Tennessee residents can take advantage of tax-free weekend, which kicks off on Friday and offers a temporary break from having to pay the state’s combined sales tax when purchasing items.
According to Commercial Appeal, the event will run from Friday through Sunday and applies to items such as back-to-school supplies, helping families save on Tennessee’s 7% state sales tax — which climbs to about 9% to 9.75% with local taxes.
Tennessee is one of 20 states with tax-free weekends, but it has the second-highest average combined state and local sales tax rates, according to the Tax Foundation.
Here’s everything to know about Tennessee’s tax-free weekend, including which items are eligible or excluded and the other states participating in the annual event.
When is Tennessee’s tax-free weekend holiday?
The annual tax-free weekend in Tennessee begins on Friday and continues through Sunday.
What’s eligible during Tennessee’s tax-free weekend?
Shoppers can buy the following items tax-free, as long as each item meets the price limit, according to the Commercial Appeal.
- Clothing ($100 or less per item): Shirts, pants, socks, shoes, dresses and other general apparel for children and adults
- School and art supplies ($100 or less per item): Backpacks, binders, notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, rulers, clay, glazes, paints, drawing pads and artist brushes
- Computers and tablets ($1,500 or less): Laptops and tablets that are purchased as complete units with essential components, including a monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables and preloaded software
The Tennessee Department Revenue has a complete list of eligible items for consumers to purchase.
What items are not eligible?
The following items do not qualify for the tax exemption:
- Clothing: Items more than $100, along with jewelry, handbags, most sports or recreational gear (including sportswear like helmets and swimwear), and sewing equipment and supplies
- School supplies: Graduation caps and gowns
- Technology: Printers, printer supplies (including ink and paper), computer accessories sold separately, monitors, keyboards, speakers, scanners, software not preloaded, video game consoles, handheld schedulers and personal digital assistants
What are companies participating in Tennessee’s tax-free weekend saying?
Companies like Owl’s Nest are gearing up for the weekend-long event, and owner Jessica Moore spoke with WJHL about how she is preparing for it.
“We see thousands of people come through these doors, and it is about double our normal weekend,” Moore told the outlet.
Moore said the store has back-to-school items all year round, but starts putting out these much needed items a week before the tax-free weekend begins.
In addition to the tax exemption, Moore said the company has also offered other discounts for the past 15 years.
“It’s our better-than-tax-free weekend,” she explained. “And so it is tax-free on the applicable items, but then also 10% off the entire store. And then the store credit is also good during that time, too. A lot of people still hold onto their store credit to use it for different shopping sprees, and we do honor that during this weekend also.”
What are the other states participating in tax-free weekend?
Nineteen other states have tax-free weekend holidays, including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
