(NASHVILLE)  State Senators Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) and Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro) are encouraging citizens to take advantage of Tennessee’s new and traditional upcoming sales tax holidays. Consistent with state lawmakers’ record of cutting taxes, this year the General Assembly approved a new sales tax holiday to eliminate the tax on groceries for the entire month of August. Lawmakers also continued Tennessee’s annual sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies, and computers, which will begin Friday, July 29^th and run through Sunday July 31^st.  These tax cuts add to over $2 billion cut in taxes by Tennessee lawmakers since 2011.

• Tax Free on clothes, arts supplies and computers July 29, 30 and 31
• Tax Free on groceries (prepared food not included) all of August, 2022
• Tax Free on gun safes for the entire State Fiscal Year.    CLICK HERE for details.

The lawmakers say the new tax cut on groceries is intended to provide relief to Tennesseans amid rising inflation and food costs.

“It is more important than ever to provide relief to families for everyday costs such as groceries,” said Sen. White. “Economic mismanagement at the federal level has led to historically high inflation, which is hurting the bottom line for Tennessee families. This sales tax holiday on groceries is one way we can help Tennesseans during these challenging economic times and maintain our commitment to being a low-tax state. I encourage all Tennesseans to take advantage of this holiday.”

“With the cost of living continuing to rise due to historic inflation, suspending the grocery tax will provide direct relief to all Tennesseans,” said Sen. Reeves. “I appreciate Gov. Lee and my colleagues in the General Assembly for taking action to support Tennesseans during this challenging time.”

The month-long grocery sales tax holiday in August applies to food and food ingredients. However, it does not include prepared food, alcohol, dietary supplements, tobacco or candy. The state will replace local revenue lost, so local governments’ budgets will not be affected by this tax reduction.

Tennessee’s traditional sales tax holiday weekend occurs before students go back to school each year and exempts sales tax on clothing items $100 or less, school and art supplies $100 or less, and computers for personal use that are $1,500 or less.

“This annual sales tax holiday is a great opportunity for families, students and teachers to save money while preparing to go back to school. I hope all citizens take advantage of this weekend and shop at small businesses to help boost their local economies,” added Reeves.

“The back-to-school sales tax holiday helps parents, students and teachers with expenses in preparation for the fall semester.  Inflation has hit almost every area of the economy and families will no doubt see higher costs when shopping for back-to-school items this year. I am pleased we are continuing this holiday to provide even more relief to families. I hope all citizens will take advantage of this weekend and also shop at local businesses to support jobs and our Tennessee small businesses,” added White.

In addition, the lawmakers said legislation passed by the General Assembly this year provided a sales tax holiday on gun safes and safety devices.  The year-long holiday began on July 1, 2022 and ends on June 30, 2023 and helps encourage safe storage of firearms. 

For more information about the sales tax holidays, visit www.tntaxholiday.com.