When is Tennessee’s Sales Tax Holiday? 

Sales Tax Holidays begin every year at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August (this Friday - August 2, 2013) and ends at 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday (August 4, 2013). During this time, Tennesseans can enjoy tax-free  purchases on certain clothing, school and art supplies and computers. 

 

What’s Tax-Free? 

Tax-free items include clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and school art  supplies with a price of $100 or less per item and computers with a price of $1,500 or less.  These items are exempt from state and local sales tax in Tennessee during the holiday.  Local governments are held harmless and are reimbursed lost sales tax revenues by the state. 

 

Any individual can make a tax-free purchase during the holiday. However, items purchased  for use by a trade or business are not exempt. 

 

The holiday also includes purchases of qualified items sold via mail, telephone, e-mail or  Internet if the customer orders and pays for the item and the retailer accepts the order during  the holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period. 

 

If a customer wishes to order a certain tax-free item during the holiday and it is not in stock,  the item remains tax-free upon delivery. In other words, backlogs and backorders outside  the buyer’s control will not affect the exempt status of tax-free items. Intentionally delayed sales are taxable. 

 

Qualified items previously placed on layaway are exempt when the final payment is made  during the holiday. Items are also exempt if placed on layaway during the holiday and the  final payment is made after the exemption period. 

 

When Did Sales Tax Holidays Start in Tennessee? 

Tennessee Code Annotated 67-6-393 established annual sales tax holidays in Tennessee in  2006. The first Sales Tax Holiday was August 4-6, 2006, saving Tennesseans about $15 million. Since then, Tennesseans have enjoyed $8 to $10 million in tax savings each holiday.