Earlier this year, the Texas state legislature voted to create a sales tax holiday that will coincide with the back-to-school time frame. The state has had a back-to-school sales tax holiday, commonly called “Tax Free Weekend”, each year since 1999.
The Texas State Comptroller announced earlier this month that the sales tax holiday will last from August 8 to August 10, 2014. Sales of qualifying items will be exempt from sales taxon items costing up to $100, or the first $100 of the retail cost.
What is a Sales Tax Holiday?
A sales tax holiday is a number of days when the state doesn’t collect sales tax on a category of items. The hope is that the holiday will prompt more people to buy in the state and boost the economy.
Not only that, but there are usually hopes that shoppers will spend on items not covered by the sales tax holiday and provide a bit of a revenue boost.
With a state sales tax of 6.25 percent, and local taxes that range up to two percent, shoppers can save as much as 8.25 percent during the sales tax holiday. The Comptroller’s Office estimated that shoppers could save an estimated $82.7 million during that period.
Which items qualify for the sales tax holiday?
The sales tax break includes virtually all traditional school supplies, such as binders, notebooks, crayons, lunch boxes, pens, pencils, glue, books and scissors. Other items exempt from taxes during this period include such miscellaneous things as:
- Baby and adult diapers
- Kitchen aprons
- Socks
- Baseball hats (but not gloves)
- Baseball jerseys (but not pants)
- Belts with attached buckles (but not buckles, or weight lifting belts)
- Bow ties
- Bowling shirts (but not bowling shoes)
- Bras
- Caps
- Costumes
- Coats and most clothes (but not sewing materials)
- Football jerseys (but not football pads or pants)
- Golf caps, jackets, shirts and “golf dresses?” (but not golf gloves or shoes)
- Shoes (but not overshoes, inserts, laces or repairs)
The list of items exempt from sales taxes during the back-to-school shopping holiday does not include any computers, mobile devices or electronics. The sales tax exemption includes items sold in physical retail stores, online, by catalog or by phone.
A complete list of items qualifying for the sales tax holiday is available on the Texas Comptroller website. Happy shopping!
