Tennessee Tax-Free Weekend: Clothing, Supplies, and Computers

Tennessee’s tax-free weekend in 2026 runs from 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 24 through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 26. During those three days, the state and local sales tax is waived on clothing and school supplies priced at $100 or less per item, and on computers priced at $1,500 or less.¹

When the Holiday Runs

The holiday is fixed by statute to the last full weekend in July, so you don’t need to watch for an annual announcement. In 2026, it starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 24 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 26.¹²³

Clothing Under $100

Any single item of clothing priced at $100 or less is exempt. The cap is per item, not per receipt, so six $95 shirts all qualify even though the total comes to $570.¹

Tennessee defines qualifying clothing as wearing apparel suitable for general use. That covers shirts, pants, dresses, coats, hats, socks, belts, neckties, scarves, gloves, sneakers, shoes, boots, and uniforms, including school and athletic uniforms.⁴

Accessories are carved out by statute and stay taxable. Jewelry, handbags, watches, and belt buckles sold separately don’t qualify, and neither do sewing materials or fabric.¹

School Supplies and Art Supplies Under $100

School supplies used by a student in a course of study qualify at $100 or less per item. That includes binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers, and scissors.⁵

School art supplies are a separate category with the same $100 cap. Qualifying art supplies include clay, glazes, acrylic and tempera and oil paints, paintbrushes used for artwork, sketch and drawing pads, and watercolors.⁵

Computers Under $1,500

Desktops, laptops, and tablets are exempt if priced at $1,500 or less per device.¹ When a computer is sold as a package with bundled components like a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, the bundled package qualifies as a single item. Standalone parts do not: a monitor, keyboard, speakers, printer, or scanner bought by itself is taxable.⁶

There’s no partial break for going over the cap. A computer priced above $1,500 is taxed on the entire purchase price, not just the amount above $1,500.⁷ The same rule applies to clothing and supplies: a $101 shirt is taxed on the full $101.

How Discounts, Coupons, and Rebates Affect the Cap

The source of the discount decides whether it moves an item under the price cap. A store discount funded by the retailer, including sale pricing, store coupons, and clearance markdowns, reduces the price for threshold purposes. A $120 jacket marked down to $95 qualifies at $95.⁸

A manufacturer’s rebate or any other discount reimbursed by a third party does not reduce the price for the cap. A $1,800 computer with a $300 manufacturer’s rebate is still over the $1,500 cap and remains taxable, even though your out-of-pocket cost lands at $1,500.⁸

What Stays Taxable

Jewelry, watches, handbags, and belt buckles sold separately.¹
Any clothing or supply item priced above $100, or any computer priced above $1,500. The full price is taxed.
Individual computer parts (monitor, keyboard, printer, scanner) bought outside a bundled package.⁶
Sewing materials, fabric, and patterns.
Items normally sold as a single unit that a retailer tries to split, such as pricing shoes individually to get each under the cap.¹

Online Orders

The exemption applies the same way to online orders as to in-store purchases, as long as the sale is subject to Tennessee sales tax. The order and payment authorization must both fall inside the Friday-to-Sunday window. If you’re checking out late Sunday, look at the tax line before you confirm the order to make sure the exemption was applied.

There is no cap on the number of qualifying items in a single transaction. Only the per-item price matters, so stocking up for the whole family in one trip is fine.

Returns and Exchanges After the Weekend

Exchanging a tax-free item for the same item in a different size or color keeps the exemption, even weeks later. Swapping a medium shirt for a large on August 5 stays tax-free.⁹

Returning a tax-free item and using the credit for a different product means sales tax applies to the new purchase, even if the new item would have qualified during the holiday. The exemption attached to the original item, not to the store credit.⁹

It works the other way too. If you bought something at full tax before the holiday, return it during the holiday weekend, and put the credit toward a qualifying item, the new purchase is tax-free.⁹

1
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 67-6-393 – Exemption for Sales Tax Holiday
2
Tennessee Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Local Sales Tax
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Types of Clothing Items that Qualify for Sales Tax Holiday Exemption
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Types of School and School Art Supplies that Qualify for Sales Tax Holiday Exemption
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Holiday – Qualifying Computers
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Holiday Does Not Apply to Computers Costing More Than $1,500
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Determining if Discounted Item Qualifies for Sales Tax Holiday
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Application of Sales Tax Holiday to Exchanged or Returned Items