As summer draws to a close and the new school year approaches, parents in Texas can look forward to significant savings during the state’s annual sales tax holiday. This year, the tax-free weekend will start on Friday, August 9, and end at midnight on Sunday, August 11.

What is the Sales Tax Holiday?

The Texas sales tax holiday allows shoppers to purchase certain items without paying sales tax. This exemption applies to most clothing, footwear, and school supplies priced under $100 per item. There is no limit on the number of eligible items you can purchase, making it an excellent opportunity to stock up on back-to-school necessities.

Qualifying Items

During the tax-free weekend, the following items are exempt from sales tax:

• Clothing and Footwear: Most shoes and clothing items under $100 are tax-free. This includes items like tennis shoes, jogging suits, and swimsuits.
• School Supplies: Items such as backpacks, notebooks, and pens that are under $100 are also included in the exemption.

For comprehensive lists of qualifying clothing and school supplies, visit the Texas Comptroller’s website.

Items That Do Not Qualify

Certain items are excluded from the sales tax exemption. These include:

• Items Priced Over $100: Any single item sold for $100 or more.
• Subscription Boxes: Clothing subscription boxes.
• Specialized Clothing: Athletic or protective gear, such as golf cleats and football pads, which are not usually worn outside of their specific activities.
• Services and Accessories: Clothing rentals, alterations, cleaning services, jewelry, handbags, purses, briefcases, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches, and other accessories.
• Electronics and Software: Computers, software, and textbooks.
• Certain Bags: Framed backpacks, luggage, briefcases, athletic, duffle or gym bags, computer bags, and purses.

Online Purchases and Shipping

Qualifying items can be purchased online, by mail, or by any other means during the sales tax holiday. The key requirement is that the sale must take place within the three-day period. For example, if you place an order online on Sunday, August 11 at 5:00 p.m., and the items ship on Friday, August 16, your purchase will still qualify for the tax exemption.

Be mindful of delivery charges. If shipping fees push the total cost of an item over $100, it will no longer be exempt from sales tax. For instance, a $95 item with a $10 delivery charge totaling $105 will not qualify for the exemption.

Requesting a Refund

If you accidentally pay sales tax on qualifying items during the tax-free weekend, you can request a refund from the seller. The seller may either refund the tax or provide Form 00-985, Assignment to Right to Refund, which allows you to file a refund claim directly with the Texas Comptroller’s office.