State Sales Tax Free Weekend Shopping 2024

As the author of 15 books, many on money-saving topics, I’m always trying to find ways to help my readers get the most bang for their buck, including with State Sales Tax Shopping Holidays. For example, in my book about paying for college, I suggest using state sales tax free weekends to shop and legally avoid paying sales tax to keep more money in your pocket.

Because states offer tax-free shopping holidays throughout the year, I’ve compiled all of that sales tax holiday information into this one post. It’s kind of long. However, I think it’s also really thorough. Originally, I had broken the information out into state-by-state articles. However, that didn’t seem to be as helpful as those articles, on their own, were quite thin.

Anyway, summer is the most popular time for states to offer state sales tax shopping holidays, so-called no tax days and tax free weekends. However, some states have sales tax holidays in February. Others have sales tax free weekends in April and May.

Previously, I’d just focused on tax-free days in July and August. They tied into back-to-school shopping, which is why these tax free weekends were so popular. However, now many states offer them throughout the year.

As I mentioned, these sales tax holidays and tax-free weekends are a great way to save money on your back-to-school shopping. This includes back to college shopping.

What Are State Sales Tax Shopping Holidays

Why do some call a state sales tax holiday a tax free weekend? Because most of these holidays span a weekend. They can run Friday to Saturday, or Saturday to Sunday. In some instances a tax free weekend ends up being a three day weekend for you to save on sales tax. That is you can shop tax free on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some of these tax free days run an entire week. Therefore, it’s critical that you educate yourself on when the tax free weekend starts and when it ends so you don’t miss out.

Does a tax free weekend apply to online shopping?

This is great news for a sophisticated consumer who likes to shop online. Yes, a tax free weekend does apply to online purchases and online shopping.

Most of the sources for legit sales tax holiday information confirm that it is up to the online site to honor a tax free weekend. So this includes Amazon, too.

Tax Free Weekend on Amazon

If your state offers a sales tax holiday, you may be wondering if there is also a tax free weekend on Amazon. Or at any online store, for that matter.

Perhaps your question actually is does tax free weekend apply to online purchases? Well, I went straight to the source–Amazon–and found out how it handles a tax free weekend on Amazon.

“Many taxing jurisdictions require select taxable products to be temporarily exempt from tax on specific dates. For example, a sales tax holiday may be enacted on “back to school” products before the new school year.

You can find more information about sales tax holidays, including qualifying items, by visiting your state or US territory’s department of revenue (or equivalent) website.

Sales tax holidays may be applied to sales sold by Amazon.com and its affiliates, including marketplace sellers. However, tax may still be calculated on items if they do not qualify.”

Amazon says it will waive the sales tax on qualifying items. Each state has a rule about what items qualify to be exempt from sales tax. In addition, each state has a price limit for this exemption.

How to save on sales tax on Amazon

So what does this mean for you and shopping on Amazon during a tax free weekend or a sales tax holiday? I would recommend making multiple purchases rather than piling everything into your cart. If you can control what you buy and how much, you’ll have a clearer sense if your items fall within your state’s sales tax guidelines.

Shopping at Costco during a sales tax holiday

You may be wondering what happens if you shop at Costco during a sales tax holiday. Well, of course, if you’re shopping in person, then your purchase — if it qualifies for the state sales tax holiday — should be tax free.

However, what if you’re shopping online at Costco or using the Costco app during that same state sales tax holiday? Well, here’s what you need to know.

One, you have to be a Costco member to receive a tax-exempt purchase online.

Two, you won’t get that tax-free discount when you make the purchase online. However, you can ask for it after the fact.

Here’s how Costco describes the process:

“If your order is being shipped to a state with a tax holiday, please email your request to [email protected] with the following subject line: “Sales Tax Holiday Request.”

In the body of the email, we ask that you please include:

• Your membership number
• Your first and last name
• The Costco.com order number
• The item submitted for consideration (please include the item number and product description)
• The state in which the tax holiday occurred
• Whether this purchase was for personal or business use

Once we get your email, we’ll be happy to issue a credit for tax on any qualifying purchases after the order has shipped. Note: only orders placed during the tax holiday qualify for a tax refund.”

Note that last question: with most state sales tax holidays, items purchased for personal use are the ones that qualify. Business purchases do not.

So, you know what to do.

What is included in the tax free weekend?

The idea behind most of these sales tax holidays is to give families a break on school supplies. That’s why participating states have rules on which categories qualify for tax free shopping.

Usually, you’re looking at basic school supplies, such as notebooks, pens, pencils and backpacks. Some states include computer purchases in their sales tax free weekend holidays.

Other states include “offbeat” items that qualify as being tax free. This includes scrubs and safety gear.

Is there a limit on the tax free weekend?

While you, the consumer, are not limited to how many stores you can shop tax free, there are spending limits on what you can buy.

In other words the sales tax holidays have a cap on what qualifies as tax free. For example, some states may say that clothing items priced $100 or less qualify as tax free only.

Other tax free shopping categories

Clothing and footwear are the most common items included during a state sales tax holiday. However, many of the states with a tax free weekend include the following categories as well:

• school supplies like notebooks and the like
• computers and computer software
• calculators
• book bags and backpacks

Read why my family only buys backpacks with a lifetime guarantee.

When are the tax free weekends

Tax-free weekends happen all year long. But most of them occur in the summer months of July and August.

In most states that had previously held sales tax holidays, you can expect back-to-school tax free weekend shopping in 2024.

Some states are very generous with their tax free weekend by making them nearly a week long. Therefore, they are tax free shopping weeks, not just weekends. 

Here is something important to remember about a tax free weekend. Even though a state sales tax holiday is timed for back to school, you do not have to be a parent with children to benefit. Anyone shopping on a tax free weekend can reap the rewards of a sales tax holiday. Just keep your spending within the rules and the approved categories!

Month by Month sales tax holidays

Here is a month-by-month breakdown of when sales tax holidays are scheduled in 2024.

January sales tax holidays

• none

February sales tax holidays

• Alabama (AL)
• Maryland (MD)

March sales tax holidays

• none

April sales tax holidays

• Missouri (MO)
• Texas (TX)

May sales tax holidays

• Texas (TX)

June sales tax holidays

• Florida (FL)

July sales tax holidays

• Alabama (AL)
• Florida (FL)
• Mississippi (MS)
• Tennessee (TN)

August sales tax holidays

• Arkansas (AR)
• Connecticut (CT)
• Florida (FL)
• Iowa (IA)
• Maryland (MD)
• Massachusetts (MA)
• Mississippi (MS)
• Missouri (MO)
• New Mexico (NM)
• Ohio (OH)
• Oklahoma (OK)
• South Carolina (SC)
• Texas (TX)
• Virginia (VA)
• West Virginia (WV)

September sales tax holidays

• Florida (FL)
• Mississippi (MS)

October sales tax holidays

• none

November sales tax holidays

• New Mexico (NM)

December tax holidays

• none

Alphabetical list of state sales tax holidays

Here is an alphabetical listing of the more than dozen states with tax free weekends. I’ve included the dates of the individual sales tax holidays. Note: some of these state sales tax holidays also include hurricane preparedness and disaster products. If you live in a state that’s susceptible to storms, it would be smart to take advantage of tax free shopping for these products, too.

Also, it’s important to prepare your family, including your pets, for storm season. In fact, here are some hurricane pet preparedness tips to keep in mind.

Alabama’s Tax Holiday

The first of two sales tax free weekends in Alabama happens on the last full weekend in February. For 2025, the date is February 21 through February 23.

What is the Alabama Severe Weather Preparedness?

It’s called the Severe Weather Preparedness tax holiday. That’s when Alabama offers an incentive for residents to stock up on hurricane preparedness products.

Here’s what qualifies for tax-free shopping:

• generators (up to $1,000)
• supplies (up to $60)

These “supplies” include items you could use throughout the year, such as cell phone chargers, plastic drop cloths and duct tape.

Alabama Back to School Sales Tax Holiday

The Alabama Tax Free Weekend starts on the third Friday of July and ends that following Sunday. So, for 2025, the date is July 18 through July 21. That’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So a three-day sales tax free weekend.

The following items are exempt from Alabama state sales tax:

• books (up to $20)
• clothing (up to $100)
• computers (up to $750)
• school supplies (up to $50)

You can find more information about Alabama sales tax holidays, including the Alabama tax free weekend, on the state’s Department of Revenue website.

Arkansas Tax Free Weekend

Here is how Arkansas describes its tax free weekend: “The gross receipts derived from the sale of the following items shall be exempt from state and local Arkansas sales and use tax from 12:01 a.m. on the first Saturday in August to 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday each year.” For 2025, that would be August 2 and August 3. That’s just two days for this sales tax holiday–Saturday and Sunday.

According to state statute, all retailers in Arkansas must participate in this Arkansas sales tax holiday.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration is responsible for overseeing the tax holiday. This year they outlined six categories that would qualify to be exempt from state sales tax.

First, I’ll outline those categories. Then, I’ll get into the nitty gritty of prices and whatnot for each of those categories.

• Clothing and footwear
• Clothing accessories and equipment
• Electronic device
• School supplies
• School art supplies
• School instructional materials

Now onto the specifics

Tax-exempt clothing and footwear

For clothing and footwear to be exempt from you paying taxes, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration says it must be priced under $100 per item.

Here is the state’s roundup of the kinds of clothing and footwear that would qualify, if priced under $100. You may find some surprising items in this list:

• Aprons, household and shop
• Athletic supporters
• Baby receiving blankets
• Bathing suits and caps
• Beach capes and coats
• Belts and suspenders
• Boots
• Coats and jackets
• Costumes
• Diapers, including disposables
• Earmuffs
• Footlets
• Formal wear
• Garters and garter belts
• Girdles
• Gloves & mittens for general use
• Hats and caps
• Hosiery
• Insoles for shoes
• Lab coats
• Neckties
• Overshoes
• Pantyhose
• Rainwear
• Rubber pants
• Sandals
• Scarves
• Shoes and shoelaces
• Slippers
• Sneakers
• Socks and stockings
• Steel toed shoes
• Underwear
• Uniforms, athletic & non-athletic
• Wedding apparel

Tax-exempt clothing accessories

When it comes to these tax-exempt clothing accessories, you have to follow the rules carefully. One, everything must be priced under $50. Two, the state defines accessories as “incidental items worn on the person or in conjunction with clothing.

However, it’s probably not what you think. For example, belt buckles don’t qualify. Nor does safety equipment, such as hard hats or breathing masks.

Here is exactly how the state qualifies a clothing accessory for the tax-free weekend:

• Briefcases
• Cosmetics
• Hair notions, including barrettes, hairbows, & hair nets
• Handbags
• Handkerchiefs
• Jewelry
• Sunglasses, non-prescription
• Umbrellas
• Wallets
• Watches
• Wigs and hair pieces

Electronic devices that are tax exempt

Arkansas defines an electronic device as something a student commonly uses in the course of studying or attending school. However, it does not specify a price for items that would be included.

Anyway, these so-called electronic devices that you can avoid paying tax on during this holiday include:

• Calculator Desktop Computer
• Cellular Phone E-Reader
• Computer Mouse Laptop Computer
• Computer Monitor Printer
• Computer Keyboard Tablet

School supplies

Like the electronic devices mentioned above, Arkansas has not put a price limit on school supplies that you can buy and not pay tax. However, they do have a specific list of what qualifies, plus a detailed description: a school supply is “an item commonly used by a student in a course of study.”

Here is the product definition list:

• Binders
• Bookbags
• Cellophane tape
• Blackboard chalk
• Compasses
• Composition books
• Crayons
• Erasers
• Folders; expandable, pocket, plastic and manila
• Glue, paste and paste sticks
• Highlighters
• Index cards
• Index card boxes
• Legal pads
• Lunch boxes
• Markers
• Notebooks
• Paper, including 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
• Pens
• Pencils
• Protractors
• Rulers
• Scissors
• Writing tablets

If you don’t see something you want to buy on the list, then you should expect to pay tax on it during the tax-free weekend.

School art supplies

Again, like regular school supplies, there is no price limit for school art supplies. Your purchase will be tax exempt if you buy the following:

• Clay and glazes
• Paints- acrylic, tempora, and oil
• Paintbrushes for artwork
• Sketch and drawing pads
• Watercolors

School instruction materials

According to Arkansas, the following is a listing of school instructional materials eligible for the holiday exemption.

• Reference books
• Reference maps and globes
• Textbooks
• Workbooks

If an item is not on the list above, then it remains taxable during the sales tax holiday period.

Connecticut Tax Free Week

In the state of Connecticut, the CT sales tax holiday is actually an entire week of tax-free shopping called, not surprisingly, Connecticut Sales Tax Free Week. And when that sales tax shopping holiday rolls around, it is always the third week in August. However, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has not officially updated their information about when or if the 2025 sales tax holiday is happening. I’ll keep checking.

Florida Sales Tax Shopping Holidays

Typically, Florida holds four sales tax holidays throughout the year. In the past, they’ve been:

• Florida Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holidays
• Florida Freedom Month
• Florida Back to School Sales Tax Holiday
• Tool Time Sales Tax Holiday

However, when I checked the Florida Department of Revenue website for details on these sales tax holidays in 2025, I didn’t see any updates. So I’ll keep you posted as I keep checking back on them.

Iowa Sales Tax Holiday

Many people call these sales tax holidays a tax-free weekend. However, in Iowa it is not a full weekend for sales tax free shopping. That’s important to keep in mind. The Annual Iowa Sales Tax Holiday is always the first Friday and Saturday in August only. So for 2025 that is August 2 and August 3.

What does the Iowa tax holiday cover?

Not surprisingly, with a tax holiday in August, the Iowa one is all about helping with back-to-school shopping. It focuses exclusively on “typical” clothing and footwear priced under $100. Also, if you have a coupon or discount that will bring the price of an individual item under $100, then it will be exempt from tax during the sales tax holiday.

Not covered

It does not include the following:

• watches
• watchbands
• jewelry
• umbrellas
• handkerchiefs
• sporting equipment
• skis
• swim fins
• roller blades
• skates

Finally, it does not include special clothing or footwear designed primarily for athletic activity or protective use and not usually considered appropriate for everyday wear.

So, I’m guessing, sneakers or tennis shoes — yes. Cleats — no.

Online shopping

As far as online shopping goes, here is more from the Iowa Department of Revenue about the annual Iowa sales tax holiday:

Eligible items purchased by mail order, catalog, or Internet are exempt if they are [d]elivered during the exemption period, or [o]rdered and paid for during the exemption period, even if delivery is made after the Sales Tax Holiday.

Maryland Tax Free Week

In Maryland, not only do you get a tax free week to shop but a second tax holiday gives you a tax free weekend. The first of the two sales tax holidays in Maryland is usually right around Valentine’s Day. It focuses on Energy Star products and is called Shop Maryland Energy Weekend.

The second is Shop Maryland Tax Free Week. It is tied into the back-to-school shopping season. Read on for more info about each of these sales tax holidays.

Maryland Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday

Here is how the Maryland Taxes website describes when this sales tax holiday happens each year:

The sales and use tax-free weekend, called Shop Maryland Energy, takes place in February and applies to the sale of a qualified Energy Star product or a solar water heater that is sold between 12:01 a.m. on the Saturday immediately preceding the third Monday in February and 11:59 p.m. on the third Monday of February.

As far as what is exempt from sales tax, it’s important to remember that not every Energy Star item qualifies.

More from Maryland:

Only air conditioners, clothes washers, clothes dryers, furnaces, heat pumps, standard size refrigerators, compact fluorescent light bulbs, dehumidifiers, boilers and programmable thermostats that have been designated as meeting or exceeding the applicable Energy Star efficiency requirements developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Energy and are authorized to carry the Energy Star label are exempt during the Shop Maryland Energy weekend. In addition, the exemption applies to the sale of any solar water heater.

Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week

Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week is Maryland’s sales tax holiday tied into back-to-school shopping. So, when is tax free week in Maryland? It starts the second Sunday in August and goes through the following Saturday. For 2025, those dates are August 11-18.

What qualifies as tax free

When it comes to the back-to-school related shopping holiday, you’ll find all of the usual suspects: clothing, such as sweaters, shirts, slacks, jeans, dresses and belts, plus shoes and boots. All must be priced at $100 or less.

In addition, the first $40 of a backpack/bookbag purchase is tax-exempt. OK, that all makes sense.

Here are some of those items that I never would have connected to back-to-school shopping but, if priced $100 or less, will also be tax exempt:

• Adult diapers
• Bathrobes
• Bathing suits
• Bowling shoes (sold, not rented)
• Bridal gowns and dresses (sold or rented)
• Clerical vestments
• Dry cleaning services
• Fishing vests
• Hunting clothing
• Pajamas
• Prom dresses
• Scout uniforms
• Men’s formalwear

Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday 2025

Each year the Massachusetts tax free weekend is the second Saturday and Sunday in August. For 2024, the tax free weekend MA was August 10 and August 11, 2024. I haven’t found anything confirming the dates for 2025 so I’ll keep looking.

The Massachusetts sales tax holiday is different from any other state with a tax holiday. How? Pretty much everything you buy during the tax free weekend is exempt from sales tax. Also, it includes items costing under $2,500 (with a few exceptions) along with all of the back to school items you would expect to save money on during a sales tax holiday. There is a limit on clothing, though. Items of clothing must be priced under $175 to be exempt from sales tax.

Items not included in Massachusetts tax exemption

One year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts did include meals at restaurants in the MA tax-free weekend. However, that’s no longer true.

The following items are still taxable during the sales tax holiday:

• Meals
• Motor vehicles
• Motorboats
• Telecommunications services
• Gas
• Steam
• Electricity

Online sales and the Massachusetts sales tax holiday

As far as online sales and the Massachusetts tax free weekend, here is what the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has to say:

If you order and pay for an eligible item over the internet on the sales tax holiday, Eastern Daylight Time, that item will qualify for the sales tax holiday exemption. No sales tax is due on that purchase, even if delivery of the item occurs after the sales tax holiday weekend.

Mississippi Sales Tax Holidays

Typically, Mississippi holds two sales tax holidays during the year. The first is the back-to-school holiday in July. The second is a Second Amendment sales tax holiday that focuses on firearms, hunting supplies and ammunition. It is usually at the end of August or beginning of September. When I checked the state of Mississippi Department of Revenue website for details about 2025 sales tax holidays, nothing has been updated since since 2024. I’ll keep checking.

Missouri Sales Tax Holiday 2025

Missouri is another state with two sales tax holidays during the year. The first sales tax holiday is in April; the second sales tax holiday happens over the summer, usually in early August. Here’s what you need to know about Tax Free Weekend Missouri, including when each of these tax free weekends and weeks happen.

Show Me Green Sales Tax Holiday

The cleverly named Show Me Green Sales Tax Holiday focuses on new energy-efficient Energy Star appliances only. Get the play on words? Missouri is the “show me” state. And instead of “show me the money” they’re saying “show me the green”? Cute, right? Anyway, this sales tax holiday is always seven-days long, from April 19-25, and it’s been around since 2009.

Missouri Back to School Tax Free Weekend 2024

According to Missouri state law, the Missouri back to school sales tax holiday begins on the first Friday in August and continues through the following Sunday. So, in 2024 the Missouri sales tax holiday was Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 4. The state website has not updated dates yet for 2025. I’ll keep looking.

The Missouri Department of Revenue has included the following in the Missouri sales tax holiday in the past:

• Clothing – any article having a taxable value of $100 or less
• School supplies – not to exceed $50 per purchase
• Computer software – taxable value of $350 or less
• Personal computers – not to exceed $3,500
• Computer peripheral devices – not to exceed $3,500

When is the New Mexico Tax Free Weekend?

The New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax Holiday is always the first full weekend in August, on the first Friday through the first Sunday. There has been no announcement or confirmation of the 2025 dates. I have no reason to believe that it won’t happen so I’ll go out on a limb and say the holidays will be August 1-3, 2025.

What qualifies during the summer tax free weekend in NM?

During the tax free weekend in New Mexico, you won’t pay sales tax on the following:

• Clothing or shoes priced at less than $100 per unit
• Desktop, laptop, tablets or notebook computers costing $1,000 or less
• Computer-related items priced at $500 or less
• School supplies for use in standard, general-education classrooms, costing under $30 per unit

Ohio Sales Tax Holiday

Ohio’s tax free weekend is now a permanent sales tax holiday. Here’s how Ohio describes it:

“Ohio sets aside at least three days each year (to include the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in August) for consumers to buy certain items without sales tax. This sales tax holiday helps families buy clothing, supplies, and more items their children may need to be successful in the coming school year.”

State of Ohio

What qualifies during the Ohio tax free weekend

The Ohio Department of Taxation says that during this sales tax holiday, the following items are exempt from sales and use tax:

• Clothing priced at $75 per item or less;
• School supplies priced at $20 per item or less
• School instructional material priced at $20 per item or less

In 2025, the holiday is August 1, 2025 through August 3, 2025.

Oklahoma Tax Free Weekend

The Oklahoma Sales Tax Holiday event focuses on things you might buy to send your children back to school. Primarily, that is footwear and clothing, priced under a certain amount. The date of this tax-free holiday is always the first Friday – Sunday in August. So for this year that’s August 1-3, 2025.

However, unlike other state sales tax holidays, Oklahoma does not include school supplies and the like. It’s just clothing and footwear.

What clothing and footwear is tax exempt

One, clothing and footwear prices at under $100 is the only pricepoint that qualifies. And, two, during the Oklahoma tax free weekend, the state defines clothing as all “human-wearing apparel suitable for general use.”

What is included in the Oklahoma Tax Free Weekend

The Oklahoma event focuses on things you might buy to send your children back to school. Primarily, that is footwear and clothing, priced under a certain amount.

However, unlike other state sales tax holidays, Oklahoma does not include school supplies and the like. It’s just clothing and footwear.

What clothing and footwear is tax exempt

One, clothing and footwear prices at under $100 is the only pricepoint that qualifies. And, two, during the Oklahoma tax free weekend, the state defines clothing as all “human-wearing apparel suitable for general use.”

Online shopping

Here is how the Oklahoma Tax Commission describes how you can avoid paying tax during the holiday when shopping online:

“Eligible items sold to purchasers by mail, telephone, email or internet shall qualify for the sales tax exemption if the customer orders and pays for the item and the retailer accepts the order during the exemption period for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period.”

South Carolina Tax Free Weekend

Last year, the South Carolina Tax Free Weekend was August 2-4, 2024. The SC Department of Revenue website has not updated information for 2025 yet. Based on past tax holidays, here’s what I can tell you.

There are four categories included in the South Carolina tax-free weekend. They are:

• Bed and bath
• School supplies
• Clothing and accessories
• Computers and technology

Tennessee back-to-school shopping sales tax free weekend

The Tennessee back to school tax-free weekend occurs the last week of July each year. Tennessee’s traditional sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies and computers is the last full weekend in July. For 2025, according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, “Tennessee’s traditional sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies and computers begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 25, 2025, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, 2025.”

There are three major categories that the Tennessee sales tax holiday covers. They are:

• Clothing
• School supplies
• Computers

Texas Tax Free Weekend 2025

You know how everything is bigger in Texas? Well, the same is true when it comes to sales tax holidays. Texas offers three tax-free shopping holidays throughout the year. So, when are these tax-free weekends in TX? There are three of them held in:

1. April
2. May
3. August

Texas Emergency Preparedness Supplies Sales Tax Holiday

The Emergency Preparedness Supplies Sales Tax Holiday happens each April. In 2025, it’s April 26-28. Here is a detailed list of tax-exempt items that qualify as being emergency preparedness supplies:

• Less than $3000
  • Portable generators
• Less than $300
  • Emergency ladders
  • Hurricane shutters
• Less than $75
  • Axes
  • Batteries, single or multipack (AAA cell, AA cell, C cell, D cell, 6 volt or 9 volt)
  • Can openers – nonelectric
  • Carbon monoxide detectors
  • Coolers and ice chests for food storage – nonelectric
  • Fire extinguishers
  • First aid kits
  • Fuel containers
  • Ground anchor systems and tie-down kits
  • Hatchets
  • Ice products – reusable and artificial
  • Light sources – portable self-powered (including battery operated)
    • Examples of items include: candles, flashlights and lanterns
  • Mobile telephone batteries and mobile telephone chargers
  • Radios – portable self-powered (including battery operated) – includes two-way and weather band radios
  • Smoke detectors
  • Tarps and other plastic sheeting

Texas Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday

The Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday is the month following the emergency supplies sales tax. Or, in other words, May. For 2025, it was May 24-26. Note: Texas says you can buy, rent or lease these items, and still not pay sales tax. Here is a detailed list of items that qualify.

• air conditioners (with a sales price of $6,000 or less)
• refrigerators (with a sales price of $2,000 or less)
• ceiling fans
• incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs
• clothes washers
• dishwashers
• dehumidifiers

Texas Back to School Sales Tax Holiday/Tax Free Weekend

The annual Texas tax free weekend for back to school shopping is each year in August. For 2025, it is August 8-10. That’s when you can buy most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks (sold for less than $100) tax free from a Texas store or from an online or catalog seller doing business in Texas.

Virginia Sales Tax Holiday

After the Virginia Sales Tax holiday expired on July 31, 2023, and the then-current legislature did not replace it, I thought the Virginia Sales Tax Holiday was gone forever. But then they brought it back in 2024, happening August 2-4, 2024. Hopefully that will be repeated in 2025. I’ll keep checking for upcoming dates.

When is the West Virginia Sales Tax Holiday

In 2021, West Virginia began offering an annual sales tax holiday. This would save you from paying the 6% West Virginia sales tax.

The West Virginia State Sales Tax Holiday will begin this year at 12:00 a.m. on Friday August 1, 2025 and will end at 11:59 p.m. on Monday August 4, 2025.

What qualifies as tax free in West Virginia?

During the WV tax-free weekend, there are five categories of items that you can buy without paying sales tax. They are:

• clothing priced at $125 or less
• school supplies priced $50 or less
• school instruction material priced $20 or less
• laptop and tablet computers, not purchased for use in a trade or business, priced at $500 or less
• sports equipment, not purchased for use in a trade or business, priced at $150 or less

States that don’t tax clothing purchases

A big part of these tax free shopping weekends, at least during back to school, is saving on clothing purchases. However, in some states, there is no need to have tax shopping holidays. Why? Because they don’t charge tax on clothing purchases at all.

Below is a list of states that always have tax free shopping on clothing. That’s because sales tax never applies. So, which states don’t have sales tax on clothing? Here you go:

• Minnesota (MN)
• New Hampshire (NH)
• New Jersey (NJ)
• Pennsylvania (PA)
• Rhode Island (RI)
• Vermont (VT)

Therefore, if you want to know what the sales tax on clothing is in New Jersey or Pennsylvania or another one of these states, the answer is zero 0% zilch.

Tax Free States in USA

There are currently just a handful of states without any sales tax at all. This is good to know if you’re looking to shop and save money by shopping tax free in these American states.

Here are the sales tax-free states in America:

• Alaska (AK)
• Delaware (DE)
• Hawaii (HI)
• Montana (MT)
• New Hampshire (NH)
• Oregon (OR)

States that no longer have tax free weekends

Unfortunately, many states have stopped offering tax free weekends. That’s too bad, especially with prices and inflation on the rise. Below is a list of states that used to offer tax free shopping holidays over a week or a weekend, at one time or another. Unfortunately, they no longer do.

That means that they continue to charge sales tax on everyday items. Here is a list of those states:

• District of Columbia (DC)
• Georgia (GA)
• Idaho (ID)
• Illinois (IL)
• Indiana (IN)
• Kansas (KS)
• Kentucky (KY)
• Louisiana (LA)
• Maine (ME)
• Michigan (MI)
• Montana (MT)
• Nevada (NV)
• New Jersey (NJ)
• New York (NY)
• North Carolina (NC)
• North Dakota (ND)
• South Dakota (SD)
• Utah (UT)

Might you have missing money in one of the states mentioned here?

Final thoughts on state sales tax holidays and tax free weekends

I’m lucky enough to have lived most of my adult life in states that don’t have sales tax on certain things. For example, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, you don’t pay sales tax on clothing. But you do on everything else. Now I live in Maine where there are no sales tax holidays. To shop tax free, I can travel to nearby New Hampshire or go to Massachusetts during their sales tax holidays.

I hope you’ve found this blog post helpful in your quest to shop tax free. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.