Texas Tax-Free Weekend 2025: Smart Savings for Back-to-School Shoppers

From Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10, 2025, shoppers across the Lone Star State can enjoy the benefits of the annual Sales Tax Holiday. This three-day event allows Texas residents to purchase select back-to-school essentials without paying sales tax.

What’s Eligible

Items that qualify must be individually priced under $100, and the exemption applies to:

• Most clothing and footwear—including casual athletic wear, jeans, dresses, shirts, pajamas, and even face masks—so long as they aren’t specialized athletic or protective gear.
• Backpacks, including wheeled and messenger styles (but not luggage, briefcases, or computer bags).
• A wide range of school supplies, such as binders, notebooks, pens, glue, scissors, rulers, lunch boxes, markers, and much more.
• Diapers (cloth or disposable)—though already permanently exempt, they are included in this holiday.

Ways to Shop

Tax-free purchases can be made through any method—in-store, online, by phone, mail order, or custom order—as long as the sale or payment occurs during the holiday timeframe.

However, shipping, handling, and delivery fees are included in the item’s total price under the $100 cap. For example, if a $95 shirt comes with an $8 shipping fee (totaling $103), tax will apply.

Expected Tax Savings

This year’s holiday is projected to bring in $133 million in savings to Texas shoppers—about $8 saved per $100 spent. Texans have now saved over $2 billion since the program began in 1999.

If You’re Charged Tax by Mistake

If a qualifying purchase is accidentally taxed, customers can request a refund from the retailer. If needed, the Texas Comptroller’s Office provides a refund form for filing directly.

Texas’s Tax-Free Weekend is a great way to lighten the financial load of back-to-school shopping—whether you’re stocking up on clothes, backpacks, or essential supplies.