13 states hold sales tax holidays in August; 2 from July continue into this month

July 2, 2024

Update Aug. 6, 2024: Classes have resumed in some school districts. Others will open their doors to students soon. And most across the United States will be in session by the end of this month. So, it's no surprise that parents are shopping for supplies, especially in states holding back-to-school sales tax holidays. Two that started in July, in Florida and Ohio, are wrapping up into this month. And three others, in starting date order, begin this weekend: Texas from Friday, Aug. 9, though Sunday, Aug. 11; Massachusetts from Saturday, Aug. 10, through Sunday, Aug. 11; and Maryland, from Sunday, Aug. 11, through Saturday, Aug. 17. The sales tax holidays underway now or soon to be are highlighted in yellow in the tables below.

Some of the school supplies at my local H-E-B grocery. Most of these products will be tax-free during Texas' back-to-school tax holiday in August. (Photo by Kay Bell)

Summer arrives in full force in July. So do the annual — cover your ears, children — back-to-school tax holidays.

Yes, classes will resume before you know it. And this month, shoppers in five states and Puerto Rico will get some tax-free savings during events typically touted as school-related. In reality, lot of us long past school days can enjoy many of the tax-exempt items.

If your state doesn’t hold a sales tax holiday in July, all might not be lost. The tax-free purchasing continues into August, with events starting that month in 13 states.

The tables below for July and August were compiled using information from the various state tax departments, as well as the Sales Tax Institute, Federation of Tax Administrators, and Avalara. They give you an overview of what will be exempt in participating states.

Click on the table links for more details. Note, however, that some links, particularly those for the August tax-free days, still go to last year's tax holidays. They will be updated as the holiday dates near.

July 2024 State Sales Taxes Holidays
State & Sales Tax Rate Local sales taxes also may be waived	Holiday Days & Dates	Tax-Free Products & Per-Item Price Limits
Alabama 4%	Friday, July 19 through Sunday, July 21	Clothing $100 or less Books $30 or less School supplies $50 or less Computers & software $750 or less A list of all eligible (and ineligible) items can be found in this Fact Sheet. Alabama counties and municipalities can decide whether to participate and exempt their taxes, or continue to add the amounts to sales during the tax holiday period. This list has specifics on where shoppers will get a tax break or continue to pay.
Florida 6%	Monday, July 29 through Sunday, Aug. 11	Clothing $100 or less School supplies $50 or less Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles selling for $30 or less Computers, certain accessories $1,500 or less More on tax-exempt items during the 2024 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday can be found in the event's frequently asked questions.
Mississippi 7%	Friday, July 12 through Saturday, July 14	Clothing and footwear $100 or less
Ohio 5.75%	Tuesday, July 30 through Thursday, Aug. 8	Clothing $75 or less School instructional materials & school supplies at $20 or less
Puerto Rico 11.5%	Friday, July 19 through Sunday, July 20	School supplies and school uniforms
Tennessee 7%	Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30	Clothing $100 or less School supplies $100 or less Computers $1,500 or less

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August 2024 State Sales Taxes Holidays
State & Sales Tax Rate Local sales taxes also may be waived	Holiday Days & Dates	Tax-Free Products & Per-Item Price Limits
Arkansas 6.5%	Saturday, Aug. 3 through Sunday, Aug. 4	Clothing $100 or less Accessories $50 or less No dollar limit on school art supplies, school instructional materials, school supplies, and school-related products such as electronic devices, which includes computers, commonly used by a student in a course of study.
Connecticut 6.35%	Sunday, Aug. 18 through Saturday, Aug. 24	Clothing and footwear $100 or less Accessories and protective or athletic clothing is still taxed.
Iowa 6%	Friday, Aug. 2 through Saturday, Aug. 3	Clothing and footwear priced at less than $100
Maryland 6%	Sunday, Aug. 11 through Saturday, Aug. 17	Clothing and footwear $100 or less First $40 of a backpack or bookbag sale
Massachusetts 6.25%	Saturday, Aug. 10 through Sunday, Aug. 11	Almost every personal item priced at $2,500 or less
Missouri 4.225%	Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4	Clothing $100 or less School supplies $50 or less Computer software $350 or less Graphing calculators $150 or less Personal computers & peripheral devices $1,500 or less Find more on the tax-exempt items in the state's Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday FAQs.
New Jersey 6.625%	Saturday, Aug. 24 through Monday, Sept. 2	Computers less than $3,000 School computer supplies less than $1,000 No price limit on school supplies, school art supplies, school instructional materials, and sport or recreational equipment Details on the tax-exempt items can be found at the state's special online sales tax holiday page.
New Mexico 5%	Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4	Clothing or shoes $100 or less Computers $1,000 or less Computer hardware $500 or less There is no price limit on school supplies that "students normally use in a standard classroom for educational purposes." FYI-203, Gross Receipts Tax Holiday, contains more information on the exempted sales.
Oklahoma 4.5%	Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4	Clothing, footwear $100 or less
South Carolina 6%	Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4	No purchase price limit on clothing accessories & footwear; school supplies; computers, printers & printer supplies, computer software; & bed linens & bath furnishings
Texas 6.25%	Friday, Aug. 9 through Sunday, Aug. 11	Clothing, footwear, backpacks priced at less than $100 Cloth and disposable fabric face masks meet the definition of an article of clothing and therefore are tax exempt during this weekend. School supplies at less than $100
Virginia 5.3%	Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4	School supplies $20 or less Clothing/footwear $100 or less Hurricane/emergency: Portable generators $1,000 or less; Gas-powered chainsaws $350 or less; Chainsaw accessories $60 or less; and other specified preparedness items $60 or less Energy Star™ and WaterSense™ products for home or personal use $2,500 or less per item Detailed lists of qualifying items and more information can be found in the Sales Tax Holiday Guidelines.
West Virginia 6%	Friday, Aug. 2 through Monday, Aug. 5	Clothing, footwear $125 or less School supplies ($50 or less) School instruction material ($20 or less) Sports equipment ($150 or less) Laptop and tablet computers ($500 or less) More on tax-exempt items can be found on the state's Sales Tax Holiday Questions and Answers page.

Shop wisely: The word tax in tax holidays is a dead giveaway that the events might not be as easy as shoppers hope.

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. Make sure you know when the holiday applies.

That's the first of 6 shopping tips to maximize sales tax holiday savings. Check it out, then make your list. That's also one of the tax holiday shopping suggestions.

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