2025 sales tax holidays

Sales tax holidays typically delight consumers, but they can be hard on retailers. Keep reading to find out why and to learn which states will have sales tax holidays in 2025.

• What is a sales tax holiday?
• Which states have a sales tax holiday in 2025?
• Sales tax holiday FAQ

A sales tax holiday is a temporary break from sales tax — a time when consumers don’t pay sales tax on certain goods and/or services that are normally taxable. Details and requirements for sales tax holidays vary.

Sales tax holidays can last as little as a day or as long as a year or more. Many are held over the course of a weekend. For this reason, sales tax holidays are often referred to as tax-free weekends.

Any normally taxable product or service could be tax exempt during a sales tax holiday. However, most sales tax holidays apply only to select products meeting specific price thresholds. During Alabama’s back-to-school sales tax holiday, for example, qualifying articles of clothing priced $100 or less are tax free while clothing items above that price point remain subject to sales tax.

More than 15 states have an annual sales tax holiday written into law, meaning the temporary exemption will take place every year unless repealed. 

Several other states, including Florida, tend to provide at least one sales tax holiday — but it isn’t a sure thing; the state legislature must enact the sales tax holiday each year. Such tax-free periods can be particularly tough on affected retailers because they need to update their point-of-sale (POS) systems to account for the temporary exemption.

There will be one or more sales tax holiday(s) in the following locations in 2025. Click on the location for details.

We’ll update this blog post if new sales tax holidays are added or existing tax-free periods are amended or repealed. For up-to-date information, bookmark this page and check back regularly.

• Alabama annual severe weather preparedness sales tax holiday, February 21–23, 2025

  • Portable generators priced $1,000 or less

  • Supplies priced $60 or less (e.g., batteries, duct tape, nonelectric food storage coolers)

• Alabama annual back-to-school sales tax holiday, July 18–20, 2025

  • Books priced $30 or less

  • Clothing priced $100 or less

  • Computers, computer software, and school computer supplies priced $750 or less

  • School supplies priced $50 or less

Alabama tax-free weekends begin at 12:01 a.m. and end at midnight. They’re mandatory for the state sales tax but not for local tax; click on the links above to find participating counties and municipalities. Retailers are required to participate.

There’s no state sales tax in Alaska and therefore no statewide sales tax holidays. However, local governments sometimes offer tax-free periods for local sales tax. For 2025, these include the following.

• Municipality of Skagway retail sales tax holiday, October 1, 2024–March 31, 2025

  • All retail sales (except resales) that physically occur within the borough

• Arkansas annual sales tax holiday, August 2–3, 2025

  • Clothing priced less than $100

  • Clothing accessories and equipment (including cosmetics and jewelry) priced less than $50

  • Electronic devices (no price restriction)

  • School supplies (no price restriction)

  • Applies to state and local tax

All retailers are required to participate and may not charge state or local sales tax on qualifying items during the tax-free weekend, which begins at 12:01 a.m. on the first Saturday of August and ends at 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday.

• Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) break, December 14, 2024–February 15, 2025 
  • Children’s clothing, footwear, car seats, diapers, and toys 
  • Christmas and similar decorative trees 
  • Jigsaw puzzles 
  • Most food and beverages and related services  
  • Physical books, printed newspapers
  • Video game consoles, controllers, and physical video games

Canada’s tax relief measure applies only to the GST and the HST, which is a combined provincial and federal tax. It does not apply to standalone provincial sales taxes (PST) or to the Quebec sales tax (QST).

• Connecticut annual sales tax free week, 2025 dates TBA

  • Qualifying clothing and footwear priced less than $100

  • Applies to state sales tax only (Connecticut has no local tax)

Florida typically provides several sales tax holidays, but the state Legislature must enact them each year. Recent tax-free periods include back-to-school sales tax holidays, disaster preparedness sales tax holidays, a sales tax holiday for tools, and a monthlong exemption for admissions to entertainment and cultural events as well as various recreational items. We’ll update this entry as more information becomes available.

• Iowa annual sales tax holiday for select clothing and footwear, August 1–2, 2025

  • Qualifying items priced under $100

  • Applies to state and local tax

The tax-free period begins at 12:01 a.m. the first Friday of August and ends the next day at midnight. All businesses open on these days are required to participate and cannot advertise that they’ll pay or absorb the sales tax on nonqualifying items.

• Louisiana Second Amendment sales tax holiday, September 5–7, 2025

  • Specified ammunition, firearms, and hunting supplies (no price restrictions)

  • Qualifying items are exempt from state sales tax and may be exempt from local sales tax in some jurisdictions

An annual hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday (May) and back-to-school sales tax holiday (August), suspended since 2018, are scheduled to be reinstated on June 30, 2025. We’ll provide details once they’re available.

• Annual Shop Maryland energy weekend, February 15–17, 2025 

  • Qualifying Energy Star products (no price restriction)

  • Solar water heaters (no price restriction)

• Annual Shop Maryland tax-free week, August 10–16, 2025

  • Clothing and footwear priced $100 or less

  • For qualifying backpacks and bookbags, only the first $40 is exempt from sales tax

There’s no local sales tax in Maryland, so the temporary exemptions apply only to the state sales tax. The tax-free weekend for qualifying Energy Star products and solar water heaters starts at 12:01 a.m. on the Saturday immediately preceding the third Monday in February and ends at 11:59 p.m. on the third Monday of February. The August tax-free week begins at 12:01 a.m. on the second Sunday in August and concludes at midnight on the following Saturday.

• Massachusetts annual sales tax holiday, 2025 dates TBA

  • Most single items of tangible property purchased for personal use and priced $2,500 or less

  • State sales tax only (there’s no local sales tax in Massachusetts)

The Legislature will set the dates for the annual Massachusetts sales tax holiday weekend no later than June 15. Failing that, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue will designate dates for an August tax-free weekend no later than July 1. All businesses, including internet vendors, must participate in the state’s tax-free weekend.

• Mississippi annual sales tax holiday, July 11–13, 2025 

  • Clothing and footwear priced less than $100

  • Specific school supplies priced less than $100

  • Municipalities may opt out by resolution, so depending on the location, local sales tax may apply to eligible sales within the corporate limits of the municipality

• Mississippi annual Second Amendment sales tax holiday, 2025 dates TBA

  • Firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies (no price restriction)

  • Safety devices and equipment (but not gun safes or safety gear)

  • Applies to state and local tax

Tax-free weekends in Mississippi typically begin at 12:01 a.m. and end at midnight. Starting in 2024, Mississippi moved the annual back-to-school sales tax holiday forward by a couple of weeks and extended it by one day.

• Missouri annual Show Me Green sales tax holiday, April 19–25, 2025

  • Qualifying Energy Star products priced $1,500 or less (including air conditioners and furnaces)

    • If an eligible item costs more than $1,500, the first $1,500 is exempt and the remaining amount over $1,500 is taxable

  • Qualifying items may be purchased tax free for business use

  • Retailers selling less than 2% of the qualifying merchandise shall offer a sales tax refund in lieu of the sales tax holiday

  • Applies to state and local sales tax

• Missouri annual back-to-school sales tax holiday, August 1–3, 2025

  • Clothing priced $100 or less

  • Personal computers and computer peripheral devices priced $1,500 or less

  • Computer software priced $350 or less

  • Graphing calculators priced $150 or less

  • School supplies priced $50 or less

  • Applies to state and local tax

Both tax-free periods begin at 12:01 a.m. and end at midnight. Local jurisdictions are required to participate for local sales tax as of January 1, 2023.

• Nevada Day sales tax holiday, October 31–November 2, 2025

  • Tangible personal property sold to a member of the Nevada National Guard who is on active duty and a resident of Nevada, or to their qualifying relatives

This sales tax holiday is different from most in that it applies only to qualifying Nevada National Guard members and their qualified relatives. 

Effective July 1, 2023, retailers must collect sales tax from purchasers who 1) qualify for the Nevada Day sales tax exemption and 2) purchase tangible personal property during the Nevada Day sales tax holiday. The purchaser claiming the exemption must then submit a request for a refund to the Nevada Department of Taxation no later than 30 calendar days after the date of the transaction.

Nevada Day is October 31 but is observed on the last Friday in October. The Nevada Day sales tax holiday extends through the immediately following Saturday and Sunday.

Anyone interested in taking advantage of the temporary sales and use tax exemption must apply for it each year through their Commanding Officer no later than 30 days before Nevada Day. The Nevada Department of Taxation will issue a letter of exemption to eligible applicants. A copy of the letter of exemption must be submitted to the Department with the request for a sales tax refund.

• New Mexico annual back to school tax free holiday, August 1–3, 2025

  • Bookbags, backpacks, maps, and globes priced under $100

  • Clothing, footwear, and accessories priced less than $100

  • Computers (desktop, laptop, or notebook) priced up to $1,000 (includes ereaders with computing functions and tablets)

  • Computer-related items (e.g., keyboards, microphones, monitors, mouse, or speakers) priced up to $500

  • Handheld calculators priced under $200

  • School supplies priced under $30

New Mexico imposes a gross receipts tax rather than a sales tax, and retailers aren’t required to participate in the tax holiday. Retailers electing to participate in the tax holiday may claim a deduction for qualifying items; those that don’t participate must pay tax on otherwise eligible sales and may recover the tax from the customer. Merchants are also permitted to absorb the tax on a number of nonqualifying items.

The annual gross receipts sales tax holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday of August and runs through midnight the following Sunday.

New Mexico has offered a Small Business Saturday gross receipts tax holiday on the Saturday after Thanksgiving since 2018, but it’s set to expire July 1, 2025. Whether New Mexico will provide a small business Saturday gross receipts tax holiday in 2025 remains to be seen.

If Ohio has a budget surplus of at least $60 million in the general revenue fund, it will offer a sales tax holiday the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of August, and potentially longer. In the event a sales tax holiday takes place, it will look something like the following. 

• Ohio sales tax holiday, August 1–3, 2025 (and potentially longer)

  • Most tangible personal property priced less than $500, including business-to-business sales

  • Applies to state and local tax; participation is mandatory

Ohio’s tax-free period would begin at 12:00 a.m. on the designated day and conclude at 11:59 p.m. Eligible items would be exempt from state sales tax as well as county and transit sales taxes.

We’ll update this entry once we know whether Ohio will provide a sales tax holiday in 2025. If what transpired in 2024 is repeated in 2025, retailers likely won’t have much notice or time to prepare.

• Oklahoma annual sales tax holiday, August 1–3, 2025

  • Clothing and footwear priced less than $100

  • Applies to state and local sales tax; participation is mandatory

• Puerto Rico back to school sales tax holiday, January 10–11, 2025, and July 12–13, 2025

  • School supplies

  • School uniforms and footwear

• Puerto Rico hurricane preparedness sales and use tax free period, 2025 dates TBA 

  • Portable generators priced $3,000 or less

  • Specified hurricane preparedness items (no price caps)

The back-to-school sales tax holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. on the designated day and ends at midnight. The hurricane preparedness tax holiday starts at midnight and concludes at 11:59 p.m.

• South Carolina annual tax-free weekend, August 1–3, 2025

  • Clothing and footwear

  • Computers, printers and printer supplies, and software (does not include purchases for business or cell phones, smartphones, or other handheld devices that make phone calls or are primarily used to listen to music, watch videos, or read books)

  • School supplies

  • Select bed and bath items and other products

  • No price restrictions on eligible goods

  • Applies to state and local tax; participation is mandatory

South Carolina’s tax-free weekend begins at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and runs through midnight the following Sunday. The temporary sales tax exemption doesn’t apply to items for use in a trade or business or items placed on layaway or a similar deferred payment plan.

• Tennessee annual sales tax holiday, July 25–27, 2025

  • Apparel priced $100 or less

  • Computers, laptops, and tablets priced $1,500 or less (excludes software)

  • School supplies and school art supplies priced $100 or less

  • Applies to state and local tax; participation is mandatory for merchants selling qualifying items

The annual event begins at 12:01 a.m. on the last Friday in July and concludes at 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday. The temporary exemption doesn’t apply to items purchased for use in a trade or business or to items that are rented.

• Texas emergency preparation supplies sales tax holiday, April 26–28, 2025

  • Hurricane shutters and emergency ladders priced less than $300

  • Portable generators priced less than $3,000

  • Specified emergency preparation supplies priced less than $75

  • Applies to state and local tax; participation is mandatory

• Texas Energy Star sales tax holiday, May 24–26, 2025

  • Energy Star air conditioners priced at $6,000 or less

  • Energy Star refrigerators priced at $2,000 or less

  • Specified Energy Star products (no price restriction)

  • Applies to state and local tax; participation is mandatory

  • Certain contractors or taxable service providers can buy qualifying energy-efficient products tax free (without an exemption or resale certificate) to keep in their inventory

• Texas water-efficient products sales tax holiday, May 24–26, 2025

  • Any WaterSense-labeled product may be purchased (for business or personal use) tax free during the sales tax holiday

  • Certain other water-conserving products (for residential use only) may be purchased tax free

  • No price restrictions

  • Applies to state and local tax; participation is mandatory

  • Certain contractors, landscapers, or other service providers can buy WaterSense products tax free (without an exemption or resale certificate) to keep in their inventory; lump-sum contractors must pay tax on these items

• Texas annual sales tax holiday, August 8–10, 2025

  • Clothing and footwear priced less than $100 (including cloth and disposable fabric face masks)

  • Specified school supplies and school backpacks priced less than $100 per item

  • Applies to state and local tax; participation is mandatory

Texas tax-free weekends typically begin at 12:01 a.m. and conclude at midnight. The Texas Comptroller specifies that internet, mail, and telephone orders generally qualify, as long as either:

• The item is both paid for by the customer and delivered during the exemption period; or

• The customer orders and pays for the item (and the seller accepts the order) during the exemption period for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the sales tax holiday concludes

• West Virginia annual sales tax holiday, August 1–4, 2025

  • Clothing and footwear priced $125 or less

  • Computers (laptop or tablet) priced $500 or less

  • School instructional materials priced $20 or less

  • School supplies priced $50 or less

  • Sports equipment priced $150 or less

  • Certain products meeting the price restrictions don’t qualify for the exemption

  • Applies to state and local sales and use tax; participation is mandatory

The West Virginia tax-free weekend starts at 12:00 a.m. on the Friday before the first Sunday in August and concludes the following Monday at 11:59 p.m. Items purchased for use in a trade or business are not exempt during the sales tax holiday.

A sales tax holiday can, in theory, apply to anything normally subject to sales tax. That said, most sales tax holidays apply only to items purchased for personal use, and most follow a certain theme.

Clothing and school supplies are typically exempt during back-to-school sales tax holidays. Supplies that can help residents minimize the harmful effects of severe weather are exempt during hurricane-preparedness or disaster-preparedness tax-free weekends. There are also sales tax holidays for energy-efficient appliances, water-saving products, and firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies. 

Recent years have seen sales tax holidays go outside these boxes. For instance, Florida now typically provides temporary sales tax exemptions for admissions, outdoor recreation supplies, and tools. Other states have provided gas tax holidays or temporary sales tax exemptions for groceries and/or prepared food. 

Most states set price restrictions for their sales tax holidays, but some don’t. Some have price caps for certain products but not others. See the state-specific information above for more details.

Whether a layaway sale qualifies for a tax-free period depends on the state and the circumstances. 

In Missouri, for instance, eligible items placed on layaway don’t qualify for the back-to-school tax-free weekend if the final payment is made after the holiday concludes. However, eligible items placed on layaway prior to the holiday period do qualify for the exemption when the final payment is made during the sales tax holiday.

Layaway sales do not qualify for the Massachusetts sales tax holiday. 

Consumers can generally return an item purchased tax free and exchange it for a similar item priced the same or less without paying any additional sales tax. But specific policies vary by state and situation. 

If a consumer buys an item tax free during a West Virginia sales tax holiday and exchanges it for the same item in a different size or color, the retailer shouldn’t charge them sales tax. If, instead, the consumer later returns it for a credit on the purchase of a different item, the retailer must charge sales tax on the newly purchased item. 

If a consumer buys an eligible item before the sales tax holiday then returns it during the sales tax holiday and receives credit on the purchase of a different qualifying item, no sales tax is due on the new transaction. The retailer must provide the consumer credit for the purchase price and the sales tax paid on the returned item.

Shipping, handling, and delivery charges may or may not be exempt during sales tax holidays; as always, it depends on the state.

Where delivery, handling, and shipping charges are considered part of the sales price, as in Texas, they’re exempt as long as the total cost of the product and shipping remain under any applicable price caps. A pair of shoes selling for $99 would qualify for the exemption, but if the shoes are shipped and a $5 shipping charge applies, the total price would jump to $104 and the shoes would not qualify for the Texas sales tax holiday.

However, during the Connecticut sales tax holiday, “adding shipping and delivery charges to an item of clothing or footwear costing less than $100 does not make the item taxable, even if the price of the item exceeds $100 after the shipping and delivery charges are added.” 

They can. Sales tax holidays are usually mandatory for all registered retailers in most states, including retailers located in different states or countries. 

Policies vary by state.

In South Carolina, for example, the time in South Carolina governs the sales tax holiday. Yet in states that are members of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, the time zone of the seller’s location determines the beginning and end of the sales tax holiday. 

So, say a West Virginia sales tax holiday starts on Friday, August 1, at 12:01 a.m. If a West Virginia resident hops online at 1:00 a.m. and purchases a qualifying item from a retailer located in California, the retailer would need to collect sales tax because for the retailer it would be Thursday at 10:00 p.m.

Here again, policies differ from state to state. Some states generally allow retailers to absorb sales tax; others prohibit retailers from paying the tax for their customers.

Texas allows retailers to pay the sales tax on nonqualifying items for customers. Those that do must indicate that they’re paying sales tax for customers and may not imply or indicate that nonqualifying items are exempt or excluded from sales tax. 

Connecticut is one state where it’s against the law for a retailer to absorb sales tax.

At any time, a state may create a new sales tax holiday, renew an expiring tax-free period, or amend or repeal an existing sales tax holiday.

In 2024, for example, Florida enacted several new sales tax holidays, New Jersey repealed its tax-free weekend, and Ohio expanded its sales tax holiday. Virginia’s annual sales tax holiday, which usually takes place in August, is set to expire effective July 1, 2025. 

What 2025 will bring is anyone’s guess, but knowing which states offered tax-free weekends in the past can give an idea of what may happen in the future.

• 2024 sales tax holidays
• 2023 sales tax holidays
• 2022 sales tax holidays
• 2021 sales tax holidays

It’s critical that retailers not charge customers sales tax on eligible items during a sales tax holiday while continuing to collect sales tax on products that don’t qualify for the temporary sales tax exemption. 

Getting sales tax right during sales tax holidays can be extremely challenging and costly for retailers. According to a survey of 500 small and midsize U.S. retailers conducted by Censuswide in August 2024:

• 73% of respondents reported difficulties in complying with sudden sales tax holiday changes

• 60% of retailers have struggled to make a profit due to sales tax holiday complexities

• 58% said their business spends at least $10,000 annually preparing for sales tax holidays

• 57% hire temporary staff to handle the increased demand and compliance rush

• 53% pay their employees overtime 

The burden is real. Fortunately, automating sales tax calculation, collection, and remittance can help. Learn more at avalara.com.