Shoppers can strategically save on many back-to-school items during Texas annual "sales tax holiday," which falls on the weekend of August 9-11 in 2024.

The statewide tax-free weekend helps ease the financial burden on families by allowing shoppers to save $8 for every $100 spent on qualifying items — such as school supplies, backpacks, and certain clothing items — for the upcoming academic year. These purchases can be made in store, online, through the mail, and via custom order as long as they take place between August 9-11. As a note, any rain checks given during the tax-free weekend won't qualify an item for a future tax exemption.

Qualifying school supplies
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts provides a specific list of school supplies that are tax free during the weekend, but they have to be priced under $100 (most are, as long as the customer not 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

Clothing, footwear, and other qualifying items
When it comes to clothing, footwear, and other items, the Texas Comptroller has a detailed guide that shows both qualifying and non-qualifying items. In a nutshell, 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.

Other items that are eligible for a tax exemption include cloth and disposable fabric face masks, including those which are sold with a filter. Student backpacks that are sold for less than $100, including backpacks with wheels and messenger bags, are also exempt. However, if a shopper is purchasing more than 10 backpacks tax-free at one time, they will have to present the seller with an exemption certificate.

Non-qualifying items
Clothing subscription boxes, cleaning services, embroidery services, alterations, and clothing and footwear rentals do NOT qualify for a tax exemption. Other taxable fashion items include accessories like jewelry, handbags, umbrellas, watches, wallets, and more; fabric, thread, zippers, buttons, and other items that are typically used to repair clothing; and baggage items like framed backpacks, luggage, briefcases, purses, and athletic/gym bags.

Additionally, most sports shoes and gear are not eligible for a tax exemption, such as cleats, shoulder pads, dance shoes, helmets, shin guards, and others.

Miscellaneous items that are not exempt during the sales tax holiday include industrial or medical grade face masks (such as N95s or others that are primarily used as PPE), replacement face mask filters, computers, computer bags, software, textbooks, and any unspecified school supplies that are not on the exemption list above, among others.

Online purchases during tax-free weekend
For customers who purchase their qualifying items online rather than in-store, the Texas Comptroller says a seller's delivery, shipping, handling, and transportation charges are part of an item's sale 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."

If customers buy a tax-exempt item between August 9-11 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.

More information about tax-free weekend can be found on the Texas Comptroller's website.