Compliance That Puts Your Business Back in Good Standing

The Secretary of State charges a $75 filing fee for the Application for Reinstatement (Form 801). That’s just the state filing fee. You’ll also need to file any past-due franchise tax reports and pay penalties and interest owed to the Texas Comptroller. The state requires a tax clearance letter from the Comptroller before it will reinstate you, so the total cost depends on what’s past due.

Once the Secretary of State has your completed application and the Comptroller issues tax clearance, standard processing typically runs about 5–7 business days, with expedited handling usually 1–2 business days. In practice the longest part is usually clearing up the past-due tax filings with the Comptroller. Getting those resolved first is what keeps the timeline short.

The Application for Reinstatement (Form 801), the $75 fee, and the Comptroller’s tax clearance letter showing all franchise tax liabilities are satisfied. If your registered agent or office changed while forfeited, those updates go in too.

A forfeited LLC loses its right to transact business in Texas. It can’t enter contracts, defend itself in a lawsuit, or hold Texas real property, and the owners’ personal liability protection is at risk for anything done during the forfeiture period. Getting reinstated promptly matters.

You can look up your entity’s status on the Texas Secretary of State’s website and check your franchise tax account status with the Texas Comptroller. If either shows forfeited or not in good standing, call us at 832-434-7504 and we’ll map out the fix.

Probably not. For 2026 and 2027 reports, businesses with annualized total revenue at or below $2,650,000 owe zero franchise tax. But you still have to file: the Public Information Report (Form 05-102) is due every year even when no tax is owed. Skipping it is one of the most common ways LLCs end up forfeited.

May 15 each year (it moves to the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday). If you need more time, an extension can push the deadline to mid-November, but interest still accrues on any unpaid tax, so it’s worth filing on time when you can.

Preparation is filing your returns accurately and on time. Advisory is the year-round work around it: entity structure, estimated payments, retirement and investment timing, and strategies to legally reduce what you owe before the year ends. Most of our clients use both. Preparation keeps you compliant, advisory keeps more money in your pocket.

Last year’s tax return, this year’s income records (W-2s, 1099s, business profit-and-loss), and anything new: a new business, property purchase or sale, or an IRS notice. Don’t worry about organizing it perfectly; we’ll sort through it together.

Yes. We offer mobile visits around the Houston area, Saturday hours, and fully remote service for clients anywhere in Texas, and we work with clients nationwide on federal tax matters. Call 832-434-7504 to set up whichever format works for you.