Texas marketplace fee tax relief is coming, but it has not arrived yet. On September 30, 2026, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines signed an executive order directing his office to amend Rule 3.330 and remove marketplace and platform fees from the definition of taxable data processing services. Once finalized, Texas sellers will stop paying sales tax on the fees they pay to Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other platforms, ending a controversial tax that has applied since October 2025. Until the amendment completes rulemaking, the tax still applies. Here is what changed, what it costs sellers, and when the savings actually start.
What the Texas marketplace fee tax was
Texas has taxed data processing services since 1987, a law written for the mainframe era of data entry. In 2025, the previous Comptroller amended Rule 3.330 (34 Texas Administrative Code 3.330) to treat marketplace provider services as taxable data processing when they involve the computerized entry, retrieval, search, compilation, manipulation, or storage of data. In plain terms, the commissions and fees sellers pay platforms to reach customers became subject to Texas sales tax. The change took effect October 1, 2025.
Critics called it a double tax: the customer pays sales tax on the underlying sale, and the seller separately pays sales tax on the fee the platform kept. Under the rule, Texas sellers could owe sales tax on up to 80% of qualifying marketplace charges. Marketplaces were challenging the position, and the new Comptroller, sworn in on August 1, 2026, rejected the prior interpretation and ordered the rule reversed.
What changed on September 30, 2026
- The Comptroller's executive order directs the office to propose an amendment to Rule 3.330 removing marketplace and platform fees from taxable data processing services.
- Services in line for relief include fees sellers pay on Amazon, eBay, and Etsy, plus food and grocery delivery apps, ride-hailing, short-term lodging, vehicle rental or sharing, pet care, and errand services.
- The proposed amendment will be published in the Texas Register, followed by a 30-day public comment period. Tax practitioners expect the full process to take a few months.
How much Texas sellers could save: worked examples
The Connected Commerce Council calculated that at the maximum combined state and local Texas sales tax rate of 8.25%, a seller paying $10,000 per month in qualifying marketplace fees could face nearly $8,000 in extra tax per year. The math: $10,000 x 80% taxable portion x 8.25% = $660 per month, or $7,920 per year. That is almost an entire extra month of platform fees, paid to the state.
Smaller sellers feel it too. An Etsy seller paying $1,500 per month in marketplace fees: $1,500 x 80% x 8.25% = $99 per month, about $1,188 per year in extra tax. That is money that never reached the seller's pocket and never touched the buyer's cart.
Note that 8.25% is the maximum combined rate. Your local rate may be lower, which shrinks these numbers proportionally, but the structure hits every Texas seller the same way.
When does the tax actually end?
Not yet. Tax advisors note the executive order starts the rulemaking process rather than completing it: the data processing tax on marketplace fees remains in effect until the Rule 3.330 amendment is published, comments are reviewed, and the final rule is adopted. What remains unclear is whether Texas will stop enforcing the current regulation during the process, and whether the repeal will be retroactive. Until the Comptroller's office confirms otherwise, keep collecting and paying the tax as before, and watch the Texas Register for the proposed amendment.
What Texas sellers should do now
First, track your marketplace fees monthly so you can quantify exactly how much the repeal saves you when it takes effect. Second, if you set prices assuming the fee tax, start planning your repricing now: sellers outside Texas never paid this tax, so removing the cost lets you trim prices or widen margins. Third, run the numbers. Our free Amazon profit calculator shows your true per-order costs including every marketplace fee, so you can see exactly how much margin the repeal hands back to you, and you can compare with the eBay fee calculator and Etsy fee calculator if you sell on multiple platforms.
Confirm current rates before you act
This repeal is still moving through rulemaking, and tax rules change. Confirm the current status of the Rule 3.330 amendment in the Texas Register or with a Texas tax professional before adjusting prices, and check each marketplace's published fee schedule directly.
Tax law is complicated and this post is not tax advice. Confirm the current status of Texas Rule 3.330 with the Texas Comptroller's office or a qualified tax professional before making pricing or compliance decisions.