The Arlington, TX sales tax rate is 8.25%, the highest combined rate allowed anywhere in Texas. That total is made up of a 6.25% state sales and use tax plus a 2% local portion that Arlington voters have approved over several elections.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales and Use Tax The rate applies to most retail purchases of tangible goods and to a specific list of taxable services.
Texas caps the local share any city can add at 2%. Arlington collects that full amount, so no overlapping district can push the rate any higher at a given address.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 321.108 – Municipal Crime Control and Prevention District Tax
Where Arlington’s Local 2% Goes
Each slice of the local 2% was authorized by a separate voter-approved measure and is locked to its stated purpose. According to the city’s adopted budget, the split is:3Tarrant County. City of Arlington FY 2025 Adopted Budget
- 1.00% to the General Fund, covering day-to-day operations, administrative costs, parks, and general services.
- 0.50% to sports venue debt, repaying the city’s share of debt on major sports and entertainment venues.
- 0.25% to street maintenance, funding repair of existing streets and sidewalks. Voters first approved this quarter-cent in 2002 and have reauthorized it several times since.4City of Arlington. More Than Property Taxes: How Arlington Funds City Services
- 0.25% to the Arlington Economic Development Corporation, approved by voters in November 2020 and effective April 2021.3Tarrant County. City of Arlington FY 2025 Adopted Budget
The allocations can’t be shuffled between purposes. The General Fund cent cannot be redirected to sports venue debt, and the street maintenance quarter-cent cannot subsidize economic development.
What’s Taxed at 8.25% in Arlington
The rate applies to most tangible personal property sold at retail: clothing, electronics, furniture, vehicles, and similar physical goods. Texas also taxes a defined list of 16 service categories, and several of them catch people off guard.5State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 151.0101 – Taxable Services
The ones Arlington residents run into most often are amusement services (concert and event tickets, gym memberships, recreational activities), cable television, telecommunications, data processing, credit reporting, debt collection, and repair or remodeling of tangible personal property. Amusement services sweep in private club memberships that offer dining, sports, or social facilities, with narrow exceptions for government, certain nonprofits, and educational or religious organizations.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 151.0028 – Amusement Services
Data processing has a broader definition than most people assume. It covers word processing, data entry and retrieval, payroll processing, business accounting, and computer time used for processing, no matter who operates the system.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 151.0035 – Data Processing Service That means most cloud-based software is taxable at the full 8.25% rate in Arlington, because the Comptroller treats entering, storing, manipulating, or retrieving customer data via computer as a taxable data processing service.8Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Data Processing Services are Taxable
What’s Exempt
Groceries and Unprepared Food
Food products for human consumption are exempt. That covers the staples you’d expect from a grocery run: produce, meat, dairy, bread, cereal, eggs, canned goods, and snack items you take home to prepare.9Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Tax Code 151.314 – Food and Food Products
Prepared food and restaurant meals don’t qualify. A rotisserie chicken from the deli counter or a meal at an Arlington restaurant is taxed at the full 8.25%.
Prescriptions and Medical Supplies
Prescription drugs dispensed by a licensed practitioner are exempt, and so is insulin whether or not a prescription is involved. Over-the-counter drugs labeled with a “Drug Facts” panel under FDA regulations are also exempt. The exemption extends to hearing aids, braces, prosthetic devices, corrective lenses, hospital beds, blood glucose test strips, and wound care dressings.10Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Tax Code 151.313 – Health Care Supplies
Items Bought for Resale
Businesses buying inventory to resell can purchase those items tax-free by giving the seller a resale certificate on Form 01-339. The idea is that sales tax should be collected once, from the final customer, not at every step of the supply chain.11Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Sales and Use Tax Forms The certificate only covers goods genuinely held for resale. Using one to buy equipment, office supplies, or anything the business consumes can trigger penalties in an audit.
The Annual Sales Tax Holiday
Texas runs a back-to-school sales tax holiday each August. For 2026, it runs from Friday, August 7 through midnight on Sunday, August 9. During that weekend, most clothing, footwear, school supplies, and backpacks priced under $100 per item are exempt from both state and local sales tax. Backpacks are limited to 10 per purchase.12Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday
The $100 threshold is per item, not per transaction. A $90 pair of shoes and a $95 backpack in the same cart both qualify. A $110 pair of boots doesn’t, even that weekend.
Online Purchases and Use Tax
Out-of-state sellers with more than $500,000 in total Texas revenue in the prior 12 calendar months must register for a Texas sales tax permit and collect the full 8.25% on shipments to Arlington addresses. Total Texas revenue includes taxable sales, nontaxable sales, and shipping and handling charges. Once a remote seller crosses the threshold, collection must begin no later than the first day of the fourth month afterward.13Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Remote Sellers
If a seller doesn’t collect Texas sales tax, you owe the equivalent as use tax. The rate is the same 8.25%, and it covers online purchases, mail-order goods, and items brought back from other states for use in Arlington.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales and Use Tax