By Margaret Eisler
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has announced the dates of the 2024 sales tax holidays for emergency preparation supplies, Energy Star and water-efficient products, and clothing, footwear, backpacks and school supplies. The comptroller also provides guidance on where to find further information on items exempt during the holidays, and advice for retailers. (Texas Tax Policy News No. 02/01/2024, 02/01/2024.)
Sales tax holiday dates.
In 2024, the Texas sales tax holidays will be held on the following dates:
- Emergency preparation supplies: Saturday, April 27, through Monday, April 29, 2024.
- Energy Star and water-efficient products: Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27, 2024 (Memorial Day).
- Clothing, footwear, backpacks and school supplies: Friday, August 9, through Sunday, August 11, 2024.
Exempt items.
Retailers and customers should be aware of the details of each of the holidays and know which items are exempt by reviewing the publication related to each holiday.
Changing the sales price of an item can make an item either eligible or ineligible for the exemption. For example, rebates, discounts, coupons, delivery charges and other elements of the transaction can change the taxability of an item if a maximum sales price is set in the law.
Advice for retailers.
Retailers should program sales tax software to adjust for exemptions and temporary sales tax holidays.
When reporting sales, retailers should not include tax-free sales with “Taxable Sales” on the sales tax return, but instead include tax-free sales only in “Total Texas Sales” on the return.
Customers usually do not need to provide a resale or exemption certificate for a tax-free purchase, but there are exceptions. For example, retailers must get an exemption certificate from a customer that uses a business account to buy school supplies during the clothing, footwear, backpacks and school supplies tax holiday.
Retailers must report and remit any sales tax collected, even if the tax is collected in error. If sales tax is collected and remitted in error on an exempt item and a customer asks for a refund, retailers have two options: (1) refund the tax to the customer and then either request a refund from the Comptroller’s office or take a credit on the next sales tax return; or (2) give the customer Form 00-985 (Assignment of Right to Refund) for them to request the refund directly from the Comptroller’s office.
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