Get Back-To-School Sales Tax Relief in 16 States

Coming soon to a retail store near you: Sales tax relief on your back-to-school supplies, clothing, computers and many other necessities. A couple states even include corsets and corsets laces in their school sales tax relief lists. (Makes you wonder when they drew up these lists.)

Many states allow consumers to use coupons on purchases made during these sales tax holidays. Before you head out to fill your shopping basket, cruise Coupon Sherpa for additional savings with a wide variety of merchants.

A few caveats:

1. Check your state's website to make sure your county is participating in the back-to-school sales tax relief program.
2. The dollar amounts listed below refer to each individual purchase. For example, you can buy a suit priced at $400 and, if $300 of each purchase is tax exempt in your state, pay sales tax on just $100 of the suit.
3. You're still required to pay city, county and local municipality sales taxes in most states.
4. Where possible, we've included a link to detailed tax-exemption lists, so "know before you go."

1. Alabama - Aug. 6-8
State sales tax: 2% on clothing and 4% on other items

• Clothing up to $100
• Sports or recreational equipment up to $100
• Computers up to $750
• School supplies up to $50
• Books up to $30
• (See detailed list)

2. Connecticut - August 15-21
State sales tax: 6%

• Clothing up to $300
• Footwear up to $300

3. Florida - Aug. 13-15
State sales tax: 6%

• Clothing up to $50
• Books up to $50
• School supplies up to $10
• (See detailed list)

4. Illinois - Aug. 6-15
State sales tax: Reduced by 5%

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• School supplies up to $100
• (See detailed list on page 3)

5. Iowa - Aug. 6-7
State sales tax: 6%

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• Select athletic wear and recreational equipment up to $100
• (See detailed list)

6. Louisiana - Aug. 6-7 
State sales tax: 4%

• All tangible personal property (not including vehicles) for non-business use up to $2,500

7. Maryland - Aug. 8-14
State sales tax: 6%

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• Select athletic wear up to $100

8. Mississippi - July 30-31 
States sales tax: 7%

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• (See detailed list)

9. Missouri - Aug. 6-8 
State sales tax: 4.225%

• Clothing up to $100
• Computers up to $3,500
• Computer software up to $350
• Computer peripheral devices up to $3,500
• School supplies up to $50
• (See detailed list)

10. New Mexico - Aug. 6-8
State sales tax: Varies throughout the state from 5.125% to 8.6875%, depending on the location of the business.

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• Computers up to $1,000
• Related computer hardware up to $500
• School supplies up to $15

11. North Carolina - Aug. 6-8 
State sales tax: 5.75%

• Clothing up to $100
• Computers up to $3,500
• Computer supplies up to $250
• School supplies up to $100
• Instructional materials up to $300
• Sports equipment up to $50

12. Oklahoma - Aug. 6-8
Varies by region as it includes state, city, county and local municipality sales taxes.

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• (See detailed list)

13. South Carolina - Aug. 6-8
State sales tax: 6%
(No dollar limits are listed for South Carolina)

• Clothing, footwear and accessories
• School supplies
• Computers and personal digital assistants (not cell phones or smart phones)
• Computer printers and supplies
• Computer software
• Linens
• (See detailed list)

14. Tennessee - Aug. 6-8
State sales tax: 7%

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• Computers up to $1,500
• School supplies up to $100
• (See detailed list)

15. Texas - Aug. 20-22 
State sales tax: 6.25 percent

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• Backpacks up to $100
• School supplies up to $100
• (See detailed list)

16. Virginia - Aug. 6-8
State sales tax: 5%

• Clothing and footwear up to $100
• Athletic uniforms up to $100
• School supplies up to $20
• (See detailed list)

A tip of Coupon Sherpa's hat to FashionMechandisingDegrees.net for assistance with this post.

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Photo by: Claudia Snell