Back-to-school sales tax holidays in these states will save you money

The kids aren’t ready to hear about going back to school, but sales tax holidays in many states can help parents save on their back-to-school shopping.

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That’s particularly important this year as shoppers say they are more stressed about tariffs and economic uncertainty.

In July and August, 17 states will have sales-tax holidays, when certain purchases made for school will be exempt from taxes.

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Most of the tax-free shopping days give a break on sales tax for items related to school like clothing, shoes, electronics and supplies. Two states, Ohio and Massachusetts, extend their sales-tax holiday to include more than back-to-school items.

The first state with the sales-tax holiday is Mississippi, which will hold it’s tax-free weekend from July 11 through July 13.

Back-to-school shopping has already begun

Early-bird back-to-school shopping has already begun. This year, 26% of back-to-school and college shoppers had already started browsing and buying items by early June, according to a study by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s up from 22% last year and 17% in 2019.

Shoppers often say they like buying early to spread out their budget and to get early deals and promotions.

But this year, three-quarters or 74% of those surveyed said they are shopping earlier this year because they are worried tariffs will cause prices to go up later this season.

The sales-tax holidays help consumers save even more, Katherine Cullen, National Retail Federation vice president of industry and consumer insights, told USA TODAY.

“Customers and retailers alike enjoy the benefits of sales tax holidays,” she said. “These tax-free events can help drive customers to stores, and result in increased sales because customers may purchase additional items that they were not shopping for that day.”

Shoppers are worried about inflation and tariffs

According to the NRF, the average K-12 shopper budgeted $875 on average last year, while those buying for a college student expected to spend $1,365. This year, 76% of shoppers are anticipating higher price tags for the things they need, the NRF survey said.

A Back-to-School Survey by Deloitte estimates that spending for K-12 hopping will remain steady at $30.9 billion or approximately $570 per student. That is down $16 a student from last year. But while the overall spending figure remains steady, lower-income parents (those making $50,000 or less) said they plan to spend 10% more this year while middle-and-higher income families said they’d pull back and spend 7% to 9% less.

In another study by Coresight Research, 68% of shoppers said inflation would limit how much they spend on back-to-school shopping while 73% of shoppers expect price increases and 64.9% expect product shortages.

“Back-to-school 2025 is shaped by measured optimism: consumers are willing to spend more, but economic pressures like inflation and tariffs are driving them to seek value more aggressively,” Madhav Pitaliya, an analyst for Coresight Research told USA TODAY.

Does my state have a school supply sales tax holiday? 

Here is a list of participating states and what’s tax free, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators plus reporting by USA TODAY. Rules and dates vary by state so check the state’s website for the most updated information. In some instances, local taxes may also still apply.  

If a dollar amount is not listed, the state did not appear to indicate a spending limit on that item. A link to most states’ details of their holiday are hyperlinked to the name of each state. Generally most purchases online also qualify for the sales-tax holiday, but check your state’s requirements. 

Fives states year-round don’t charge sales tax: Alaska, Montana, Delaware, Oregon and New Hampshire, according to the Tax Foundation. Some municipalities in Alaska do charge sales tax.

Alabama

July 18-20 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item 

Computers: $750 or less per item 

School supplies: $50 or less per item 

Books: $30 or less per item 

Arkansas 

Aug. 2-3 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item, clothing accessories: $50 or less per item 

School supplies 

Electronic devices used for school

Connecticut  

Aug. 17-23 (Always the third Sunday in August to the following Saturday) 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing and footwear less than $100 

Florida 

Florida expanded its back-to-school sales tax holiday to include the whole month of August.  

Aug. 1-31 

What’s tax-free: 

School supplies: $50 or less per item 

Clothing, footwear, accessories: $100 or less per item 

Computers and related accessories: $1,500 or less 

Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles: $30 or less 

Iowa 

Aug. 1-2 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing or footwear: $100 or less per item 

Maryland

Aug. 10-16 (Always the second week of August)  

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing, footwear and accessories: $100 or less per item 

Backpacks: the first $40 of a backpack/bookbag purchase is tax-free. 

Massachusetts 

Aug 9-10 

Eligible retail items bought for personal use costing $2,500 or less (not limited to school supplies). There are several exceptions when tax still applies, including: meals, motor vehicles and boats, gas and electricity, tobacco, marijuana or alcoholic beverages and any single item with a price more than $2,500. 

Mississippi 

July 11-13 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing, and footwear: $100 or less per item 

School supplies: $100 or less per item 

Missouri

Aug. 1-3 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing: $100 or less per item 

School supplies: $50 or less per item 

Computers: $1,500 

Computer software: $350 or less 

Computer peripheral devices: $1,500 

Graphic calculators: $150 or less 

New Mexico 

July 25-27 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing or shoes: $100 or less per item 

Desktop, laptop, tablets or notebook computers: $1,000 

Related computer hardware: $500 per item 

School supplies: $30 per item 

New York 

New York does not have a sales tax holiday, but year-round in certain counties, including the county that covers New York City, have no sales tax for clothing and footwear worn by humans that is $110 or less. 

Ohio 

Aug. 1-14 

What’s tax-free: 

Ohio’s sales-tax holiday is not limited to school-related supplies. The tax-free period includes anything that is considered tangible personal property that is $500 or less, except watercraft, anything with an outboard motor that must be titled, a motor vehicle, alcohol, tobacco, a vapor product or a product that contains marijuana. Dine-in meals, which are usually taxed, are also tax-free if they are less than $500. 

Oklahoma 

Aug. 1-3 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing or footwear: $100 or less per item. 

Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania does not have a sales-tax holiday, but year-round it does not charge sales tax for clothing and certain footwear. 

South Carolina 

Aug. 1-3 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing, shoes and accessories 

School supplies 

Computers, printers, earbuds and headphones 

Certain bed and bath items 

Diapers 

Tennessee 

July 25-27 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item 

School supplies: $100 or less per item 

Computers, including laptops and tablets: $1,500 or less per item 

Study: Consumers worried about tariffs are pulling back on spending

Texas 

Aug. 8-10 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item 

Backpacks: $100 or less per item 

School supplies: $100 or less per item 

Virginia 

Aug. 1-3 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item 

School supplies: $20 or less per item 

West Virginia 

Aug. 1-4 

What’s tax-free: 

Clothing: $125 or less per item 

Laptop or tablet computers: $500 or less per item 

School instruction material: $20 or less per item 

School supplies: $50 or less per item 

Sports equipment: $150 or less per item 

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Back-to-school sales tax holidays in these states will save you money