"You just spent two days in a Texas courtroom and walked away with a check for $78. It hardly feels like income, but does the IRS see it that way?"
Let's get the bad news out of the way first: Yes, the IRS considers all jury duty pay to be taxable income. Even if Texas only paid you $20 for your first day of service, the federal government requires you to report that $20 on your Form 1040 under 'Other Income'.
Will Texas send you a 1099 form for $20? Absolutely not. Courts are only required to issue a 1099-MISC if they pay you $600 or more during the year. But just because you didn't get a form doesn't mean the income is tax-free.
Here is the incredibly good news for Texas residents: Texas has no state income tax.
While you still have to report your juror compensation on your federal taxes, you do not have to worry about filing a state return or paying state taxes on that money. What you make from the county is yours to keep, minus whatever your federal tax bracket demands.
Many Texas employers who voluntarily pay you during jury service require you to hand over your court check in return. If you did this, you can deduct the surrendered amount on your federal return so you aren't taxed on money you didn't actually keep.
Yes for federal, no for state. Texas has no state income tax, so you only need to report the small amount of jury pay on your federal 1040.