Texas sales tax holiday for back

Apr 15, 2024

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding shoppers they can save money on clothes and school supplies during the state’s sales tax holiday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-13.

State law exempts sales tax on qualified items — such as clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks — priced below $100, saving shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend. The dates of the sales tax holiday and list of tax-exempt items are set by the Texas Legislature.

“As Texans prepare for the back-to-school bell, this is the perfect time to take advantage of the opportunity to save money on everything from blue jeans to ballpoint pens,” Hegar said. “As the father of three, I know how these expenses can add up.”

The Comptroller’s office estimates that shoppers will save $136 million in state and local sales tax during this sales tax holiday.

Apparel and school supplies that may be purchased tax free are listed on the Comptroller’s website at TexasTaxHoliday.org. Here are some of the items that are tax-exempt:

CLOTHING

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

Only the school supplies on this list priced under $100 qualify for exemption from tax during the sales tax holiday.

* For kits of school supplies that contain exempt items, as well as taxable ones, the taxability depends on the value of exempt or taxable items in it. There is no limit on the quantity of school supplies in a kit, but if the value of the exempt items is more than the taxable ones, the kit is exempt. If the value of the taxable items is more than the exempt ones, then the kit is taxable.

During the annual sales tax holiday, qualifying items can be purchased tax free online or by telephone, mail, custom order or any other means (including in-store purchases) when either:

Texas’ sales tax holiday weekend has been an annual event since 1999.