, bingo, and solicitor rules where relevant.

Educational institutions

Private schools, colleges, universities, and related foundations in Texas receive important benefits from property tax exemptions for educational use and from franchise and sales tax relief for qualifying entities. Alumni associations, supporter clubs, and separate fundraising bodies which reach beyond a narrow campus community pay close attention to raffle rules, gaming limits, and professional solicitor filings when they raise funds from the general public.

Next Steps

Texas links charitable oversight to the type of organization, the method of solicitation, and the way property and revenue support exempt purposes. A single campaign might touch public safety solicitation rules, raffle restrictions, sales tax exceptions, and property tax standards all at once, especially when multiple entities, facilities, or professional fundraisers operate under one umbrella.

Use the consultation form below to share a short overview of Texas donors, events, raffles, gaming activity, property, and related entities tied to your organization. A member of the team will follow up to schedule a private consultation and outline practical options for Texas fundraising compliance, state tax planning, and governance support which match your mission and risk tolerance.