Texas Tobacco Tax 2026: Rates, Permits and How Distributors File

What is the Texas tobacco tax in 2026?

In 2026, Texas taxes cigarettes at $1.41 per pack of 20, and smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff at $1.22 per ounce. Cigars are taxed per 10 or per 1,000 cigars, depending on their weight, price and ingredients. Distributors pay the tax when they make the first sale in Texas — cigarettes through tax stamps, cigars and other tobacco on a monthly report — and reports are due by the 25th of the following month. Texas has no state excise tax on vapes.

This guide explains the tax in plain English, using official information from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. It's about software, not tax advice: always confirm your filing requirements with the Comptroller or a qualified tax professional.

2026 Texas tobacco tax rates

Texas has two tobacco taxes: the cigarette tax and the cigar and tobacco products tax. The rates below are the ones the Comptroller lists for 2026.

Sources: the Comptroller's cigarette tax and cigar and tobacco products tax pages. For a national comparison, see our tobacco tax by state guide.

Texas cigarette tax and tax stamps

The cigarette tax is paid by the distributor that receives cigarettes to make the first sale in Texas. Instead of paying on a return, the distributor buys Texas tax stamps and puts one on every pack. The stamp is the proof that the state tax has been paid.

• Stamp every pack within 96 hours of receiving it.
• $1.41 per pack of 20, $1.7625 per pack of 25. Per 1,000 cigarettes, that's $70.50 for cigarettes weighing 3 pounds or less per 1,000, and $72.60 for heavier ones.
• Distributors get a 2.5% discount on the face value of the stamps they buy.
• Delivery sales count too. Cigarettes sold online, by mail or by phone to a Texas buyer must carry a Texas stamp, on the bottom of the pack.

Texas cigar tax

Cigars aren't taxed on price as a percentage. Texas uses four fixed rates, based on how much 1,000 of the cigars weigh, the factory list price per cigar (before any trade discount, special discount or deal), and whether the cigar has a substantial amount of non-tobacco ingredients.

1. 3 pounds or less per 1,000 (small cigars): 1 cent per 10 cigars, or part of 10.
2. Over 3 pounds per 1,000, list price 3.3 cents or less each: $7.50 per 1,000.
3. Over 3 pounds per 1,000, over 3.3 cents each, no substantial non-tobacco ingredients: $11 per 1,000.
4. Over 3 pounds per 1,000, over 3.3 cents each, with substantial non-tobacco ingredients: $15 per 1,000.

So the job each month is to know, for every cigar product you sell, which of the four classes it falls in, and to count the cigars.

Other tobacco products: $1.22 per ounce

Smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff are taxed at $1.22 per ounce of net weight, with the same rate applied to any part of an ounce. The rate is set by state fiscal year, and the Comptroller lists $1.22 for every fiscal year since September 1, 2013, including 2026.

The Comptroller's per-package chart shows how this works in practice: $1.46 for a package of 1.2 ounces or less, $1.83 for 1.5 ounces, and $2.44 for 2 ounces. That's why accurate net weights on every product matter more than prices for this tax.

Are nicotine pouches and vapes taxed in Texas?

Nicotine pouches: yes. The Comptroller's tobacco FAQ says all oral nicotine pouches are taxable as tobacco products, so pouches like Zyn and Velo are taxed per ounce like snuff and chewing tobacco.

Vapes: no state excise tax. Texas doesn't tax e-cigarettes or e-liquids at the state level, although sales tax applies. But Texas did tighten its vape rules: new laws that took effect on September 1, 2025, including SB 2024, limit which e-cigarette products can be sold in the state. Retailers that sell e-cigarettes also need a Comptroller permit.

Permits and fees

Anyone who sells cigarettes, cigars or tobacco products in Texas needs a Comptroller permit for their role. The fees below come from the Comptroller's tax pages.

First-year fees are prorated from your first business date, and a late renewal costs $50. Permits can't be transferred to a new owner.

Monthly reports and deadlines

Texas distributors usually have more than one monthly report. Here's what each one is, and when it's due:

The sales to retailers report

This is the one that takes the most work. Every month, distributors and wholesalers send the Comptroller a CSV file listing every sale or transfer of cigarettes, cigars and tobacco to Texas retailers. Each line needs 12 pieces of data: your permit number, the retailer's taxpayer number, name, street address, city, state, ZIP code and retailer permit number, the item type (cigarettes, cigars or tobacco), the unit of measure, the quantity and the invoice amount (Comptroller tobacco reporting).

Retailers themselves don't file these tobacco reports, but their permit numbers have to be on your invoices so the data matches.

Paying the tax

The cigar and tobacco tax report is filed on paper. If you paid less than $500,000 in the previous state fiscal year, you can pay by electronic transfer or card through Webfile, by TEXNET, or by check. Above $500,000, TEXNET is the only payment method.

A simple monthly routine

1. Close the month: every purchase bill and sales invoice recorded, with the retailer's Texas permit number on each sale.
2. Check product data: net weight in ounces for tobacco and pouches, and the cigar class for every cigar product.
3. Reconcile stamps: stamps bought against packs stamped and sold.
4. Calculate the cigar and tobacco tax: cigars by count and class, other tobacco by ounces.
5. Build the sales to retailers CSV with all 12 fields, and upload it on Webfile.
6. File and pay by the 25th.
7. Keep the backup: every figure should trace back to a bill or invoice.

Mistakes that cost money

Missing or wrong net weights. The per-ounce tax depends on weight, so a missing or rounded weight means the wrong tax on every sale of that product.

Treating nicotine pouches as untaxed. The Comptroller treats oral nicotine pouches as taxable tobacco products.

Putting cigars in the wrong class. The weight per 1,000, the factory list price and the ingredients decide between 1 cent per 10, $7.50, $11 and $15 per 1,000.

Bad retailer data in the CSV. A missing permit number or a wrong address means a report that doesn't match the Comptroller's records.

Paying late. Texas charges a 5% penalty if you pay 1 to 30 days late and 10% after 30 days, with a minimum penalty of $50. Interest starts 61 days after the due date.

Retyping invoices into spreadsheets. It's slow, and it's where most errors start.

Filing in other states too?

Many distributors report in more than one state. VizionPOS prepares tobacco tax reporting for Texas, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Georgia and Maine, plus weekly MSA manufacturer reporting. Read our Maine tobacco tax guide, New Hampshire DP-151 guide, Georgia OTP tax reporting guide and MSA reporting guide, or see MSA and excise tax reporting in VizionPOS.

How Vizion can help

VizionPOS, our point-of-sale and back-office platform for tobacco and vape distributors, prepares Texas tobacco tax reporting from the same products and invoices as your sales, with every figure traceable to its source invoice. We set it up for your products, your states and your filing schedule, so your team reviews the reports instead of building them. It's part of our AI automation services: we take repetitive work like data entry and reporting off your team.