Tax-free weekend in El Paso runs Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 9, 2026. During those three days, qualifying clothing, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies priced under $100 per item are exempt from the full 8.25% combined sales tax.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales and Use Tax The holiday is set by Texas law and applies the same way at every retailer in the state.
Exact Dates and Hours
The window opens at 12:01 a.m. Friday, August 7 and closes at midnight Sunday, August 9. That’s a full 72 hours. Checkouts completed even a minute outside the window are taxed at the regular rate, so don’t leave the cart sitting open late Sunday night.3Cornell Law Institute. 34 Texas Admin Code 3.365 – Sales Tax Holiday Clothing, Shoes and School Supplies
What Qualifies Under $100
Most everyday clothing and shoes are tax-free as long as each item costs less than $100. Think shirts, jeans, dresses, coats, pajamas, socks, underwear, baby clothes, and sneakers. Cloth and disposable fabric face masks count as clothing and qualify too.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday
School supplies for elementary and secondary students are also exempt at the same price point. The list is specific but broad: pens, pencils, crayons, markers, erasers, notebooks, loose-leaf and graph paper, binders, folders, index cards, glue, scissors, rulers, protractors, compasses, calculators, pencil boxes, lunch boxes, and copy paper all qualify.3Cornell Law Institute. 34 Texas Admin Code 3.365 – Sales Tax Holiday Clothing, Shoes and School Supplies
Backpacks are included, which covers messenger bags, book bags, and wheeled packs that can also be worn on the back. Luggage, briefcases, gym bags, computer bags, and framed hiking packs are not covered.
What’s Excluded
Several categories stay taxable no matter the price:
- Accessories like jewelry, watches, handbags, purses, wallets, briefcases, luggage, and umbrellas.
- Athletic or protective gear designed for a specific sport or job, including football pads, golf cleats, baseball gloves, and industrial masks such as N95 respirators.
- Clothing rentals, alterations, embroidery, and dry cleaning.
The athletic exclusion is the one that catches shoppers. Regular tennis shoes you’d wear anywhere are tax-free. Cleated soccer shoes you’d only wear on a field are not.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday
How the $100 Limit Works
The threshold is strictly “less than $100” per item. A jacket priced at exactly $100 is fully taxable. Three pairs of jeans at $50 each are all tax-free, and there’s no cap on how many qualifying items you can buy.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday
Items sold as a set are treated as one unit at the bundled price. A shirt-and-tie set rung up at $105 is taxable even if each piece alone would be under the limit. Stores that price pieces individually can save you money over stores that only sell pre-packaged sets.
Online Orders, Shipping, and Layaway
Online purchases qualify if payment is authorized during the holiday window. Ship date and arrival date don’t matter. Order Friday night and receive the package Wednesday, and it’s still tax-free.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday
Shipping and handling charges count toward the item’s price. A $95 pair of jeans in a store is tax-free. The same jeans ordered online with $6 shipping total $101, which pushes the whole purchase into taxable territory. Add shipping to the price before assuming you’ve cleared the limit.
Layaway works either direction. You can make the final payment during the weekend on an item already on layaway, or you can start a new layaway on a qualifying item during the holiday. Both lock in the exemption.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday
Rain Checks and Earlier Purchases
A rain check does not preserve the exemption. If a store runs out of a qualifying item during the weekend and hands you a rain check, you’ll pay full tax when you actually complete the purchase later. The sale itself has to occur inside the three-day window.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday
There’s no retroactive refund either. School clothes bought in July can’t be brought in during the August weekend for a tax refund. The purchase has to happen during the actual dates.
Other 2026 Texas Sales Tax Holidays
Two other state holidays fall earlier in the year. The Emergency Preparation Supplies holiday runs Saturday, April 25 through Monday, April 27, 2026, covering portable generators under $3,000, hurricane shutters and emergency ladders under $300, and smaller items under $75 like batteries, flashlights, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, coolers, tarps, and weather radios.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday The Energy Star appliance holiday runs Saturday, May 23 through Monday, May 25, 2026, with price caps on air conditioners and refrigerators and no cap on qualifying ceiling fans, light bulbs, clothes washers, dishwashers, and dehumidifiers.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday