With the arrival of the New Year, it’s time for businesses to prepare for sales tax in 2024. Some laws stay the same on an annual basis, while others are being constantly reevaluated and updated. Amidst all the obligations, sales tax holidays can be an afterthought for many business owners. To help you keep track of what sales tax holidays might apply to your business in 2024, we’ve created this article.
Note: many states have not yet finalized the dates for their sales tax holidays this year, and more may continue to pop up as time goes on. Keep this article handy for updates whenever new holidays and dates are announced.
What are Sales Tax Holidays?
Sales tax holidays are periods of time when qualifying items are exempt from sales tax. They occur annually in many U.S. states, usually lasting between 1-4 days. However, some can span over two weeks and even a year!
From 12:01 am on the start date to 11:59 pm on the end date, these tax free periods are meant to provide relief to consumers by temporarily lowering prices on items like clothing, school supplies, computers, hurricane preparedness items, and more. Retailers, whether the brick-and-mortar type or online, are required to participate and must have a way to identify exempt items at checkout.
For a more in-depth look at what sales tax holidays are and how to manage them, check out our article “How Do Remote Retailers Navigate Sales Tax Holidays?“.
Overview of Sales Tax Holidays in 2024
In 2024, many states that have scheduled tax holidays, most commonly in July and August before the new school year. The most popular categories of goods that have sales tax waived during these holidays are clothing, footwear, school supplies, computers, and emergency preparedness supplies. Some states have holidays solely for energy efficient products like ENERGY STAR.
In the table below, we cover all of the currently scheduled 2024 sales tax holidays.
| State | Products | Dates | Specifications |
| Alabama | Alabam has two annual sales tax holidays: 1. Severe Weather Preparedness: includes batteries, portable radios, portable light sources, duct tape, ice packs, fire extinguishers, and more. 2. Back-to-School: includes clothing and apparel like jackets, jeans, pajamas, school uniforms, shoes, and more. Computers, books, and other school supplies can be eligible. | 1. Severe Weather Preparedness: February 23-25, 2024 2. Back-to-School: July 19-21, 2024 | For both of Alabama’s sales tax holidays, local cities and counties can choose whether they want to participate. Retailers who sell to customers in participating areas cannot charge tax on items that are legally exempt during the holiday, unless the purchases are for commercial use. 1. Severe Weather Preparedness: applicable items are only tax free if under these amounts. 2. Back-to-School: clothing, computers, computer supplies, school supplies and books are only eligible if under a set dollar amount. Find a full list of the specifications here. |
| Arkansas | Arkansas also has an annual Back-to-School sales tax holiday in August. The eligible items include clothing, accessories, electronic devices, and other school supplies to be used by students. Find a full list of eligible items here. | August 2-4, 2024 | The whole of Arkansas is required to participate in this sales tax holiday, and including in-state and online retailers. For more information on how to handle potential returns, coupons, and other specifications, refer to this FAQ. |
| Connecticut | Connecticut boasts a whole sales tax free week in its state, covering items like clothing and footwear. Click here for a full list of tax-exempt products. | August 18-24, 2024 | All of Connecticut participates in this one-week sales and use tax exclusion, including online retailers. You can find more information on how to comply with this holiday here. |
| Florida | The Sales Tax Holiday King of the Hill, Florida has many tax-exempt periods, some even stretching an entire year. In 2023 alone, six sales tax holidays were enacted. Below are the upcoming events, as well as those that are rolling over from 2023. 1. ENERGY STAR: includes energy efficient appliances that are ENERGY STAR sealed. 2. Gas Ranges and Cooktops 3. Home Hardening: including impact-resistant windows, doors, and garage doors. 4. Winter Back-to-School: school supplies. 5. Fall Back-to-School: school supplies. | 1. ENERGY STAR: July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2024 2. Gas Ranges and Cooktops: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023 3. Home Hardening: July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2024 4. Winter Back-to-School: January 1-14, 2024 5. Fall-Back-to School: To Be Announced | Each of Florida’s many sales tax holidays have different specifications, but all require businesses who sell the qualifying products to participate. Get the details by visiting this webpage on the Florida Department of Revenue’s website. |
| Iowa | Iowa’s annual holiday on select clothing and footwear follows common back-to-school trends among other states. However, this one is a little different, only covering the first Friday and Saturday in August and omitting Sunday. Find a full list of qualifying items in this PDF. | August 2-3, 2024 | All of Iowa participates in this sales tax holiday, as well as all businesses that sell qualifying products to Iowa consumers. Get more details on how this tax-free weekend applies to your business here. |
| Louisiana | Louisiana’s annual Second Amendment Weekend Holiday exempts sales tax on purchases of firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies. | September 6-8, 2024 | Both state and local taxes are waived on the qualifying items for this weekend. |
| Maryland | Like Connecticut, Maryland extends its Back-To-School Tax-Free holiday from the typical weekend to a week. During this time, clothing and footwear $100 or less is exempt, as well as the first $40 of the price of backpacks and bookbags. Additionally, there is an annual Shop Maryland Energy Weekend for qualified ENERGY STAR products and solar water heaters. | 1. Energy Weekend: February 17-19, 2024 2. Back-to-School: August 11-17, 2024 | All of Maryland participates, including online retailers. Refer to this PDF for more details on how Maryland addresses extenuating circumstances such as shipping and handling charges, returned merchandise, and coupons. |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts’ annual tax-free weekend extends to almost all retail sales with the exception of: meals; tobacco and marijuana products; alcoholic beverages; motor vehicles; motorboats; payments for utilities; layaway sales; telecommunication services. All other retail sales under $2,500 per item are exempt. | To Be Announced (typically mid-August). | Like most states, retail sales during Massachussets’ sales tax free weekend are only exempt if they are purchased for personal use. A business or commercial purchase will still be taxable. Find more FAQs on Massachussets’ sales tax holiday here. |
| Mississippi | Mississippi has two annual sales tax holidays: 1. Back-to-school: exempts clothing, footwear, and school supplies priced under $100 per article. The state does not yet have dates for 2024, but you can find a list of the 2023 eligible and non-eligible items here. 2. Second Amendment: exempts tax on sales of firearms, ammunition and certain hunting supplies. | 1. Back-to-school: July 26-27, 2024 2. Second Amendment: August 30-September 1, 2024 | For additional specifications on the back-to-school tax free week, you can refer to the same PDF. There is no new publication for the 2024 Second Amendment sales tax holiday, but you can refer to the 2023 document for more details. |
| Missouri | Missouri’s annual Back-to-School sales tax free weekend covers these items: 1. Clothing of $100 or less per article. 2. School supplies under $50 per purchase. 3. Computer software of $350 or less. 4. Personal computers and computer peripheral devices under $1,500. 5. Graphing calculators under $150. More definitions on these items here. This state’s second annual sales tax holiday, Show Me Green, exempts state sales tax of qualifying ENERGY STAR appliances up to $1,500 per appliance. | 1. Show Me Green: April 19-25, 2024 2: Back-to-School: August 2-4, 2024 | As of 2023, the entire state of Missouri including local areas participate. More information on how to comply with the holiday and file returns with the exempted gross sales for Back-to-school and Show Me Green at the links. |
| New Mexico | New Mexico’s annual gross receipts tax holiday covers these items: 1. Clothing or shoes for less than $100. 2. Desktop, laptop, notebook, or tablet computers less than $1,000 and any associated monitors, speakers, printers, keyboards, microphones, or computer mouse sold for less than $500. 3. School supplies normally used in a classroom (no dollar limit). While New Mexico doesn’t yet have a set date or publication for 2024, more details on taxable and nontaxable purchases during the holiday can be found in this PDF. | To Be Announced (typically the beginning of August). | Unlike most states, New Mexico does not require retailers to participate in this sales tax holiday. However, they encourage it. Find more information on how to report these sales on your gross receipts tax returns here. |
| Ohio | In 2024, Ohio’s sales tax holiday is upgrading to cover almost everything priced at $500 or less, with these exceptions: 1. Motor vehicles 2. Watercraft 3. Outboard motors 4. Alochol 5. Tobacco and vaping products. 6. Medical marijuana | Starts August 1, 2024 and extends to a to-be determined period. We do know that it will be longer than a weekend. | More information still to come on this holiday, as significant changes are being made from previous years. |
| Oklahoma | Sales of clothing and footwear less than $100 per article are tax-exempt the first weekend in August. This doesn’t include accessories, special clothing or footwear primarily designed for athletics or protective use. | August 2-4, 2024 | All Oklahoma state and online retailers are required to participate in this sales tax-free weekend. You can find more information on compliance with this holiday here. |
| Puerto Rico | Batteries, water, non-perishable food, storm preparedness supplies, and certain emergency equipment or supplies are tax free during this period. | May 2024 (TBA) | You can find the details of this Puerto Rico sales tax holiday here. |
| South Carolina | Every year, most school supplies and clothing are sales tax-exempt starting the first Friday of August. This includes clothing and accessories, footwear, computers, and certain bed and bath supplies. You can find more details on what is and is not tax exempt here. | August 2-4, 2024 | All South Carolina retailers who sell eligible items participate in this back-to-school sales tax holiday, including out-of-state sellers and marketplace facilitators. More on how to report sales tax holiday sales, delivery charges, and returns and exchanges here. |
| Tennessee | 2023 saw two Tennessee sales tax holidays, one back-to-school focused and the other exempting groceries for three months. Currently, there are no updates on what sales tax holidays will be occurring in 2024. | To Be Announced | You can find details on past Tennessee sales tax holidays here. |
| Texas | Like Florida, Texas boasts many yearly sales tax holidays. Here’s a quick breakdown: 1. Emergency Preparation Supplies: portable generators, hurricane shutters, first aid kits and other supplies to help in a natural disaster are tax exempt under a set dollar amount. 2. ENERGY STAR: consumers can buy, rent and even lease certain ENERGY STAR-labeled items tax free during the Memorial Day weekend. 3. Water-Efficient Products: Another Memorial Day weekend holiday, water-efficient and water-conserving products that display a WaterSense label or logo are tax free, both for personal and business use. 4. Back-to-School: Most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks for under $100 are exempt from sales tax. | 1. Emergency Preparation Supplies: April 27-29 2. ENERGY STAR: May 25-27, 2024 3. Water-Efficient Products: May 25-27, 2024 4. Back-to-School: August 9-11, 2024 | Refer to the links below for more information on these holidays: 1. Emergency Preparation Supplies 2. ENERGY STAR 3. Water-Efficient Products 4. Back-to-School |
| Virginia | Unlike states like Florida and Texas, Virginia chooses to combine its sales tax product exemptions into one three-day weekend. Eligible items range from school supplies and clothing, to hurricane and emergency preparedness, and more. Check out the full range of tax-free items here. | August 2-4, 2024 | The entire state – including local and online retailers – are required to participate in this sales tax-free week. This PDF gives more details on how retailers must comply with and report sales made during the weekend. |
| West Virginia | During West Virginia’s annual state sales tax holiday, the following items are exempt from sales and use tax: 1. Certain clothing under $125. 2. Certain laptops and tablet computers $500 or less. 3. School instruction material $20 or less. 4. School supplies $50 or less. 5. Sports equipment $150 or less. Get more details on exactly what items are and are not taxable here. | August 2-5, 2024 | This sales tax holiday applies to local sales and use tax rates as well as all West Virginia retailers. Learn all you need to know about how to comply with this holiday here. |
Retailer Compliance
Each state with sales tax holidays have different rules, but there is some common crossover between them. Understanding how these holidays relate can be an effective way for retailers to stay on top of compliance. Keep these common sales tax holiday themes in mind as you strive for better sales tax understanding for your business in 2024.
Weekends and School Preparation
Most sales tax holidays occur during weekends and are primarily targeted toward school preparation. Several states schedule their tax-free weekends in late July or early August, when children and parents are preparing for a new school year. Be aware of this trend and how it often includes items such as clothing, computers and computer software, books, and other educational supplies used in a classroom.
Dollar Amounts
The tax-free status during sales tax holidays typically applies to items below a certain dollar amount. This limit varies by state. Generally, more expensive items in their category are less likely to be excluded from tax. Additionally, these dollar thresholds are often per item rather than the purchase as a whole. For example, if a single article of clothing is under $100, then a $400 dollar purchase of four or more pieces of clothing will be tax-free.
Product Type
Typically, specific types or brands of products are exempt from sales tax during these holidays. Very few states allow almost all retail purchases under a certain amount to be tax-free. The most common type of products that are a part of sales tax holidays include:
- Clothing
- School supplies
- Footwear
- Computers and computer software
- ENERGY STAR-labeled products
- WaterSense-labeled products
- Other energy efficient appliances
- Emergency preparedness supplies
- Generators
State and Local Requirements
States usually dictate the overarching rules for sales tax holidays, but local jurisdictions are sometimes allowed to opt out of tax-free periods if they choose. In these cases, items will be exempt from state tax rates but will still have local rates attached.
Brick-and-Mortar plus Online Retailers
In almost every state, sales tax holidays apply to both brick-and-mortar and online retailers. However, the criteria for online purchases can be a little more complicated. In most states, if a non-taxable item is purchased online and paid for during the holiday, it is tax-exempt even if it is delivered after the holiday ends. On the other hand, if an item is paid for before the holiday begins but delivered to the customer on a tax-exempt day, the tax still applies. Additionally, shipping and handling charges that are separately stated can be taxed.
Personal vs. Business Use
With few exceptions, states limit sales tax holiday eligibility to purchases that are made for personal use. Qualifying items bought by businesses for the use of business, trade, or otherwise are still taxed.
