The Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday

Update: The back-to-school Tennessee sales tax holiday has ended, but Tennessee shoppers can look forward to a separate tax holiday this year.

Tennessee's 2023 back-to-school sales tax holiday began at 12:01 AM on July 28 and ran until 11:59 PM on July 30. The tax holiday made certain clothing items, school supplies and computers exempt from sales tax, which was especially helpful since Tennessee has one of the highest sales tax rates in the nation.  

Did Tennessee’s Tax-Free Weekend Include Groceries?

The Tennessee tax-free weekend did not include food items, but a separate tax holiday for groceries begins this summer.

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A three-month grocery tax holiday begins on August 1 under the Tennessee Works Tax Act. Tennessee shoppers will be able to purchase food and food ingredients tax-free until the end of October. Prepared meals don't qualify for the grocery tax holiday.

2023 Back-to-School Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday 

The 2023 back-to-school tax holiday has ended, but the 2024 sales tax holiday may have similar rules. 

In 2023, Tennessee shoppers could save up to 9.75% in sales tax on eligible purchases during the back-to-school tax holiday. That’s a savings of up to $9.75 on every $100 spent. Those savings could have really added up, especially if for shoppers who made large purchases, like computers, or if you needed to shop for multiple children. 

Like in most states, there is only one back-to-school tax holiday in Tennessee each year. This one only ran for three days.

What was Included in Tennessee’s Sales Tax Holiday? 

There were specific rules for the 2023 Tennessee sales tax holiday. Each article of clothing must have cost $100 or less. Individual school supply items must not have exceed $100, either. Computers and tablets that exceeded $1,500 didn't qualify for the tax holiday. Here are a few of the items you could have purchased tax-free in the state during the 2023 sales tax holiday.

• Baby receiving blankets and diapers
• Backpacks and lunch boxes
• Socks, undergarments and pajamas
• Sneakers and slippers
• Shirts, pants, skirts and shorts
• Tablets and calculators
• Pens, pencils, notebooks and binders

However, there is a long list of items that were still taxable during the back-to-school sales tax holiday. Some of these items are listed below. 

• Computer software
• Printers, printer ink and printer paper
• Goggles (safety and sports)
• Paints and paintbrushes
• Accessories (including sunglasses, wallets and jewelry)
• Wetsuits and cleated or spiked footwear

Note: For a full list of items that were not included in Tennessee’s sales tax holiday, shoppers can check Tennessee’s directory of taxable items. 

Tennessee’s Tax-Free-Weekend Applied to Online Purchases 

Purchases made online qualified for Tennessee’s tax-free weekend. To qualify, purchases must have been ordered and paid for during the sales tax holiday. Orders placed before or after the tax-free weekend will be taxable. Additionally, orders must have been delivered to a Tennessee address to qualify. These rules also applied to orders made via telephone, mail and email.