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2026 Tax-Free Weekend Guide: Every State's Dates, Item Caps, and the Best Card to Pay With
July 1, 2025
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Five states are turning off sales tax for back-to-school season over the next few weeks, and Florida's holiday runs a full month this year. If you time your shopping list around these dates — and pair it with the right rewards card — you can stack a 6–10% tax break with 5% cash back and get close to 15% off before a single coupon.
Here's the full breakdown: exact dates, what qualifies, the per-item price caps that trip people up, and which card to swipe at checkout.
Quick Reference: 2026 Tax-Free Dates by State
2026 Tax-Free Weekend Dates by State
- Florida — July 20 to August 20 (full month): Clothing, school supplies, learning aids, and computers are exempt.
- Tennessee — July 31 to August 2: Clothing, school supplies, and computers are exempt.
- New Mexico — July 31 to August 2: Clothing, school supplies, computers, and computer accessories are exempt.
- Arkansas — August 1 to 2: Clothing, clothing accessories, electronics, and school/art supplies are exempt.
- Virginia — August 7 to 9: Clothing, school supplies, hurricane prep items, and Energy Star/WaterSense products are exempt.
The Per-Item Caps (Read This Before You Checkout)
The single biggest mistake shoppers make during tax-free weekends: assuming the exemption applies to your whole cart. It doesn't. Almost every state caps the break per item, not per purchase — and in some states, going even $1 over the cap makes the entire item taxable, not just the amount above the line.
Florida (July 20 – August 20)
- Clothing, footwear, and accessories: $100 or less per item
- School supplies: $50 or less per item
- Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles: $30 or less per item
- Personal computers and related accessories (noncommercial use): $1,500 or less per item
Tennessee (July 31 – August 2)
- Clothing and school supplies: $100 or less per item
- Computers: $1,500 or less per item
- Watch this one: items sold as a single unit (like a pair of shoes) can't be split into separate components just to dodge the cap.
New Mexico (July 31 – August 2)
- Clothing, footwear, and accessories: less than $100 per item
- Bookbags, backpacks, maps, and globes: under $100
- Computers (desktop, laptop, notebook, tablets, e-readers with computing functions): $1,000 or less
- Computer-related accessories (keyboards, monitors, mice, speakers): $500 or less
- Retailers in New Mexico aren't legally required to participate (it's a gross receipts tax, not a sales tax), so it's worth confirming a store is honoring the holiday before you shop.
Arkansas (August 1 – 2)
- Clothing and footwear: less than $100 per item
- Clothing accessories and equipment (think jewelry-adjacent items, not sporting gear): less than $50 per item
- Electronic devices (calculators, cell phones, monitors, e-readers, etc.): no price cap
- School supplies, school art supplies, and instructional materials: no price cap
Virginia (August 7 – 9)
- Clothing and footwear: $100 or less per item
- School supplies: $20 or less per item
- Energy Star and WaterSense products (home use): $2,500 or less per item
- Virginia's holiday also covers hurricane and emergency preparedness items, making it broader than a typical back-to-school weekend.
The Card Half of the Math
The tax break is only half the discount. The other half comes down to which card is in your hand at checkout — and this quarter (July–September 2026), the usual rotating-category cards aren't actually lined up for back-to-school spending. Worth knowing before you assume your Chase Freedom Flex or Discover it is earning 5% on school shopping right now.
What's actually earning bonus rewards on back-to-school purchases this quarter:
- US Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card
- Chase Freedom Flex® / Chase Freedom
- Discover It Cash Back Credit Card
- Flat-rate 2%+ cash back cards (like Citi Double Cash® Card or Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card®)
- Store credit cards (Target Circle™ Card, Amazon Store Card, etc.)
Since the two most popular rotating-category cards miss this quarter's back-to-school spending entirely, Cash+ (with clothing/department stores selected) or a flat-rate 2% card are your best bets to actually stack a card bonus with the state tax exemption.
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Two Things to Double-Check Before You Shop
- Per-item, not per-transaction. Buying five $100 shirts in one trip still qualifies each shirt individually — but one $120 item in that same cart is fully taxed, with no partial break on the first $100.
- Online orders count, but the purchase generally needs to be placed and paid for during the holiday window in most states — an order placed early and shipped during the holiday may not qualify.
Bottom Line
Tax-free weekends are one of the rare moments where the discount is automatic and the state does the negotiating for you. The only work left is knowing your dates, watching the per-item caps, and having the right card in your wallet when you check out.
Kudos tracks your card's current bonus categories and flags the best card to use at checkout automatically, so you don't have to remember which card is earning 5% this quarter.
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are those of Kudos alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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