17 States Offer Tax-Free Weekends for Back-to-School Shopping! What to Know

Seventeen states offer some form of a sales tax holiday, commonly known as a “tax-free weekend.” Considering that sales tax can reach up to 7.25% in some states — like California — these aren’t wimpy savings, especially when you consider the items that might be on your back-to-school shopping list.

While California doesn't offer a tax-free weekend, a bunch of other states do. For example, in Florida, if you spend $1,500 on a new computer during their early August tax-free holiday, you could save a quick $90 just because you're not paying the 6% sales tax.

If you have multiple kids who need clothing, shoes, and school supplies, you're looking at spending several hundred dollars this fall! For this reason, I’ll shamelessly take all the savings wherever I can find them, thank you very much.

And when you combine back-to-school deals with your state's tax-free weekend, the savings can get even better.

For more smart shopping tips and savings hacks, download the KCL app or text HACKS to 57299.

What is a tax-free weekend?

A “tax-free weekend” or sales tax holiday means that you can buy items from certain qualifying categories like clothing, shoes, computers, and school supplies without paying sales tax. States that participate set their own limits on how much you can spend without paying a penny in sales tax.

The term “tax-free holiday” can also include hurricane supplies and Energy Star product savings, too. Those are separate holidays from back-to-school tax-free weekends, and they’re usually in the late winter and early spring. For our purposes, we’re only including tax-free weekends that offer back-to-school savings in this post.

When is tax-free weekend this year?

The schedule for tax free weekend during the back-to-school season depends on where you live, and not every state offers one.

Download our free tax-free weekend PDF to see which purchases are covered in each state and the dollar amount limits for each category, or check the list below for the dates.

2024 Tax-Free Weekend Schedule by State

Does tax-free weekend apply to online purchases?

Yes. As long as you make your qualifying online purchase while the sales tax holiday is happening in your state, you won’t pay sales tax, even if your item arrives after the tax-free weekend is over. Don’t just buy any online deal, though. Shop the best online deals and stack those savings!

KCL TIP: Want to make sure you never overpay for school supplies? Check our Back-to-School Stock-Up Price List for the real prices you should aim for (by combining coupons and deals).

Does Amazon have a tax-free weekend?

Yes and no. Amazon doesn’t have their own special tax-free weekend. But Amazon will play ball with your state’s tax requirements. So, as long as you’re shopping Amazon during your state’s tax holiday weekend and what you buy qualifies as exempt, you won’t pay tax.

Amazon automatically charges sales tax on items that don’t qualify for your state’s tax-free weekend. Read more about Amazon and sales tax holidays on their website.

See our favorite Amazon deals.

Diapers and baby clothes are also exempt from sales tax in some states.

Even if you don’t have school-age kids, you can still take advantage of the tax holiday. For instance, tax-free weekend in Oklahoma and Texas gives parents the opportunity to stock up on essentials like baby clothes and diapers without paying sales tax. Before you shop, check our baby deals for even more savings.

Buy your school computer during the tax-free weekend in South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, or Tennessee.

South Carolina doesn't have a maximum spend limit during their tax-free weekend. If you purchase a $2,000 computer that means you can save $120 with the state's 6% tax rate. Computers are also exempt from sales tax, up to a certain amount, in Florida and a few other states during tax-free weekend. In Florida, it’s a $1,500 limit. With their 6% sales tax, that’s up to $90 in savings.

If the computer you’re purchasing is over $1,500, you’ll have to pay tax on the amount over the limit.

New Mexico offers no tax on computers up to $1,000, while in Tennessee and Missouri you can buy a computer worth $1,500, tax free!

See all the best computer deals.

During tax-free weekends in Texas, layaway is fair game.

As long as you’re making a final layaway payment during a tax-free weekend or you’re choosing an item and setting up a new layaway order, you won’t have to pay sales tax in states like Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and more.

Other states don’t consider layaway as “qualifying” purchases at all. Check out our tax-free weekend cheat sheet to see if your state participates.

Missouri leaves it up to each county to decide on participation.

This means that the county you live in may not offer a sales tax holiday, even if your state does. If your state participates in a tax-free weekend, double-check that your county does, too.

If you’re in a county that doesn’t participate, it might be a good excuse for a shopping road trip to a county that does if it’s close enough to you.

Florida's sales tax holiday actually lasts two weeks!

The tax-free weekend in Florida runs from July 29 - Aug. 11, 2024. That's a full 14 days tax-free shopping on things like clothing, school supplies, and more.

Ohio's tax-free weekend is nine days, making it the second longest tax free holiday.

Skip sales tax when you live in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon.

You already know this fact if you live in one of these states, and you likely cringe whenever you have to buy something in a state with sales tax.