Texas
Texas has no statute on service deposits; its Supreme Court applies a 2-part test. A kept deposit holds when the loss from a missed appointment is hard to estimate and the amount is a reasonable forecast of just compensation, both judged as things stood when the client booked. The shop carries the burden of showing the deposit, as written, meets that test, so it needs to be able to show how it set the amount. Against a deposit that is reasonable on its face, it is then the client who has to show an “unbridgeable discrepancy”, a gap too wide to explain, between the actual damages and the amount kept.
Does a non-refundable deposit hold up in Texas?
The law’s word for a set sum agreed in advance is liquidated damages.
The Supreme Court of Texas enforces a liquidated damages clause only when the harm from a breach is hard to estimate and the amount is a reasonable forecast of just compensation (Phillips v. Phillips), both judged from the parties’ view when they contracted (FPL Energy v. TXU Portfolio Management). In Atrium Medical Center v. Houston Red C, it upheld a 40 percent cancellation charge in a laundry services contract between 2 businesses and put the burden on the party seeking the money to show the clause meets both parts. A clause can still fail when the actual damages were much less than the amount, but against a clause reasonable on its face, the party that broke the deal has to show an unbridgeable discrepancy between the actual damages and the amount.
“In order to enforce a liquidated damage clause, the court must find: (1) that the harm caused by the breach is incapable or difficult of estimation, and (2) that the amount of liquidated damages called for is a reasonable forecast of just compensation.” Phillips v. Phillips, 820 S.W.2d 785 (Tex. 1991) · FPL Energy, LLC v. TXU Portfolio Management Co., 426 S.W.3d 59 (Tex. 2014) · Atrium Medical Center, LP v. Houston Red C LLC, No. 18-0228 (Tex. Feb. 7, 2020)
Showing your refund policy
No refund-policy disclosure statute was found. Chapter 17 of the Business and Commerce Code, home of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, was searched in full for “refund” and “return”, with no match; the Attorney General’s consumer rights page names none, and chapter 2, on sales of goods, was searched too.
Body-art rules and money
Nothing about deposits or refunds in the state’s rules for tattoo and body piercing studios (25 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 229.401 to 229.413) or Health and Safety Code chapter 146, both read in full. The money in them is license fees and administrative penalties.
Read: 25 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 229.401 to 229.413 · Tex. Health & Safety Code ch. 146
This page summarizes public law in plain language, with the source each point comes from, read at the source on 2026-09-23. It is not legal advice.