Mark Your Calendar for Your State’s Tax-Free Days

Back-to-school shopping may be exciting for the kids who get new gear, but less so for the parents who have to pay for it all.

A survey from the National Retail Federation found that parents with kids in elementary through high school planned to spend an average of $848.90 on clothing, electronics and school supplies in 2021, the most recent year available.

Some shoppers will get a little relief as 18 states have tax-free holidays coming up in July and August, saving consumers from paying sales tax on certain school-related items.

Now, you may not save a ton of money by shopping during tax-free holidays. For example, if you bought $500 worth of clothes, shoes and school supplies during Florida’s tax-free weekend in a county where the sales tax is 6%, you would save about $30. But what parent wouldn’t want to save 30 bucks?

And if you use the tax-free holidays in conjunction with smart budgeting strategies and comparison shopping, you’ll save even more on your back-to-school supplies.

Some states’ tax-free holidays are held over a weekend, while others are a week long. Each state has different criteria for what merchandise won’t be taxed, and many states require the purchases to be under a certain price threshold.

And if you live in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire or Oregon, every day is a holiday — those states don’t have a sales tax.

Tax-Free Weekends: When, Where and What

The 18 states that have back-to-school tax-free holidays this year are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Alabama

When: July 15-17

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes – less than $100 per item.
• School supplies – less than $50 per item.
• Computers, software, computer supplies – less than $750.
• Books – less than $30 per item.

Arkansas

When: August 6-7

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — less than $100 per item.
• Clothing accessories — less than $50 per item.
• School supplies — no price threshold, but must be on the state’s list of approved items.
• Computers and electronic devices — no price threshold, but must be on the state’s list of approved items.

Connecticut

When: August 21-27

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — less than $100 per item.

Florida

When: July 25-August 7

What is tax-free:

• Computers and related equipment — $1,500 or less per item.
• Clothing, accessories and shoes — $100 or less per item.
• School supplies — $50 or less per item.

Illinois

When: August 5-14

What is tax-free

• Sales tax reduced by 5 percentage points on clothing and shoes less than $125 per item.
• School supplies also receive the sales tax reduction but do not have a price limit.

Iowa

When: August 5-6

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — less than $100 per item.

Maryland

When: August 14-20

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — $100 or less per item.
• Bookbags/backpacks — the first $40 is tax-free.

Massachusetts

When: August 13-14

What is tax-free:

• Most consumer products — $2,500 or less per item.
• Clothing — Massachusetts does not charge any sales tax on clothes under $175 year round.

Mississippi

When: July 29-30

What is tax-free:

• Clothing, shoes and school supplies — less than $100 per item.

Missouri

When: August 5-7

What is tax-free:

• Partial sales tax may still be charged in some areas.
• Clothing and shoes — $100 or less per item.
• School supplies — $50 or less per purchase (exception: graphing calculators must be $150 or less).
• Computers and related equipment — $1,500 or less per item.
• Computer software — $350 or less.

New Mexico

When: August 5-7

What is tax-free:

• Clothing, accessories and shoes — less than $100 per item.
• School supplies — less than $30 per item (exceptions: backpacks, maps and globes must be under $100 and calculators must be under $200).
• Computers — $1,000 or less per item.
• Computer hardware — $500 or less per item.

Ohio

When: August 5-7

What is tax-free:

• Clothing — $75 or less per item.
• School supplies — $20 or less per item.
• School instructional materials — $20 or less per item.

Oklahoma

When: August 5-7

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — less than $100 per item.

South Carolina

When: August 5-7

What is tax-free:

• Clothing, accessories and shoes — no price threshold.
• School supplies — no price threshold.
• Computers and related equipment — no price threshold.
• Bedding, pillows, bath towels, wash cloths and shower curtains — no price threshold.
• Books and musical instruments — no price threshold (if they are for school assignments).

Tennessee

When: July 29-31

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — $100 or less per item.
• School supplies — $100 or less per item.
• Computers — $1,500 or less per item.

Texas

When: August 5-7

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — less than $100 per item.
• School supplies — less than $100 per item.

Virginia

When: August 5-7

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes — $100 or less per item.
• School supplies — $20 or less per item.

West Virginia

When: August 5-8

What is tax-free:

• Clothing and shoes – less than $125 per item.
• School supplies – less than $50 per item.
• Computers – less than $500 per item.
• School instruction material – less than $20 per item.
• Sports supplies – less than $150 per item.

Nicole Dow is a former senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. Senior writer Robert Bruce contributed to this article. 

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.