The state of Texas has no state income tax, residents only pay for sales and property taxes.
RDNE Stock project.
pexels.com.
Keeping up with everyday expenses can be difficult when what you earn and what you pay don’t always move together.
In Texas and in the DFW region, some costs are going up while other updates could give certain households a little more room in their budgets.
What the latest updates mean for your wallet will depend on your situation.
Here’s what to know.
📰 In case you missed it:
The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour in 2026 and hasn’t budged in more than 17 years. Texas follows that federal floor rather than setting its own higher rate.A single adult with no children in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area needs to earn $24.14 an hour to make a living wage in North Texas, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator — more than triple the minimum wage.Efforts to raise Texas’ minimum wage to at least $15 an hour were filed during the 2025 legislative session, but none became law, and state law also limits what cities and counties can require private employers to pay.Starting Oct. 1, the maximum monthly SNAP benefit for a Texas family of four rises from $994 to $1,023, while a one-person household maximum increases from $298 to $306.New SNAP income thresholds also take effect Oct. 1, with the gross monthly income limit climbing to $1,729 for one person and $3,575 for a family of four, though Texas generally doesn’t apply the gross income limit to households that include someone 60 or older or with a disability.Terminal parking at DFW Airport jumps to $37 per day with a TollTag or $40 with a credit card starting Oct. 1, up from the current $32 daily maximum — an increase the airport attributes to rising labor and material costs since its last hike in May 2024.Travelers can save up to 50% off the drive-up rate by booking parking online before arriving at DFW, with no TollTag required to lock in the discount.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
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Tiffani is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions about life in North Texas. Tiffani mainly writes about Texas laws and health news.