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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9711262L Franchise Tax (PRIOR TO 01/01/2008) 1997-11-18

Did a corporation need to file another public information report with its 1997 final franchise-tax report after filing one with its 1997 annual report?

Short answer: No. Section 171.203(b) required the public information report once a year. Because the client had already filed a PIR with its 1997 annual franchise-tax report, it did not need another PIR with its 1997 final report.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1997. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1997
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. This narrow 1997 response concerns a client that had already filed that year's public information report with its annual franchise-tax report. Confirm current filing requirements and forms. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The corporation did not need a second public information report with its 1997 final franchise-tax report.

Section 171.203(b) required a corporation to file the public information report once each year. The client had already filed its PIR with the 1997 annual report, so the Comptroller said no additional PIR was required with the 1997 final report.

What this means for you

Corporations closing out a historical report year

Under the rule applied in this letter, the annual PIR obligation was not duplicated merely because a final franchise-tax report followed in the same year.

Tax professionals

Verify whether the PIR for the relevant year has already been filed before treating a final report as creating another filing duty.

Common questions

Q: Was a PIR required with every report?
A: No; the cited statute required it once a year.

Q: Why was no PIR due with the final report here?
A: One had already accompanied the 1997 annual report.

Citations and references

  • Texas Tax Code Sec. 171.203(b)

Source

Original ruling text

November 18, 1997

To: **

Dear Mr. **:

Thank you for your e-mail in which you requested information on a final report
for Texas franchise tax.

You asked if you needed to file a public information report (PIR) with a final
report.

Section 171.203(b) of the Texas Tax Code states that a corporation shall file
the public information report once a year. Therefore, if your client filed a
PIR with the 1997 annual franchise tax report, they do not need to file a PIR
with a 1997 final report.

If you have questions about this, my internet address is
[email protected], or you may call toll-free at 1-800-531-5441,
extension 3-4612.

Sincerely,

Janet Spies
Tax Policy Division

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