Back-to-School Tax-Free Weekend 2026: The Exact Dates for Every State
A back-to-school sales tax holiday is a short window when a state turns off its sales tax on things like clothing, school supplies, and sometimes computers, saving you roughly 4 to 9 percent.During a state’s tax-free weekend, back-to-school essentials skip the sales tax. Photo by Freepik.
In 2026, 18 states hold one, each with its own dates, price caps, and qualifying items. The table below has the exact date for every state, sorted so you can find yours fast.
One timing note: today is August 7, 2026, the busiest weekend of the season. Florida runs through August 20, Maryland opens August 9, and Connecticut is still ahead on August 16.
Every 2026 back-to-school tax-free period, by date
The table below is sorted by start date. Price caps apply per item, not per receipt, unless noted. Status is as of August 7, 2026.
| State | 2026 Dates | What’s exempt (per-item cap) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | Jul 10 to Jul 12 | Clothing, footwear, school supplies under $100 | Ended |
| Alabama | Jul 17 to Jul 19 | Clothing $100; computers/software $750; school supplies $50; books $30 | Ended |
| Florida | Jul 20 to Aug 20 | Clothing $100; school supplies $50; learning aids $30; computers $1,500 | Active now |
| Tennessee | Jul 31 to Aug 2 | Clothing and school supplies $100; computers $1,500 | Ended |
| New Mexico | Jul 31 to Aug 2 | School supplies $30; clothing/shoes under $100; computers $1,000; equipment $500 | Ended |
| West Virginia | Jul 31 to Aug 3 | Clothing $125; computers $500; instructional materials $20; school supplies $50; sports gear $150 | Ended |
| Arkansas | Aug 1 to Aug 2 | Clothing/footwear under $100; accessories under $50; school supplies and electronics uncapped | Ended |
| Texas | Aug 7 to Aug 9 | Clothing, footwear, school supplies, backpacks each under $100 | Now |
| Virginia | Aug 7 to Aug 9 | School supplies $20; clothing/footwear $100 (plus hurricane and Energy Star items) | Now |
| Ohio | Aug 7 to Aug 9 | Clothing $75; school supplies and instructional materials $20 | Now |
| Missouri | Aug 7 to Aug 9 | Clothing $100; school supplies $50; software $350; computers $1,500; graphing calculators $150 | Now |
| Oklahoma | Aug 7 to Aug 9 | Clothing and footwear under $100 | Now |
| South Carolina | Aug 7 to Aug 9 | Clothing, footwear, accessories, school supplies, computers and printers (no price cap) | Now |
| Iowa | Aug 7 to Aug 8 | Clothing and footwear under $100 | Now |
| Illinois | Aug 7 to Aug 16 | Clothing/footwear $125; school and art supplies (reduced rate, not a full exemption) | Now |
| Massachusetts | Aug 8 to Aug 9 | Almost any personal-use item $2,500 or less | This weekend |
| Maryland | Aug 9 to Aug 15 | Clothing and footwear $100; first $40 of a backpack | Upcoming |
| Connecticut | Aug 16 to Aug 22 | Clothing and footwear $300; backpacks and cleated shoes newly added | Upcoming |
The big August 7 to 9 wave
If you only have one weekend to shop, this is it.
Six states go fully tax-free at the same time: Texas, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. Iowa, Illinois, and Massachusetts run overlapping windows the same week.
A few things worth knowing about this cluster:
Texas
Has no limit on the number of qualifying items, so ten shirts at $80 each are all exempt. It does, however, leave out computers, software, and textbooks, which trips up a lot of shoppers.
Ohio
Looks smaller than it did last year. The broad, ten-day holiday it ran in 2024 and 2025 was repealed, so 2026 reverts to a narrower three-day version with lower caps.
South Carolina
Unusually generous on price: it sets no per-item cap at all on clothing, school supplies, or computers.
Illinois
Not a full exemption. It drops the state rate from 6.25 percent to 1.25 percent, and local taxes still apply on top, so the savings are real but smaller than a true zero-tax weekend.
Massachusetts
The broadest of all, covering nearly any single item for personal use priced at $2,500 or less, not just school gear.
Still ahead: Maryland and Connecticut
If your late-July or early-August window closed, two states are still coming.
Maryland
Maryland runs “Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week” from August 9 to 15. Clothing and footwear priced $100 or less per item qualify, and the first $40 of a backpack is also exempt.
Connecticut
Connecticut goes tax-free from August 16 to 22, and it is bigger this year than in the past. The per-item cap jumped from $100 to $300, and backpacks and cleated shoes were added to the qualifying list for the first time.
They have a sales tax holiday, just not for back-to-school
Two states trip up the count because they do run a 2026 sales tax holiday, just not one aimed at school shopping:
Louisiana
Louisiana holds a Second Amendment Weekend, September 4 to 6, 2026, exempting firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies with no price cap. It has no back-to-school holiday.
Nevada
Nevada runs a National Guard holiday, October 30 to November 1, 2026. It applies only to active Nevada National Guard members and their qualifying relatives, who pay the tax at checkout and later claim a refund. It is not a general back-to-school event.
(Puerto Rico, which is not a state, also typically runs a hurricane-preparedness holiday, with dates still to be confirmed.)
States with no sales tax holiday at all in 2026
Not every state offers one. Some never adopted a holiday, some funded it and then cut it, and a handful do not levy a statewide sales tax at all.
No sales tax holiday in 2026: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia (its statute exists but has never been funded), Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. New Jersey permanently repealed its holiday.
No statewide sales tax, so no holiday is needed: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. If you live in one of these, a local city or county tax may still apply year-round, which is often a bigger factor than any one-time holiday would be.
How these holidays actually work
The rules are simple once you know them, but they catch shoppers off guard every year.
The cap is per item, not per transaction
A $400 receipt made of five $80 shirts is fully exempt, because each shirt is under the cap. But a single $150 jacket in a $100-cap state is fully taxable, not just the $50 over the limit.
Not every category you assume is included
Texas, for example, leaves out computers, software, textbooks, jewelry, handbags, and specialized athletic gear like cleats and shoulder pads. Ordinary sneakers and swimsuits still count. Always check your state’s official qualifying-item list.
Online orders usually count.
Most states exempt online and mail-order purchases as long as you order and pay during the holiday window and the seller collects tax in your state.
An item ordered before the holiday but delivered during it generally does not qualify.
A few states only cut the rate, not the whole tax
Illinois is the clearest example, and local taxes there still apply.
Local opt-in exists in some places
Alabama’s holiday is opt-in for each city and county, so a small number of localities still charge local tax during the state exemption. If you are near a jurisdiction line, confirm with the retailer.
Frequently asked questions
How we verified these dates
Every date and price cap in this guide was checked against official state sources, the Federation of Tax Administrators, and independent trackers from the Tax Foundation and Avalara.
Because state legislatures sometimes adjust these holidays only weeks before they take effect, we treat a state’s own Department of Revenue as the final word.
When a state changed its rules for 2026, such as Ohio narrowing its holiday or Connecticut raising its cap, that change is noted directly in the table.
This article is for general information and is not tax advice. Confirm current rules with your state’s Department of Revenue before making purchase decisions.
Sources
- Federation of Tax Administrators, 2026 sales tax holiday listings.
- Tax Foundation, “Sales Tax Holidays by State, 2026.”
- Avalara, 2026 sales tax holidays tracker.
- Official state notices, including the Illinois Department of Revenue (FY 2026-30), the Texas Comptroller, and the Florida Department of Revenue back-to-school page.
Gabriel is a writer with a decade of experience in the newsroom and beyond. He has covered just about everything, but over the past five years he has built a clear focus on two beats: finance and travel. He earned his Communications degree from Unicamp, spent six months at Fontys in the Netherlands, and holds a postgraduate degree in Journalism. He is currently pursuing a master's degree at the University of Lisbon, where he continues to sharpen his perspective on communication and content.
