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2009 Sales Tax Holiday Schedule
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This page covers the 2009 Sales Tax Holiday Schedule.
With the economy in a funk and consumers looking to save as much as they can, one of the best ways to shave several percentage points off your purchase is to wait until a sales tax holiday! States started having sales tax holidays several years ago and discovered that a lot of people were taking advantage of them. It’s the perfect marriage of consumer saving money and their representatives earning brownie points for giving them that opportunity. Despite the numerous reports of state budget shortfalls, many of these sales tax holidays are still in effect. I don’t expect to see many state legislators introducing bills canceling “long” standing sales tax holidays!
There are typically three major types of sales tax holidays: hurricane preparedness, clothing and school supplies, and energy efficient appliances. Hurricane preparedness sales tax holidays usually occur in late April or May. Clothing and school supplies sales tax holidays are almost always in August, just before school starts. Energy efficient appliances are generally in the winter and have the longest periods, some as many as two months (West Virginia).
As always, residents of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon can skip this list because they don’t have a sales tax. 
The state names link to the state’s Department of Revenue or some other resource that will fully explain every last painful detail of the tax holiday in that state, such as exceptions to the tax holiday.
- Alabama – August 7-9, covers clothing <$100 per item, computers/software/computer supplies <$750, school supplies <$50 per item, books <$30 per item. Not all counties participate so here's the list of participating counties in Alabama.
- Connecticut – August 16-22, clothing and footwear <$300.
- District of Columbia – No official announcement but it’s usually a week in August and a week in November, clothing/accessories/shoes <$100 and school supplies <$100. In 2008, the dates were August 1-9 and November 27 - December 6.
- Florida – No sales tax holidays in Florida in 2009, they must vote on it this year and the issue wasn’t raised this year. [cancelled]
- Georgia – HB 120, which would enact this year’s sales tax holiday, was sent to the governor on 4/13/2009 to be signed into law. It calls for the dates to be July 30 – August 2 on clothing <$100, computer/equipment < $1500, school supplies <$20; the bill also establishes a tax free week for energy efficient appliances <$1500 for October 1 – 4. [pending]
- Iowa – August 7-8, covers clothing/footwear <$100 per item.
- Louisiana – Usually has two sales tax holidays during the year. The first is usually the first Friday and Saturday in August (August 7 – 8 for 2009) for “tangible personal property for non-business use” for items less than $2,500. The second in the end of May is on hurricane preparedness items less than $1,500. I couldn’t find any information on the LA Dept of Revenue website on a 2009 sales tax holiday date [status unknown].
- Maryland – No sales tax holiday for 2009.
- Massachusetts -There was a tax holiday on Energy Star compliant products on August 15th & 16th on anything with a sale price <$2,500 with some exceptions. Last year, the bill was signed into law at the end of July. There are no other sales tax holidays for 2009.
- Mississippi – July 31 – August 1, clothing/footwear <$100.
- Missouri – August 7-9, clothing <$100 each, school supplies <$50 each, computer/equipment <$3500. We've also already passed the Missouri sales tax holiday on energy star products (April 19-25), called the Show-Me Green Sales Tax Holiday.
- New Mexico – August 7-9, clothing/footwear <$100 each, school supplies <$15 each, computers <$1000 and computer equipment <$500.
- North Carolina – August 7-9, covers clothing <$100 per item, school instructional materials <$300 per item, sports & rec equipment <$50 per item, computers/software/computer supplies <$250 per item. November 6-8 for qualified energy star rated appliances for non-business purposes.
- Oklahoma – August 7-9, covers clothing/footwear <$100 each.
- Rhode Island – Rhode Island tried to pass a sales tax holiday bill but the state budget crisis precluded its passage for 2009.
- South Carolina – August 7-9, exempts clothing, school supplies computers & computer software, towels, sheets, and other items. October 1-31 exempts certain qualified Energy Star items for personal use less than $2,5000. November 27-28, exempts handguns, rifles, and shotguns excluding antique/collectible handguns.
- Tennessee – August 7-9 – Clothing <$100 per item, School and Art Supplies <$100 per item, and Computers <$1500 per bundled package
- Texas – August 21-23, clothing/footwear <$100, backpacks <$100; May 23-25 exempts certain energy star qualified products.
- Virginia – There are three holidays for 2009 in May, August, and October. May 25-31, designated hurricane preparedness equiment priced <$60 per item and portable generators priced <$1,000 per item. August 7-9, back-to-school sales tax holiday on school supplies <$20 per item and clothing & footwear <$100 per item. Finally, October 9-12, energy savings sales tax holiday on Energy Star Qualified products including appliances purchased for noncommercial home or personal use <$2,500 each.
- Washington D.C. – November 27 – December 6, no sales tax on clothes, accessories, shoes, and school supplies on items <$100.
- West Virginia – September 1 – November 30, exempts energy star products up to $5,000.
And for those of you who live in Pennsylvania, consider yourself lucky as you have a clothing and footwear sales tax holiday from January 1st to December 31st!
If you’re curious how the sales tax holidays have changed, here is 2008’s sales tax holiday schedule.
(photo by pulpolux)
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Figures Maryland isn’t on there. I guess we are out of luck!
Somehow, these sales tax holidays seem like a poor incentive to buy. I wouldn’t get excited for a sale advertising items for say, 6 percent off (the sales tax rate in South Carolina). With most tax-free purchases of clothing and school supplies capped at about $100 or less, we’re not talking big savings unless you’ve got coupons or other discounts to stack. Buying clearance items or consignment/thrift store clothes for kids seems like a better deal. (Tax holidays on appliances are another story, of course.) You could always buy online with free shipping codes to avoid taxes. That way you save on the gas, too.
I agree with you but the $100 limit is per item in most states, so it excludes the expensive/luxury items but wouldn’t exclude a large number of cheaper items.
It is a bit of a red herring because it’s just shifts consumer behavior, it doesn’t change it. If you need something today, you probably aren’t going to wait until August for the savings. If you don’t need it, then, well, you don’t need it right?
Yeah, the communist state of NJ isn’t on there either…
What is up with Pennsylvania? We lived there last year, and I could never understand why no tax on clothes?
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!
I think Minnesota has a similar no tax on clothes policy? Too bad Indiana has nothing!
Yay! Mississippi didn’t offer this in the past, so I am excited. @Liz Kay-take advantage of this @ thrift stores, that’s what I plan on doing. I go there regularly anyways, so it’s not like I will be making an extra trip. Woohoo!
C’mon Michigan…get w/the program!
Thanks anyway Jim!
Matt –
Knowing our state, they’ll probably INCREASE taxes for a day and call it a holiday!
There were words beside that picture of some hot ass female?
Jim, where’s New York? Blitzberg is killing us!
Great info with an eye-candy bonus. Anyone you know?
It was probably wishful thinking that California would have one
I can always fly/drive to Missouri to buy my laptop though!
(I will probably come out even but it will make for an interesting journey)
Damn you CA.
New Yorkers miss Sales Tax Holiday
IL!
Tax-Free Weekend is FABULOUS, as long as you still look for items on sale, or shop at Ross/TJMaxx/Marshall’s etc AND you don’t JUST go shopping to not have to pay tax! You buy stuff you actually need.
sweet – I will be in a tax free state during this time. Instant 9% discount. I’ll start my piggy bank now.
No NJ or NY? or will you be updating this list ;-(
New York has a 365 day tax exemption on clothing and footwear under $110 per item/pair, so there’s no point listing them.
New Jersey doesn’t have one yet.
NY drops their state sales tax, but it’s up to the individual county whether or not to exempt their tax also. Few do. But, it’s still about half tax all the time.
Idaho doesn’t have one.
But Oregon and Montana are only a drive away.
we need that no sales tax hoilday down here in FL that is what make job when you buy some thing like power you make jobs and they make work and then they make more jobs when they go out to eat so i am for the no sales tax hoilday here in FL
If I remember correctly from living there, Florida didn’t have an income tax.
is there even a sale tax day in MA for 2009? People say there is not going to be one. Do you know if they are still haven it in August?
As a Californian (current tax in L.A. County is 9.75%), I buy as much as I can from online retailers that don’t charge tax, many like Amazon throw in free shipping if you buy at least $25 worth. I also frequent retailers that have no sales tax sales. Kohls is having one this Fri & Sat.
Of course, raising the sales tax to nearly 10% is not going to bring in more money like they thought – even the rich don’t want to spend an extra 10% when they don’t have to elsewhere.
Damn Cali…. Like some1 else said they will probably raise Taxes and call it a BARGAIN
I hardly doubt Ohio will get with the program as they been raising taxes and don’t adjust their withholding tables for inflation to the point they are driving businesses out of the state. Before we know it, state income tax rate will be significantly higher with property taxes going up, and sales taxes going back up (the 3 primary ways a state/locality get it’s income). not only that, but with that kind of tax rate and system in place, it may even be driving the wealthy individuals out of the state into states like TN that is consumption based rather than income based with them having no income tax and a higher sales tax. Under the current system not counting federal income tax, about 20% of gross income goes to state/local and FICA taxes, and yet, based on my family’s household size, we are considered to be near poverty if not in poverty. With federal, I claim exempt and once all of the tax forms are completed for the previous year, it works out I get a refund from the IRS amounting to about 10% of gross income without paying Federal Income Taxes during the course of the year. I’m in one of those rare situations where income is in a narrow band that could actually work out like that. If I had a shot at higher income, I would by all means take the higher income as long as it translate into higher overall networth in the long-run, which is almost always the case. I do know some fall into the welfare trap, which is a trap in itself, but after me being denied the benefits while I was in college really needing the help only to later on learn I could have gotten the benefits, they just didn’t apply the exception to the rules that I actually met to the process (Normally one is required to work a minimal of 20 hours per week, but since I was on the College Work Study Program, that was the exception to that 20 hour per week rule that I had qualified for as long as I was participating in it, which I was), I ended up having to learn how to literally survive on 67% of federal poverty level for a household size of 1 and 44% of state poverty level for a household size of 1 income wise for a period of 4 years. To this day, I’m still indirectly paying for that via the debts I ended up accumulating during those years and still paying back today.
It least they have one in Connecticut! Why do they have to put a chick picture to represent tax? Put a hot women on anything and it will grab your attention…..
Believe it or not, it was one of the first few pictures in flickr when you searched for “shopping.”