Back-to-school shopping is no joke, and this year it may be more expensive than ever. A recent Savings.com report has shown that parents will spend a record-high of $628 per child this summer on school essentials.
But there may be some welcome relief for Texas residents: The state’s 26th annual sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping.
This tax-free weekend exempts certain articles of clothing, electronics, and school supplies from state sales tax.
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Find out how Texas’s 2025 tax holiday might help you save on back-to-school items.
Does Texas have a tax-free weekend?
The back-to-school holiday is one of the three sales tax holidays Texas offers. It begins Friday, August 8th, and ends at midnight on Sunday, August 10th.
During this time, many school supplies and clothing are exempt from the state’s 6.25% sales tax rate.
List of tax-free items in the Texas tax holiday: What’s included in the tax-free weekend
Like its fellow no-income tax state, Tennessee, Texas has a similar guideline for tax-exempt clothing. Clothes must be $100 or less to qualify for the tax holiday. School supplies also need to be $100 or less.
Many tax-free items fall under these two categories, but here are just a few of our favorites:
- Writing tablets and calculators
- Lunch boxes and book bags (though there’s a special rule regarding book bags, more on that below)
- Shirts, skirts, coats, and dresses
- Shorts, pants, and jeans
- Hats, sneakers, and socks
- Crayons, scissors, notebooks, and paper
- Workout clothes, diapers, and underwear
While the Comptroller’s office estimates $133.2 million in savings for shoppers, keep in mind that many items are not included in the Texas back-to-school tax-free weekend.
Items that are not tax-exempt during the Texas back-to-school holiday 2025
Unlike the back-to-school sales tax holiday in Florida, Texas has much stricter guidelines on electronics. Items like computers and printers are not included in the sale.
Below you’ll find a list of many other items that remain taxable during the 2025 Texas tax-free weekend:
- Textbooks and software
- Jewelry, wallets, and watches
- Hair accessories (including clips, bows, barrettes, and headbands)
- Handbags, purses, briefcases, luggage, and umbrellas
- Items used to make or repair clothing, like fabric, thread, yarn, patterns, etc.
- Athletic gear (including cleated shoes, gloves, helmets, and protective pads)
- Non-prescription sunglasses
Note: For a complete list of included and excluded items, visit the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website.
Texas backpack sale and limits on school supply kits
Book bags are tax-exempt if they are not framed backpacks or athletic, duffle, or gym bags.
Backpacks with wheels and messenger bags are eligible for the tax exemption. But even then, you cannot purchase more than 10 qualifying book bags tax-free during the holiday.
Another key item of consideration is school kits. Teachers and homeschool parents may purchase school supply kits during the back-to-school sale. Whether or not these kits are taxable depends on the value of the items inside:
- If the value of the tax-exempt items is more than the value of the taxable items, the kit is exempt.
- Otherwise, the kit is taxable.
Can you buy online for the Texas tax-free weekend?
Online purchases may qualify for the sales tax holiday, but delivery to a Texas address is required.
Online retailers like Amazon honor state sales tax holidays. However, the retailer explains on its website that “tax may still be calculated on items if they do not qualify, including threshold limits, bundles, orders placed before the holiday starts, or specific items that are not included in the holiday.”
