From Houston and Dallas to San Antonio, Austin and El Paso, Texas is one of the few states where surcharging is still a legal risk. We show you exactly what you pay and set up a program that fits Texas law. No contracts, no cancellation fees.
Texas Business and Commerce Code 604A still says a seller may not surcharge a credit card (604A.0021) or a debit card (604A.002), with a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation. In 2018 a federal court held the credit card ban unconstitutional and blocked enforcement against the merchants who brought the case (Rowell v. Paxton). The Attorney General has said the ban can still be enforced in some situations, the debit card ban was never challenged, and repeal bills have not passed. So a surcharge in Texas carries real risk.
Texas rules (40 Texas Administrative Code 821.28(e)) let an employer deduct a card processing charge from an employee's card tips only with the employee's written authorization, on top of the federal limit of a proportional fee on the tip portion.
The Texas Comptroller treats a card fee on a taxable sale as part of the taxable price (Tax Policy memo 202406004M, June 2024).
Because a surcharge is a real risk here, we set up Dual Pricing or a cash discount to the Texas rules instead, and confirm the current position before anything goes live. If you deduct card fees from tips, we make sure the written authorization is in place first. Or skip both, and we show you what transparent pricing saves on its own.
Check any state in our surcharge checker. Rules change, so we confirm the current position before configuring anything. This is general information, not legal advice.
Send one recent statement for a free statement review. We find your true effective rate, name every fee, and show where it can come down. Savings are estimates based on your own statement.
High tickets make the surcharge question matter most in Texas.
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