Back-to-school shopping

Here's how much shoppers can save during Texas tax-free weekend 2025

Back-to-school shoppers can save big on the upcoming sales tax holiday from August 8-10.

Texans can save money on clothing, school supplies, and more during the 2025 statewide sales tax holiday running Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10.

Texans can expect to save over $133 million in state and local taxes during the sales tax holiday this year, according to Kelly Hancock, the Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. That translates to a savings of about $8 for every $100 spent on qualifying items.

"Back-to-school costs can add up fast," Hancock said during his visit to a Midland Sam's Club. "Texans have saved more than $2 billion since this tradition began in 1999, and we’re glad to keep it operating."

Qualifying tax-free purchases can be made in store, online, through the mail, and via custom order as long as they take place between August 8-10. Shoppers should also be aware that rain checks given during the tax-free weekend won't qualify an item for a future tax exemption.

Online shoppers should additionally note that a retailer's delivery, shipping, handling, and transportation charges all factor into an item's sales price. An example provided by the Comptroller's website is as follows: "You buy a pair of jeans for $95 with a $10 delivery charge for a total price of $105. Because the jeans’ total price is more than $100, tax is due on the entire $105 price."

Saving on school supplies
The Texas Comptroller's website provides a specific list of school supplies that will be exempt from tax during the weekend. Most items priced under $100 will qualify, unless otherwise specified, and as long as the customer isn't buying in bulk.

The school supplies that qualify for the tax exemption are:

Binders
Blackboard chalk
Book bags and lunch boxes
Calculators
Cellophane tape
Compasses, protractors, and rulers
Composition books, legal pads, and notebooks
Folders – including expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila folders
Glue, paste, and glue sticks
Index cards and index card boxes
Paper – including loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, construction paper, and poster board
Pencil boxes and other school supply boxes
Scissors
Writing utensils – including pencils, pencil sharpeners, pens, highlighters, markers, dry erase markers, crayons, and erasers
Writing tablets

School supply kits are also exempt from taxes, and while there is no limit on the number of school supplies in kits, certain kits that contain both taxable and tax-free items will have a taxability that depends on the value of the items. According to the Texas Comptroller, if the value of the exempt items is worth more than the taxable items, the kit will be tax free. However, if the value of the taxable items comes out to more than the exempt items, then the kit will be taxed.

Additionally, student backpacks that are sold for less than $100 – including backpacks with wheels and messenger bags – will be tax free. However, if a customer is purchasing more than 10 backpacks tax-free at one time, they will have to present the seller with an exemption certificate.

Saving on clothing, footwear and other items
The Texas Comptroller has a detailed guide online to help shoppers determine the taxability on clothing, footwear, and other items. Most footwear and clothing items that are sold for less than $100 are exempt from tax, with no limit on the number of qualifying items as long as they ring up for under $100.

The website says both cloth and disposable fabric face masks "meet the definition of an article of clothing" and will be tax free, and that includes face masks that are sold with a filter. However, the site clarifies that industrial or medical grade masks (like N95s) and replacement filters will still be taxed.

"Diapers — both cloth and disposable — are also exempt from sales tax, and certain sanitizers and wipes with a drug facts label are tax-free year-round," the press release says.

Non-qualifying items that will still be taxed
Any items that are sold for $100 or more will still be taxed. Additional items that do NOT qualify for a tax exemption include:

Accessories – such as jewelry, handbags, umbrellas, watches, wallets, and more
Any unspecified school supplies that are NOT on the exemption list above
Baggage – such as framed backpacks, luggage, briefcases, purses, computer bags, duffle bags, and athletic/gym bags
Clothing cleaning services, embroidery services, and alterations
Clothing or footwear rentals
Clothing subscription boxes
Computers and software
Items used to make or repair clothing – such as fabric, thread, zippers, buttons, snaps, hooks, and yarn
Specifically designed sports shoes, protective-use clothing, and athletic gear – such as cleats, shoulder pads, dance shoes, helmets, shin guards, and others
Textbooks

What to do if a qualifying item is taxed during the holiday
If customers buy a tax-exempt item between August 8-10 and are still taxed, they would need to request a refund from the seller on the tax paid for the item. The seller can grant the refund to the buyer, or provide them with Form 00-985, Assignment to Right to Refund, which would allow the customer to file a claim for their refund through the Comptroller's website.

back to school shopping school supplies tax free weekend sales tax holiday

income analysis

Texas families need to make this much money for one parent to stay home

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

As the cost of raising a child balloons in major cities like Houston, many families are weighing the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Houston — that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Houston, however, is somewhat more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $21,868 to raise a child in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family