Tax Free Weekend is a 72-hour event held each August. It begins at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and goes through the following Sunday. 2025’s Tax Free Weekend​ begins Friday, August 1 and goes through Sunday, August 3.

Generally, exempt items include: clothing and accessories; footwear; school supplies used for school assignments; computers, software, and printers; certain bed and bath supplies. Check out the shopping lists on this page for examples of exempt and non-exempt items. 

The exemption does not apply to: items for use in a trade or business; items placed on layaway or a similar deferred payment and delivery plan; clothing and footwear rentals; cosmetics; eyewear; furniture; jewelry. Check out the shopping lists on this page for examples of exempt and non-exempt items.

Yes! As long as the item is eligible and the sale occurs during Tax Free Weekend, online purchases are tax-free.

If you were charged Sales Tax on an exempt item, the retailer should refund you for the tax paid on eligible items. Refer the retailer to Revenue Ruling 19-4​.

School supplies are items used in the classroom or at home for school assignments. 

School supplies include, but are not limited to, pens, pencils, paper, binders, notebooks, books, backpacks, lunchboxes, and calculators. Items such as refrigerators and toiletries purchased by college students are not used for school assignments and are not exempt. Similarly, these items purchased for office, business, or non-school use are not exempt. 

Yes, books and musical instruments are exempt, provided that they are used for school assignments. Text books are already exempt from Sales Tax, but other books used for school like dictionaries and books used for book reports and reading assignments are exempt during Tax Free Weekend.

Cell phones, smartphones, or other handheld devices that make phone calls are not exempt. Neither are handheld devices that are primarily used to download and listen to music, download and watch videos, or download and read books.  

Since the law includes computers but not computer supplies as eligible, a computer monitor, keyboard, or mouse sold by itself is taxable during the holiday period. These items are only exempt if they are used for school assignments and can be considered a school supply, or if they are purchased in a package with the computer itself.

Digital music players, digital cameras, and cell phones or smartphones are not exempt regardless of whether they are purchased with a computer.

All retailers who sell eligible items participate in Tax Free Weekend and cannot collect Sales Tax from their customers on eligible purchases. This includes online sales made by out-of-state retailers and marketplace facilitators.

• Filing Online: Log in to your MyDORWAY account. When filing your August Sales Tax return, enter the amount of exempt sales made during the Sales Tax Holiday as a deduction on the State Sales and Use Tax Worksheet. For the deduction type, select “Sales Tax Holiday.”
• Filing by Paper: Report your total sales exempt during the Sales Tax Holiday on page 2, Item 4a of Form ST-3.

Remember, the Tax Free Weekend deduction code ("Sales Tax Holiday​") is only allowed on your August Sales Tax return, due in September.

Not necessarily. As long as the item is ordered,​ paid for, and accepted by the retailer during the weekend for immediate shipment ​the exemption still applies, even if delivery is made after​ Tax Free Weekend ends.

No; if an item qualifies for exemption, the delivery charges associated with that item are also exempt.

If you purchase an item during Tax Free Weekend and exchange it for the same item after August 3, no additional tax will be charged. However, if you return it and receive credit for a new purchase, the newly purchased item will be subject to the Sales & Use Tax.

If you purchase an item before August 1 and return or exchange it during Tax Free Weekend, no additional tax will be due if the exchanged or purchased item is also eligible.

An eligible item must be purchased during Tax Free Weekend to be exempt.

So, if you buy an eligible item during Tax Free Weekend using a rain check issued before the weekend, that item will be exempt. However, if you are issued a rain check during Tax Free Weekend​, the purchase is not exempt if it is made after August 3. 

Items placed on layaway are not exempt.