Tax-Free Weekend Starts After Midnight Tonight in Texas

Tomorrow is the start of Tax Free Weekend throughout the Lone Star State and Governor Rick Perry is encouraging Texans to hit stores this weekend.

Perry said, “I encourage Texans to hit the stores this weekend and take advantage of this holiday as we gear up for another great school year in Texas.”

The sales tax holiday begins Friday, August 17^th at 12:01am and ends at midnight on Sunday August 19^th.

Items exempted from state and local sales tax are shoes, clothing, school supplies and backpacks priced fewer than 100 dollars.

While shoes and clothing priced under $100 have been exempt from sales taxes during the holiday since its inception in 1999, Governor Perry signed HB 1801 in 2009 to add a variety of school supplies to the tax exemption list, ranging from pens and pencils to scissors and calculators.

Texas shoppers can save about $8 for every $100 they spend, and are expected to save a total $64.8 million in state and local sales tax during this year’s holiday weekend.

Texas shoppers have saved $626.9 million since the first tax-free holiday in 1999.