States with Tax Free Weekend: The popularity of sales tax holidays is growing. There will be even more sales tax holidays in 2024; in 2023, 24 states observed almost 45 of them. Keep up with these happenings if you work in retail.
Sales tax holidays are times set aside when customers can buy particular products without having to pay sales tax. Though some, as in Florida and Tennessee, have lasted for months or even years, these holidays typically last for a day, weekend, or week.
Stores who typically collect sales tax are not required to do so on qualifying items during a sales tax holiday. This exemption applies to purchases made online, in-person, by mail, or in any other way. Generally speaking, retailers cannot collect sales tax on qualified sales during this time.
States with Tax Free Weekend
States differ in what they call sales tax holidays, weekends, weeks, or events. Any state having a statewide sales tax might create one, even though not all do. The reason they are popular politically is that customers value the brief sales tax exemption.
While some events are one-time only, most states have annual sales tax holidays. For example, although it doesn’t have a designated yearly tax holiday, Florida usually offers at least one, if not more.
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States with tax free weekends are listed here:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Local governments oversee local taxes in home rule states, hence local sales tax holidays can also happen there. There will be more tax-free events in 2024 after a number of Alaskan villages hosted them in 2023.
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Though every sales tax holiday is different, several have recurring themes. Among the most popular are the tax holidays during back-to-school, which exclude clothing and school supplies. Periods of tax exemption also apply to water-saving devices, Energy Star appliances, disaster preparedness materials, and even guns and hunting gear.
Batteries, coolers, generators and tarps are typically tax-exempt for holidays dedicated to disaster preparedness. Second amendment tax-free weekends usually cover guns, ammo, and some safety equipment, while gun safes might not always be eligible.
