This post is part of Back-to-School Week at the Center for Economic Opportunity. Each day, we feature commentary and analysis on affordability and other issues for families preparing for the new school year.
For families across the nation, the new school year and back-to-school shopping season are fast approaching. In some states, shopping is made more affordable through sales tax holidays.
In a sales-tax holiday, a state exempts certain purchases from the state sales tax, leading to savings for consumers. In 2026, seventeen states will host sales-tax holidays for the back-to-school season. Most occur over a weekend, but for Floridians, the tax breaks last an entire month. Check below to see if your state is one of them!
Sales tax holidays make states more competitive, similar to other tax cuts and income tax eliminations. Since last year, Illinois has added a sales-tax holiday, expanding a policy that helps its families save money and drawing shoppers from neighboring states, Indiana and Wisconsin, which do not host any back-to-school tax holidays.
In some states, these benefits to consumers are permanent. Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon do not have a state sales tax. Year-round, these states allow consumers to keep more money in their pockets.
Which states offer a tax holiday?
Alabama – July 17th-19th
Arkansas – August 1st-2nd
Connecticut – August 16th-22nd
Florida – July 20th-August 20th
Illinois – August 7th-16th
Iowa – August 7th-8th
Maryland – August 9th-15th
Massachusetts – August 8th-9th
Mississippi – July 10th-12th
Missouri – August 7th-9th
New Mexico – July 31st-August 2nd
Ohio – August 7th-9th
Oklahoma – August 7th-9th
South Carolina – August 7th-9th
Tennessee – July 31st-August 2nd
Texas – August 7th-9th
Virginia – August 7th-9th
West Virginia – July 31st-August 3rd
Different states exempt different items from sales tax for back-to-school. For instance, some states, such as Alabama and Florida, include computers as an exempt item, while many other states do not.
Each state also has certain price requirements for items to be eligible. As an example, one of the products New Mexico exempts from sales tax is clothing, for items that are $100 or less. For an article of clothing that is priced above $100, a consumer would still pay sales tax. However, there is no restriction on the number of items purchased. If someone buys multiple articles of clothing where each item is individually below the $100 maximum, but when added together are above $100, they still pay no sales tax on any of the items. Other states operate the same way, but with different maximum prices for individual items.
Check through the links to see which products your state exempts from sales tax!
Bottom Line
Tax holidays benefit families trying to save money as they get ready to head back to school. Take advantage of the savings available if a tax holiday occurs in your home state!