Every August, for one weekend, Texas turns off the sales tax on a long list of back-to-school basics. For a family outfitting two or three kids with clothes, shoes, and supplies, the savings on an 8.25 percent sales tax can add up to real money, often enough to cover an extra pair of sneakers. The weekend has become a fixture on the Texas calendar, and the state has estimated shoppers save well over $100 million across it each year — the Comptroller’s office projected $133.2 million in expected savings for the 2025 holiday, and has said Texans have saved more than $2 billion combined since the holiday began in 1999.
This piece lays out when the 2026 holiday falls, exactly what qualifies and what does not, the price limit that trips up a lot of shoppers, and a few practical tips for getting the most out of the weekend without overspending in the name of “saving.”
When the holiday happens in 2026
The Texas sales tax holiday is always the same August weekend, running Friday through midnight Sunday. For 2026, the holiday runs from Friday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 9, according to the Texas Comptroller’s sales tax holiday page. The exemption applies during those three days only, and it covers purchases made in stores, online, by phone, by mail, and by custom order, as long as the order is placed and paid for during the holiday window.
That timing detail matters for online orders. The Comptroller’s guidance explains that if you order and pay for a qualifying item during the holiday, it is tax-free even if it ships afterward. The deciding moment is when you place and pay for the order, not when the package arrives.
What qualifies, and the $100 rule
The exemption covers three broad categories: most clothing and footwear, school supplies, and backpacks, each priced under $100 per item. The Comptroller is specific about the threshold: most clothing, footwear, school supplies, and backpacks sold for less than $100 qualify for the exemption.
The single most important rule to understand is that the $100 limit applies per item, not per receipt. You can buy ten qualifying shirts at $40 each, $400 total, and every one of them is tax-free, because each item is under $100. But a single pair of $120 boots gets no break at all, and the tax applies to the full $120, not just the $20 over the line. There is no “first $100 is free” provision.
One more trap on price: the Comptroller counts the total sales price, including delivery, shipping, handling, and transportation charges by the seller, when deciding whether an item clears the $100 threshold. A $95 jacket with $10 shipping becomes a $105 item and loses the exemption. It pays to check the all-in price online before assuming an item qualifies.
What clothing and footwear count
The clothing category is broad and covers most everyday wear: shirts, pants, dresses, coats, jeans, pajamas, underwear, shoes, sneakers, and boots all qualify when under $100. These are the items most families are buying anyway as school approaches, which is why the weekend is so popular.
But there are exclusions worth knowing. The exemption generally does not apply to clothing accessories like jewelry, handbags, purses, watches, and wallets, or to athletic and protective gear designed primarily for a specific sport, such as cleats, ski boots, or shoulder pads. Rentals, alterations, and cleaning services are not covered either. The Comptroller’s holiday page lists the specifics, and it is worth a quick look if you are buying anything beyond ordinary clothes and shoes.
School supplies and backpacks
Only specific school supplies qualify, and they have to be priced under $100. The Comptroller maintains a dedicated list of qualifying school supplies that includes the usual items: pens, pencils, notebooks, binders, folders, crayons, glue, scissors, calculators, and similar classroom basics. If it is on the list and under $100, it is tax-free.
Backpacks get their own treatment. Student backpacks priced under $100 are exempt, including backpacks with wheels and messenger-style bags used as backpacks. The exemption is aimed at student use, so luggage, briefcases, and framed hiking packs are not included. Families stocking up on supplies for the school year are the clear target audience here.
How to actually save money
The most useful thing to keep in mind is that a tax holiday only saves you money on things you were going to buy anyway. Skipping 8.25 percent on a needed $80 pair of shoes is a genuine win. Buying a second pair you did not need because it was “tax-free” is not saving, it is spending. The math is simple: the most you save on any single qualifying item is just under $8.25, since items have to be under $100.
A few practical tips make the weekend work harder. Make a list before you go, because the threshold rewards buying several modestly priced items rather than one expensive one. Check whether a retailer is offering its own sale that weekend, since a store discount stacked on top of the tax exemption is where the real value lives. And remember that the holiday repeats every August, so if you miss it, the savings come around again next year rather than being lost for good.
For the full, current list of qualifying and excluded items, the Comptroller’s sales tax holiday page is the authoritative source, and it is updated each year before the weekend arrives. Checking it once before you shop is the difference between assuming an item qualifies and knowing it does.
Common questions that trip shoppers up
A few situations come up often enough that the Comptroller addresses them directly in its sales tax holiday FAQ. Layaway is one: an item bought on layaway can qualify if you either make the final payment and take delivery during the holiday, or place the qualifying item on layaway during the holiday. The timing rules are specific, so it pays to read them if you use layaway for back-to-school shopping.
Coupons and discounts are another. If a store coupon or sale brings a qualifying item’s price under $100, the discounted price is what counts, so an item marked down from $110 to $90 becomes tax-free at $90. But a retailer’s own gift with purchase or a “buy one, get one” deal has its own rules about how the price is calculated per item, and the FAQ walks through those cases. The principle is consistent: the exemption looks at the actual price you pay per item, after store discounts but before any manufacturer rebate that comes later.
Returns and exchanges round out the list. If you buy a qualifying item tax-free during the holiday and exchange it afterward for the same item in a different size or color, no tax is due on the exchange. But exchanging it for a different item after the holiday means the new purchase is taxed at the normal rate. Keeping your receipts through the weekend and the days after makes these situations far easier to sort out.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Figures are linked to their primary sources; where a claim could not be verified from the public record, we say so.
