BBB: Tax-free weekend offers back-to-school savings

Published 11:03 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

The Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas (BBB) reminds Texas shoppers they can stretch their back-to-school budgets during the state’s annual tax-free weekend, a sales tax holiday designed to help families save on essential purchases.

From 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, through midnight Sunday, Aug. 10, qualifying items such as clothing, footwear, backpacks, and school supplies will be exempt from state and local sales taxes. This event offers an excellent opportunity for parents and caregivers to reduce costs as they prepare students for According to the National Retail Federation, Parents with school-age children are expected to spend approximately $858 per household on back to school items, with total back to school spending expected to reach $39.4 billion.

“While overall inflation has cooled through June,” said Mechele Agbayani Mills, President and CEO of BBB Serving Central East Texas. “Many families still face rising costs for key back to school items and are planning on taking advantage of tax-free weekend.”

This weekend, shoppers can buy most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks (sold for less than $100) tax-free from a Texas store or from an online or catalog seller doing business in Texas. Some items which are not eligible are:

• Items sold for $100 or more
• Clothing subscription boxes
• Specially-designed athletic activity or protective-use clothing or footwear
• Clothing or footwear rentals, alterations (including embroidery) and cleaning services
• Items used to make or repair clothing, such as fabric, thread, yarn, buttons, snaps, hooks and zippers
• Jewelry, handbags, purses, briefcases, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches and other accessories
• Computers
• Software
• Textbooks

BBB provides the following tips to make the most out of your back-to-school shopping experience this upcoming tax-free weekend:

Make a list. Even if you haven’t received a school supply list yet, you can start by picking up other essentials such as clothing, backpacks, notebooks, and pens. Create a list for each child, but begin by “shopping at home” to see what you already have from last year. For certain items, it’s worth investing in quality—like a durable backpack that can last for years. Finally, try to resist impulse purchases to keep your budget on track.

“Back-to-School Sale” versus tax-free items. Just because it’s not on the list of allowable tax-free items, doesn’t mean you won’t get a good deal. Many retail stores will advertise back-to-school sales because they know consumers are buying items for the upcoming school year.

Sign up for email alerts at your favorite stores. Monitoring pricing early on is key to finding good deals on quality products. Many sites will have an informed community of savvy shoppers on their blog or in their forums who willingly share deals, exclusive coupons, rebates and insider information on where and when to find the best prices and products. These alerts will assure you don’t miss out on the hottest items and limited opportunities.

Check the refund and exchange policies. Be sure you can exchange or return items that are purchased during this time. Keep in mind, some items may be non-refundable or have restocking fees associated with a return.

In case you do pay sales tax on qualifying items during the sales tax holiday, you can request a refund for the tax paid. The seller can either grant the refund or provide their customer with Form 00-985, Assignment to Right to Refund (PDF), which allows the purchaser to file the refund claim directly with the Comptroller’s office.

— For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. BBB serves as a leader in advancing marketplace trust by setting standards, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models, and addressing substandard business behavior. BBB is a nonprofit, business-supported organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. BBB provides objective advice, free BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.3 million companies, 11,000 charity reviews, dispute resolution services, alerts and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. Visit bbb.org for more information. BBB Serving Central East Texas was founded in 1985 and serves 19 counties.