.png)
In today’s inflationriddled economy, saving every penny matters, especially for families preparing students for the school year. For those families, August can be an expensive month.
To help, the state of Texas has announced that certain back-toschool related purchases are exempt from state and local sales taxes which can save shoppers more than 8 percent. The annual reprieve happens once a year, during the state’s sales tax holiday August 9-11.
To take full advantage of the savings, plan your shopping for school clothes, footwear, supplies, and backpacks for that weekend if you can.
Purchases must be made from a Texas store or an online or catalog seller doing business in Texas to qualify for the exemption. The sales tax holiday allows vendors to sell qualifying items without collecting sales tax.
The sales tax exemption applies only to qualifying items bought during the sales tax holiday. Items purchased before or after the sales tax holiday do not qualify for the exemption, and no tax refund is available for those purchases.
Dozens of items qualify for the sales tax exemption during the holiday, as long as the price of the item does not exceed $100. You do not have to justify school use to get tax savings on these items.
Items exempt from the sales tax generally include clothing, footwear, school supplies, face masks, and backpacks. Not all clothing or footwear qualifies. For example, sneakers under $100 are exempt from sales tax during the holiday, but athletic shoes for football with cleats are not tax-exempt. Also,keep in mind that online purchases factor shipping fees into the $100 per item limit.
For a complete list of exempt items, visit comptroller.texas. gov/taxes/publications/ 98-490/.
