Everything You Need to Know About the Tax-free Weekend

AUSTIN – The ever popular Texas Tax-Free Weekend starts Friday and shoppers can support Texas businesses while saving money on tax-free purchases of most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks (sold for less than $100) during the annual Tax-Free weekend.

Qualifying items can be purchased tax free from a Texas store or from an online or catalog seller doing business in Texas. In most cases, you do not need to give the seller an exemption certificate to buy qualifying items tax free.

This year’s sales tax holiday begins Friday, Aug. 11, and goes through midnight Sunday, Aug. 13.

The sales tax exemption applies only to qualifying items you buy during the sales tax holiday. Items you buy before or after the sales tax holiday do not qualify for exemption, and there is no tax refund available.

According to the Texas Comptroller's website, during the holiday you can buy qualifying items in-store, online, by telephone, mail, custom order, or any other means. The sale of the item must take place during the specific period. The purchase date is easy to determine when the purchase is made in-store but becomes more complicated with remote purchases. The purchaser must have given the consideration for the item during the period even if the item may not be delivered until after the period is over.

For example, if a purchaser enters their credit card information in an online shopping website on Sunday Aug. 13, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.to purchase qualifying school supplies, but the school supplies will not be shipped until Friday Aug. 18, 2023 and will not arrive until Tuesday Aug. 22, the purchase will still qualify for the exemption. However, if the charge to your credit card is declined by the payment processor at 11:00 p.m. on Sunday Aug. 13, 2023 and the purchaser does not resubmit payment until Monday Aug. 14, the purchase is taxable.

Here's a link to Clothing, footwear and other items. 

And here is a link to school supplies exempt from sales tax next weekend.