How are theft charges graded in Texas?
One statute, Penal Code §31.03, covers everything from shoplifting to a bookkeeper moving company money. What changes is the value of the property. Under $100 is a Class C misdemeanor; $100 to under $750 is a Class B; $750 to under $2,500 is a Class A; $2,500 to under $30,000 is a state jail felony; $30,000 to under $150,000 is a third degree felony; $150,000 to under $300,000 is second degree; and $300,000 or more is a first degree felony, 5 to 99 years. Some property moves the charge regardless of value, a firearm being the clearest example, and several circumstances push the whole thing up one level.
- Texas has no separate crime called embezzlement, shoplifting, or larceny. They are all theft under §31.03, graded by value.
- Amounts get added together. Under §31.09, sums taken under one scheme or continuing course of conduct are charged as a single offense at the combined value. Small repeated takings become one felony.
- Prior theft convictions change the grade, not just the sentence. Two or more priors make any theft under $2,500 a state jail felony.
- Who the owner was matters: an elderly owner, a nonprofit, or a government or Medicare relationship pushes the offense up one category.
- Value is the fight. It is an element the State must prove, and it decides whether this is a ticket or a prison case.
Theft is the most commonly filed offense in Texas, and the one where the gap between the smallest and largest version is widest. The same statute that covers a $90 item at a register covers a six figure loss at a company. Peter M. Barrett has defended theft and financial cases in Dallas County since 1994, across more than 150 jury trials, and the case review is free and confidential. This guide sets out the ladder, the rules that move a case up it, and where the defense works.
The value ladder
| Value of property stolen | Level | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $100 | Class C misdemeanor | Fine up to $500, no jail |
| $100 to less than $750 | Class B misdemeanor | Up to 180 days, $2,000 fine |
| $750 to less than $2,500 | Class A misdemeanor | Up to 1 year, $4,000 fine |
| $2,500 to less than $30,000 | State jail felony | 180 days to 2 years |
| $30,000 to less than $150,000 | 3rd degree felony | 2 to 10 years |
| $150,000 to less than $300,000 | 2nd degree felony | 2 to 20 years |
| $300,000 or more | 1st degree felony | 5 to 99 years or life |
The line between $2,499 and $2,500 is the line between a county jail case and a felony conviction. That is why an appraisal, a receipt, or the difference between replacement cost and fair market value is worth fighting over in a way that surprises people the first time they hear it.
When value does not decide it
Several categories sit on the ladder regardless of what the item is worth.
- A firearm is a state jail felony at any value.
- Property taken from the person of another, or from a corpse or grave, is a state jail felony at any value. Taking a wallet from a hand rather than a counter changes the charge.
- A driver's license or state identification certificate is a Class B.
- An official ballot or carrier envelope is a state jail felony.
- Aluminum, bronze, copper, or brass under $20,000, and a catalytic converter where replacement cost is under $30,000, are state jail felonies.
- Livestock and controlled substances taken from a pharmacy or distributor have their own third degree thresholds.
Aggregation, the rule that turns small takings into a felony
This is the single most important provision for anyone accused of taking money from an employer over time. §31.09 provides that when amounts are obtained under one scheme or continuing course of conduct, whether from one source or several, the conduct may be treated as one offense and the amounts added together to set the grade.
So forty separate transfers of $400 are not forty Class B misdemeanors. Charged as a scheme, they are a single $16,000 theft, a state jail felony. At $800 a time they reach $32,000 and a third degree felony. The defense question is whether the State can actually prove a single scheme, and whether every transaction in the spreadsheet belongs in it. Transactions that were authorized, repaid, duplicated in the accounting, or outside the alleged period come out of the total, and taking enough of them out drops the grade.
What pushes the offense up a level
Under §31.03(f), an offense is increased to the next higher category if the State proves any of the following.
- The accused was a public servant and the property came into their control through that role.
- The accused was in a contractual relationship with government and the property came through that contract.
- The owner was an elderly individual or a nonprofit organization. This one catches family caregiver and charity cases, and it moves a state jail felony to a third degree.
- The accused was a Medicare provider under a federal contract and the property came through it.
- A fire exit alarm or retail theft detector was triggered, disabled, or defeated with a shielding or deactivation device during the offense.
Separately, prior convictions change the grade rather than only the sentence. A theft under $100 becomes a Class B with any prior theft conviction, and a theft under $2,500 becomes a state jail felony where the accused has two or more prior theft convictions of any grade. For how priors then affect the sentence itself, see the Class A misdemeanor guide.
Embezzlement, and the statute people miss
Texas has no offense called embezzlement. An employee accused of taking from an employer is charged under §31.03 like any other theft, with the amounts aggregated under §31.09. There is a second statute that often fits better and is frequently overlooked: §32.45, misapplication of fiduciary property, which covers intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly misapplying property held as a fiduciary in a way that creates a substantial risk of loss. It runs on the same value ladder as theft, from Class C under $100 to a first degree felony at $300,000.
The difference matters. Theft requires intent to deprive the owner. Misapplication can be proved on recklessness, which is a lower bar for the State but a very different story for a jury: mismanaging money is not the same accusation as stealing it. Which statute a case is charged under, and which it should be resolved under, is a live negotiation. The embezzlement guide covers how those cases are built.
Where theft cases are won
- Value. It is an element, not an assumption. Fair market value at the time and place of the offense is the measure, not what the owner paid, not replacement cost, and not what an insurance claim said. One credible valuation can drop a case a full level.
- Effective consent. Authority to use the account, a practice the employer tolerated, a loan arrangement, or a contested ownership question all go to whether the appropriation was unlawful at all.
- Intent to deprive. §31.01 defines depriving as withholding permanently or for so long that most of the value is lost. Borrowing, a billing dispute, and an intent to return are not that.
- The aggregation. Attacking the scheme, the period, and the individual line items is usually worth more than attacking any single transaction.
- Restitution and the disposition. In financial cases, what the resolution is called matters as much as the sentence. A theft conviction reads to every future employer and licensing body as dishonesty, and it is excluded from sealing in many postures, so deferred adjudication or a reduction is often the real objective.
- Timing. Misdemeanor theft carries a two year limitations period under article 12.02, and felony theft has its own period under article 12.01. Old allegations surfacing after an audit are worth checking against the calendar.
Common questions
Is theft a felony in Texas?
It depends almost entirely on value. Theft becomes a felony at $2,500, which is a state jail felony, and rises through third degree at $30,000, second degree at $150,000, and first degree at $300,000 or more. Below $2,500 it is a misdemeanor, unless the property is a firearm, was taken from a person, or falls into one of the other categories that carry a felony grade regardless of value.
Can several small thefts be charged as one felony?
Yes, and this is how most employee theft cases are built. Penal Code §31.09 lets the State aggregate amounts obtained under one scheme or continuing course of conduct and charge them as a single offense at the combined value. Whether a single scheme existed, and which transactions belong in it, is one of the strongest defense issues in a financial case.
What is the difference between theft and embezzlement in Texas?
Legally there is no difference, because Texas has no embezzlement statute. What people call embezzlement is prosecuted as theft under §31.03, or sometimes as misapplication of fiduciary property under §32.45. The second carries the same value ladder but can be proved on recklessness rather than intent to deprive.
How is the value of stolen property decided?
By fair market value at the time and place of the offense. That is not the purchase price, not the replacement cost, and not what the complainant claims. In retail cases the ticket price and the actual market value can differ, and in employee cases the alleged total often includes authorized transactions. Because value sets the grade, it is an element worth contesting with evidence.
Will a theft charge show up on a background check?
A conviction does, permanently, and theft is read by employers and licensing bodies as a crime of dishonesty, which carries weight well beyond the sentence. Sealing is possible in some postures and not others, and immigration consequences can be severe because theft is often treated as a crime involving moral turpitude. Those consequences, not the jail exposure, usually drive what resolution to seek.
What should I do if I am accused of taking money at work?
Do not sit for an internal interview, sign a statement, or agree to a repayment figure before getting advice. Those documents become the State's proof of both the amount and the intent. Preserve your own records, including approvals and messages showing what was authorized. The consultation is free and confidential: (214) 526-0555, answered 24/7 for emergencies.
The law this article describes, at the source.
This article is general legal information about Texas law, not legal advice about your case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change, so confirm the current rule with a licensed criminal defense attorney about your specific facts. Request a free, confidential case review.