You may have a school-supply list open, items in an online cart and the retailer’s checkout screen in front of you. The mistaken assumption is that every item priced below $100 is tax free.
The practical risk is paying tax on an excluded product or completing payment after the holiday ends. Before checkout, compare the product, its individual sales price and the payment time with the Texas Comptroller’s guidance.
What tax exemption applies during the event?
Texas has no individual state income tax. The tax that applies here is sales and use tax on retail transactions.
During the holiday, qualifying purchases are exempt from both the state sales-tax component and any applicable local sales-tax component. The exemption is narrower than the ordinary sales-tax rules and does not cover every product priced below $100.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the state agency that administers major state taxes, publishes the controlling Sales Tax Holiday guidance. Check that guidance before deciding whether a sale is exempt.
Which sales qualify?
A sale qualifies when the buyer pays for an eligible product during the designated period. The purchase may be made in a store, online, by telephone, by mail or through a custom order.
Delivery may occur later if the transaction is completed during the sales tax holiday.
Obtaining a rain check or placing a special order during the event does not create an exemption when payment occurs afterward. A declined card that is successfully resubmitted after the deadline also makes the sale taxable.
The payment record controls the sales-tax treatment.
How does the sales tax price limit work?
The sales tax exemption generally applies to each eligible article sold for less than $100, not to the total receipt. Apply the price test item by item.
Example: Three eligible shirts priced at $40 each cost $120 in total, but each shirt remains below $100 and can be tax free. By contrast, one eligible coat priced at exactly $100 is taxable because the threshold is less than $100.
If a discount reduces a $100 shirt to a final sales price of $91.75, the shirt can qualify.
Takeaway: Check the final sales price of each product before paying.
Verify unusual discounts, bundled products or other pricing arrangements with the Comptroller before treating the items as exempt.
What items are eligible?
Eligible items include most everyday clothing, footwear, school backpacks and specified school supplies priced below the limit. Common tax free examples include shirts, jeans, dresses, socks, sneakers and qualifying backpacks.
The sales tax holiday excludes many accessories and specialized products. Jewelry, handbags, wallets, luggage, athletic protective equipment and certain sport-specific clothing generally remain taxable.
Check the Comptroller’s current clothing and footwear list rather than assuming that an item qualifies because a student will use it.
For each item, confirm that the product appears on the eligible list before treating the purchase as tax free.
The official product list controls what the holiday covers.
When is the 2026 holiday?
The 2026 sales tax holiday begins Friday, August 7, 2026, and runs through Sunday, August 9, 2026. These dates are confirmed in the Comptroller’s July 2026 Tax Policy News.
Only qualifying purchases completed during that period receive the sales tax exemption. Products purchased before August 7 or after August 9 do not qualify, and the Comptroller states that no tax refund is available for those purchases.
Plan around the payment time, not the expected delivery date.
What should Texas shoppers verify?
Texas shoppers should verify product eligibility, the individual sales price and payment timing before completing a tax free purchase. Check that each product appears on the applicable state list.
In most cases, buyers do not need to give the seller an exemption certificate for qualifying merchandise.
Texas holds several annual sales tax holidays with different rules, including separate events for emergency-preparation supplies and certain energy- or water-efficient products. The August 7-9, 2026, holiday applies specifically to qualifying back-to-school clothing, footwear, backpacks and supplies.
Do not apply rules from another event to this holiday.
How do online weekend purchases work?
An online purchase qualifies when the buyer pays during the official sales tax holiday period, even if shipment or delivery occurs later. The order record and payment timestamp matter more than the arrival date.
Example: Eligible items paid for on Sunday evening, August 9, can remain exempt when they ship the following week. If the payment fails and is successfully resubmitted on Monday, August 10, the purchase is taxable.
Save the order confirmation and receipt in case you need to verify the sales-tax treatment.
Which school supplies should you check?
Qualifying school supplies include specified classroom products sold for less than $100, but the official list controls the exemption. Before checkout, compare notebooks, binders, paper, writing tools and similar purchases with the Comptroller’s current guidance.
Retailers must include exempt revenue in Total Texas Sales on their sales-tax return but exclude it from Taxable Sales. If a seller collects tax on an exempt purchase, the seller must still remit that amount.
Raise an incorrect charge promptly with the retailer or contact Comptroller Tax Help. Check the product list, individual price and payment time before making the final purchase.