Whether you’re in need of notebooks, rulers or running shoes, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding shoppers they can save money on those and other items during the state’s sales tax holiday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-11.
The law exempts sales tax on qualified items—such as clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks—priced below $100, saving shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend.
Other items that will be tax free include adult or baby diapers, aprons, baseball caps and jerseys, cowboy boots, hiking boots, ties, bowling shirts, work uniforms, workout clothes, swimsuits, sweat suits, pajamas, clerical vestments and suits.
Computers, computer bags, textbooks, athletic bags, briefcases and other luggage will not be tax free.
But if you have any items on layaway that qualify to be tax free, and make the last payment this weekend, you’ll get it tax-free, according to the comptroller’s office.
Apparel and school supplies that may be purchased tax-free are listed on the Comptroller’s website at comptroller.texas.gov.
Shoppers this year will save an estimated $102.2 million in state and local sales taxes during the sales tax holiday.
Texas’ sales tax holiday weekend has been an annual event for the state’s consumers since 1999.
Consumer groups point out that smart shopping is a part of the mix and note that not everything in stores is tax-free this weekend and impulse buying, without regard to what kind of items you are purchasing is just as risky the second weekend in August as it is any other times.
Here’s a few tips listed by a shopper’s group:
• Make a list and stick to it. But if you find an unexpected good deal on anything on the “no tax list”— from notebooks to jeans— then stock up.
• Shop early or late in the day, because the middle of the day is when stores are the most crowded.
• Do your research before shopping. See which stores are offering the best deals and take any coupons you have.
• Remember that 10 percent is nice but it’s still only 10 percent. Some stores might have 30 percent, or even more, at other times of the year. If you are aware such a sale is coming up on items that are 10 percent off this weekend you might want to wait and save even more money by delaying those purchases until later.
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