Sen. Hinojosa Reminds Texans Of Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend

By DAVID A. DÍAZ, [email protected]

Texas’ highly successful annual Sales Tax Holiday is scheduled this year from Friday, August 5, through midnight Sunday, August 7, 2022 and will offer Texans an opportunity to save millions in state and local sales tax on clothing and various back-to-school items, according to Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen.

Texans who shop during the Sales Tax Holiday three-day period will not have to pay state and local sales taxes on clothing, school supplies, face masks, backpacks, or footwear priced under $100. Items sold online and layaway plans qualify, as well.

“The back-to-school season is an excellent opportunity for our Texas families to find bargains and low prices, and at the same time will be an economic driver for our local businesses,” said Hinojosa. “Given the increased costs of goods, I encourage our families to take full advantage of the sales tax holiday and save money by shopping this coming Sales Tax Holiday. These purchases can be done in stores or from an online seller doing business in Texas.”

Qualifying items can be purchased tax free online or in-store when either:

• The item is both delivered to, and paid for by, the customer during the Sales Tax Holiday; or,

• The customer orders and pays for the item, and the seller accepts the order during the Sales Tax Holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period ends.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ office estimates that shoppers will save $112 million in state and local sales tax during this sales tax holiday. 

Texas’ Sales Tax Holiday weekend has been an annual event since 1999.

A summary of which key items that will be tax-free, and which key items will not be tax-free, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, follows:

TAX-FREE CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR 

During the Sales Tax Holiday, individuals can buy most footwear and clothing (sold for less than $100) tax free. 

One does not need to give the seller an exemption certificate. 

The exemption applies to each eligible item sold for less than $100, and there is no limit to the number of qualifying items you can buy.  

For example, if a customer buys two shirts for $80 each, each shirt qualifies for the exemption because each is less than $100, even though the total purchase price is $160.

Tennis shoes, jogging suits and swimsuits can be worn for other than athletic activity.

NOT TAX-FREE CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR 

The following items are not tax-free during the Sales Tax Holiday:

• Items sold for $100 or more.

• Clothing subscription boxes

• Specially-designed athletic activity or protective-use clothing or footwear. For example, golf cleats and football pads are usually worn only when people play golf or football, so they do not qualify for the exemption. 

• Clothing or footwear rentals, alterations (including embroidery) and cleaning services items used to make or repair clothing, such as fabric, thread, yarn, buttons, snaps, hooks and zippers jewelry, handbags, purses, briefcases, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches and other accessories.  

• Computers. 

• Software. 

• Textbooks.

Certain baggage items. The following items do not qualify for Sales Tax Holiday: Frame backpacks; luggage; briefcases; athletic, duffel or gym bags; computer bags, or purses.

TAX-FREE SCHOOL SUPPLIES

• Binders.

• Blackboard chalk.

• Book bags.

• Calculators.

• Cellophane tape.

• Compasses.

• Composition books.

• Crayons.

• Erasers.

• Folders – expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila.

• Glue, paste and paste sticks.

• Highlighters.

• Index cards.

• Index card boxes.

• Kits. For kits of school supplies that contain exempt items, as well as taxable ones, the taxability depends on the value of exempt or taxable items in it. There is no limit on the quantity of school supplies in a kit, but if the value of the exempt items is more than the taxable ones, the kit is exempt. If the value of the taxable items is more than the exempt ones, then the kit is taxable.

• Legal pads.

• Lunch boxes.

• Markers (including dry erase markers).

• Notebooks.

• Paper – loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper.

• Pencil boxes and other school supply boxes.

• Pencil sharpeners.

• Pencils.

• Pens.

• Protractors.

• Rulers

• Scissors.

• Writing tablets.

For additional information about the upcoming sales tax holiday see: 

Rule 3.365, Sales Tax Holiday – Clothing, Shoes and School Supplies.