Backpacks, like these at my local H-E-B grocery store, are a necessity for today’s students. They also are tax-free here in Texas during the state’s back-to-school tax holiday in August. Check out the upcoming tax holidays across the United States this summer. (Photo by Kay Bell)
…
It’s prime vacation season, but six states and a U.S. territory already are thinking about when youngsters will return to classrooms. Those locales are helping parents prepare by offering back-to-school tax holidays this summer. The first one is this weekend, July 10-12, in Mississippi. A dozen more such tax-related events are planned across the United States in August.
…
…
…
Seven jurisdictions kick off 2026’s tax-free summer shopping sprees in July. After this weekend’s tax holiday in the Magnolia State, the other state tax saving events this month are in Alabama, Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee, West Virginia, and the U.S. territory Puerto Rico.
July’s tax-free shopping periods, as well as the 12 tax holidays in August, range from a couple of days to a week or more or, in one case, a month.
Whenever the special shopping event and whatever its duration, they all exempt certain items from the states’ and, in many cases, local jurisdictions’ sales taxes.
And while retailers, and the state legislators who create the tax-free holidays, typically promote them as ways to save on supplies and clothing that youngsters will need when school resumes in the fall, the eligible purchases aren’t necessarily limited to student-specific items.
The table below shows July 2026 sales tax holidays. A separate table with August participant’s dates follows it.
Each table alphabetically lists the states, and the links will take you to state tax department websites for more information.
Get your shopping list ready, and mark your calendars.
July 2026 State Sales Taxes Holidays | ||
|
State & Sales Tax Rate |
Holiday Days |
Tax-Free Products |
Alabama 4% | Clothing $156 or less | |
Florida 6% | Clothing $100 or less | |
Mississippi 7% | Clothing and footwear $100 or less | |
New Mexico 4.875% | Clothing or shoes $100 or less | |
Puerto Rico 11.5% | School uniforms and supplies, instructional materials, computer storage media, art and (of course in Bad Bunny’s home) music materials. | |
Tennessee 7% | Friday, July 31 | Clothing and school supplies $100 or less per item |
West Virginia 6% | Friday, July 31 | Clothing, footwear $125 or less. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as July’s tax holidays wrap, August’s events start. Most of those are on the first full weekend of next month.
Note that some state websites have not yet posted specifics on August’s sales tax holidays. In those cases, the links go to the 2025 information. When the states do publish this year’s specifics, I will update the information.
And if your state is holding a tax holiday and I missed it, please drop me a note in the comments and I’ll add it to the appropriate list.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2026 State Sales Taxes Holidays | ||
|
State & Sales Tax Rate |
Holiday Days |
Tax-Free Products |
|
Arkansas 6.5% | Clothing less than $100 | |
|
Connecticut 6.35% | Sunday, Aug. 16 | Clothing and footwear $300 or less |
Illinois 6.25% | Prairie State shoppers will see the state’s sales tax reduced by 5% (dropping to 1.25%) on certain clothing and footwear with a retail selling price of less than $125 per item and certain school supplies used by students in the course of study. School supplies are not subject to the $125 threshold. | |
Iowa 6% | Clothing and footwear priced at less than $100; list of tax-exempt items is on page 2 of Iowa Sales Tax Holiday Alphabetical List of Representative Items | |
Maryland 6% | Clothing and footwear $100 or less | |
Massachusetts 6.25% | Almost every personal item | |
Missouri 4.225% | Friday, Aug. 7 | Clothing $100 or less |
Ohio 5.75% | Friday, Aug. 7 | The Buckeye State’s sales tax exemption will apply to all items of clothing priced at $75 or less, school supplies priced at $20 or less, and school instructional materials priced at $20 or less. |
Oklahoma 4.5% | Friday, Aug. 7 | Clothing, footwear $100 or less |
South Carolina 6% | Friday, Aug. 7 | No purchase price limit |
Texas 6.25% | Friday, Aug. 7 | Clothing, footwear, backpacks |
Virginia 5.3%* | Friday, Aug. 7 | School supplies $20 or less. |
Not welcomed everywhere: While some states have long sales tax holiday traditions, the tax-free weekends (or longer) are not universally popular. Many state lawmakers do not like the financial balancing act the holidays forces upon them.
Some states have ended the tax-free periods, usually when they faced budget constraints. In some cases, when the state’s financial situation improved, they reinstated them.
Other states take care of the fiscal issue by making the holidays contingent on their treasuries’ balances.
And some say the events discriminate against business consumers because the tax exemptions often apply only to purchases made individuals for personal use.
Business problems, too: Businesses who are doing the selling during the holidays also have issues with events. Smaller retailers in particular have reported in past surveys that they struggle to profit from sales tax holidays.
Small and some midsize sellers cite several pain points when navigating sales tax holidays, including —
- Staffing issues: They often must hire temporary staff to handle the increased demand and compliance rush. Others report that they’ve had to pay overtime to current employees to meet this need.
- Financial burden: Many retailers say they face added expenditures to prepare their staff and operating systems for the sales tax holiday periods.
- Compliance complexities: Retailers also complain about the various short-term tax-exemption rules and exclusions, many of which are difficult to understand and implement smoothly.
But businesses, at least smaller ones that face the most hassle with the short-term tax holiday calculations, apparently don’t have as much sway with lawmakers as do the shopping voters, who tend to love the events.
Shop wisely: While shoppers love tax holidays (who doesn’t want to get the best of the tax collector, especially legally?), the word tax is a dead giveaway that the events might not be that simple.
As with tax filing, dates matter.
While an event might be advertised as a weekend tax holiday, it could be in effect on just Saturday and Sunday, or Friday could make it a long weekend. Or Friday and Saturday if your state discourages shopping on what is the sabbath for many.
Make sure you know when the holiday applies. Arrive a day late, and you lose your tax savings.
Checking the tax holiday calendar is the first of 6 shopping tips to maximize sales tax holiday savings. Give it a look, then make your list. That’s also one of the tax holiday shopping suggestions.
Then it’s time to hit the stores!
You also might find these items of interest:
- Tax holidays are popular, but bad tax policy
- 5 sales-tax-free states are perfect places to shop year-round
- Axing Energy Star could end consumer savings (and some state sales tax holidays)
Advertisements
🌟 Search Amazon Tax Products 🌟
The text link above is an affiliate ad. If you click through and then buy a product, I receive a commission.
