Texas’ “Back to School” Sales Tax Holiday
TEXAS – The State’s annual “Back to School” sales tax holiday will be held August 7 – 9th. Most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced under $100 will be exempt from sales and use tax. This includes items sold online, by telephone or mail. Lay-away plans can be used to take advantage of the exemption.
Clothing and Footwear – Most footwear and clothing sold for less than $100 during the holiday regardless of how many items are sold, will be exempt from state and local sales or use tax.
Special clothing or footwear that the manufacturer primarily designed for athletic activity or protective use is not exempt. Tennis shoes, jogging suits and swimsuits qualify for exemption because they are commonly work for purposes other than athletic activity.
Backpacks – If priced under $100 and for use by elementary and secondary students, then they are exempt.
Non-qualifying backpacks are messenger bags and backpacks with wheels, provided they can be worn on the back like a traditional backpack. Also luggage, briefcases, athletic/duffle/gym bags, computer bags, purses or framed backpacks will not be exempt.
School Supplies – School supplies priced at less than $100 for use by a student will be exempt.
If purchased under a business account, the retailer must obtain an exemption certificate from the purchaser.
Layaways and Rainchecks – If a qualifying item is purchased under and placed on a layaway plan or final payment is made during the sales tax holiday then those items are exempt.
Regardless of when a rain check was issued, eligible items purchased with the use of a rain check will qualify for exemptions. If a raincheck is issued during the sales tax event and qualifying items are purchased after the event with this raincheck, they will not be exempt.
Here is an all-inclusive list of qualifying school supplies, if price is less then $100.
- Binders
- Book bags
- Calculators
- Cellophane tape
- Blackboard chalk
- Compasses
- Composition books
- Crayons
- Erasers
- Folders (expandable, pocket, plastic and manila)
- Glue, paste, paste sticks
- Highlighters
- Index cards
- Index card boxes
- Legal pads
- Lunch boxes
- Markers, dry erase markers
- Notebooks
- Paper (loose leaf rules notebook, copy, graph, tracing, manila and colored paper, poster board and construction paper)
- Pencil boxes and other school supply boxes
- Pencil sharpeners
- Pencils
- Pens
- Protractors
- Rulers
- Scissors
- Writing tablets.
About Davis & Davis LLC – Sales Tax Experts: Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Davis & Davis LLC – Sales Tax Experts specializes in sales/use tax audit consulting and audit defense. Our team of consultants is comprised of former Big 4 sales tax consultants and state sales tax auditors. Each of our consultants has 15 to 20 years of experience, providing our clients with access to a highly specialized team of sales/use tax professionals. At Davis & Davis we are committed to maintaining the highest standards in our talent pool. We work hard to meet our clients’ needs by ensuring that you view our firm as an extension of your company and a member of your team.
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