Mississippi’s Second Amendment tax-free weekend runs from 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 28, 2026 through midnight on Sunday, August 30, 2026. During those hours, the state’s seven percent sales tax is waived on firearms, ammunition, and a defined list of hunting accessories. The list is broader than most shoppers expect on the accessory side, and narrower than they expect on clothing and storage.
When the Holiday Runs
The exemption always covers the last full weekend of August, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ending at 12:00 midnight Sunday. For 2026 that’s August 28 through August 30. A sale that closes at 11:58 p.m. Thursday or 12:05 a.m. Monday is taxed at the normal rate.
The exemption is written into Mississippi Code Section 27-65-111 and applies to the seven percent state sales tax. One timing wrinkle to plan around: Mississippi firearm purchases go through the federal NICS background check, and that wait time is separate from the tax holiday window. If a delayed check pushes your transaction past midnight Sunday, the sale may no longer qualify.
What Qualifies
The Mississippi Department of Revenue publishes an eligible items list each year. There is no dollar cap and no quantity limit — a single receipt can include multiple firearms and cases of ammunition with zero state sales tax.
Firearms
- Handguns (pistols and revolvers)
- Rifles and shotguns
- Crossbows
- Firearm parts, including lower receivers
- Suppressors
BB guns, air rifles, paintball guns, and toy guns are not eligible, even when they’re stocked next to real firearms.
Ammunition
Ammunition cartridges, shotgun shells, and gunpowder loaded into the muzzle of a firearm all qualify. Reloading supplies are also on the eligible list.
Archery and Hunting Accessories
The accessories side of the list is where shoppers most often miss savings. Eligible items include:
- Bows, bow sights, bow strings and string accessories, arrows, arrow rests, shafts, quivers, releases, armguards, string wax, and bow fishing accessories
- Hard and soft cases designed specifically for firearms or archery equipment
- Scopes, mounts, and sights that are affixed to a firearm or bow
- Holsters, belts, and slings designed for hunting
- Hearing protection
- Cleaning and refinishing products
- Tripods, bipods, monopods, shooting rests, and shooting bags or pouches
- Safety equipment mounted or affixed to a firearm or bow
- Repair parts specifically used for repairing firearm or archery equipment
- Choke tubes
- Trap or target throwers and targets
The optics rule turns on whether the item attaches to a weapon. A rifle scope in its box on the shelf qualifies, because it’s designed to be affixed to a firearm. A spotting scope or a pair of binoculars does not.
What Does Not Qualify
The holiday is tightly focused on the firearm or bow itself and the accessories that attach to or directly support it. General outdoor and hunting gear stays taxable, including:
- Camouflage clothing, jackets, hats, gloves, thermal underwear, boots, shoes, vests, and rain gear
- Binoculars, cameras, camera tripods, and sunglasses
- Tree stands, blinds, chairs, decoys, game calls, scent eliminators, and scents or attractants
- All-purpose cases or bags, ammo boxes, backpacks, gun cabinets, gun racks, and gun safes
- ATVs, trucks, boats, and boating equipment
- Game and food processing equipment, fishing equipment, knives, nets, animal feed, hunting animals, taxidermy supplies, and hearing aids
Gun safes and gun cabinets trip up a lot of shoppers because they sit in the firearms section of the store. They stay taxable. The same goes for ammo boxes and all-purpose range bags.
Online, Phone, and Mail Orders
Remote purchases can qualify, but the timing rules are strict. The buyer has to order and pay for the item during the holiday window, and the seller has to accept the order for immediate shipment. If both conditions are met, the item is exempt even if it arrives after Sunday midnight. The buyer cannot be the one who caused the shipping delay.
Layaway does not qualify. Making the final layaway payment during the holiday weekend on a firearm you put on hold earlier does not make the sale tax-exempt.
Bundled sales are a trap. If a retailer packages a qualifying item with a non-qualifying item and sells them as one unit, expect the whole package to be taxed. Buy the firearm or scope on its own receipt if you want the exemption to stick.
How Much You Save
The waived rate is seven percent. On a $500 shotgun that’s $35. On a $1,200 rifle bought with a $400 scope, it’s $112. Savings scale with the purchase, and there’s no ceiling.
One caveat on local tax: the state exemption covers the seven percent state sales tax. Some Mississippi municipalities levy additional local sales taxes, and whether those local taxes are also waived during the holiday can vary. Ask the retailer or the Mississippi Department of Revenue before assuming the entire combined rate disappears. Federal excise taxes and dealer fees such as background check processing are separate from sales tax and are not affected by the holiday.