Here Are The Dates For Back-To-School Tax-Free Weekends In Every State That Has Them

Back-to-school shopping is big business: Families with children in elementary through high school spend almost $700 on each kid, according to the latest analysis from the National Retail Federation. School shopping for college students registers at about $970.

Helping cushion the costs in some states, though, are sales-tax holidays. These days give shoppers an opportunity to buy school supplies, clothes and sometimes electronics free of sales tax.

Before you go on a complete spending spree, though, it’s worth noting that there are limits on the exemptions, meaning taxes start kicking in again if an item exceeds a certain amount. For example, you probably won’t be able to score the exemption on a designer purse or limited-edition sneakers, but you could buy a bunch of T-shirts. A $100 cap is common in many states — so an item that’s $100 is exempt from tax, but an item that’s $101 would not be. Also, local taxes may not be exempt.

The dates and the parameters for sales tax holidays vary by state, and the Federation of Tax Administrators curates a list of all the need-to-know information. (Some of the state revenue websites have not yet been updated with 2018 information, and TaxJar notes that not every state has listed a tax holiday this year.)

We know summer isn’t totally over yet, and it might feel too soon to think about the start of another school year. But mark these shopping days on your calendar so you can (legally) evade sales tax.

In some states, the back-to-school tax-free dates have already passed, unfortunately.

Alabama

Dates: July 20-22
Items included: Clothing up to $100; computers up to $750; school supplies up to $50; books up to $30.
More information found here.

Arkansas

Dates: Aug. 4-5
Items included: Clothing up to $100 and school supplies.
More information found here.

Connecticut

Dates: Aug. 19-25
Items included: Clothing and footwear up to $100.
More information found here.

Florida

Dates: Aug. 3-5
Items included: Certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item; clothing, footwear and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item.
More information found here.

Iowa

Dates: Aug. 3-4
Items included: Clothing and footwear up to $100.
More information found here.

Louisiana

Dates: Aug. 3-4
Items included: Louisiana takes a broader approach with its tax holiday. It includes the first $2,500 of all noncommercial purchases. This excludes vehicles or meals.
More information found here.

Maryland

Dates: Aug. 12-18
Items included: Clothing and footwear up to $100; also, the first $40 of a backpack or book bag purchase is tax-free.
More information found here.

Mississippi

Dates: July 27-28
Items included: Clothing and footwear up to $100.
More information found here.

Missouri

Dates: Aug. 3-5
Items included: Clothing up to $100, computers up to $1,500, school supply items priced under $50.
More information found here.

New Mexico

Dates: Aug. 3-5
Items included: Clothing items up to $100; computers up to $1,000; computer equipment up to $500; and school supplies up to $30.
More information found here.

Ohio

Dates: Aug. 3-5
Items included: Clothing up to $75; school supply items up to $20.
More information found here.

Oklahoma

Dates: Aug. 3-5
Items included: Clothing items up to $100.
More information found here.

South Carolina

Dates: Aug. 3-5
Items included: School supplies, computers and clothing items.
More information found here.

Tennessee

Dates: July 27-29
Items included: Clothing items up to $100; school supplies up to $100; computers up to $1,500.
More information found here.

Texas

Dates: Aug. 10-12
Items included: Clothing, backpacks and school supplies up to $100.
More information found here.

Virginia

Dates: Aug. 3-5
Items included: Clothing items up to $100; school supply items up to $20.
More information found here.

Wisconsin

Dates: Aug. 1-5
Items included: Clothing items up to $75; school supply items up to $75; computers up to $750; and computer supplies up to $250.
More information found here.