CLARKSVILLE, TN – This year’s back-to-school tax holiday is July 29-31, with no tax charged on all manner of school-related items.

Here are the rules for this weekend’s tax holiday:

Clothing

  • Exempt: General apparel that costs $100 or less per item, such as shirts, pants, socks, shoes, dresses, etc.
  • Not exempt: Apparel items priced at more than $100. Items sold together, such as shoes, cannot be split up to stay beneath the $100 maximum. Items such as jewelry, handbags, or sports and recreational equipment.

School supplies

  • Exempt: School and art supplies with a purchase price of $100 or less per item, such as binders, backpacks, crayons, paper, pens, pencils, and rulers, and art supplies such as glazes, clay, paints, drawing pads, and artist paintbrushes.
  • Not exempt: School and art supplies individually priced at more than $100. Items that are normally sold together cannot be split up to stay beneath the $100 maximum.

Computers

  • Exempt: Computers for personal use with a purchase price of $1,500 or less. Laptop computers, if priced at $1,500 or less, also qualify as well as tablet computers.
  • Not exempt: Storage media, like flash drives and compact discs. Individually purchased software. Printer supplies. Household appliances

Local businesses can look forward to an influx of additional customers this weekend, said Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman Mark Kelly.

“This weekend is not only good for our consumer community, but also good for our small businesses here in our community especially those that have invested in our Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce. Businesses get to develop relationships with prospective customers and simultaneously display their products so they have an opportunity for future business. And I think probably more importantly our community gets to shop here in Clarksville and I consider that a win-win for all of us.

NFIB State Director Jim Brown says Tennessee’s upcoming tax holidays, on both school supplies and food and food ingredients, are a chance for people to support local businesses still reeling from a series of economic setbacks that began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The food tax holiday begins Aug. 1 and runs through Aug. 31.

“These tax holidays are designed to help Tennessee families struggling with inflation and higher fuel costs, but they’re also going to make a difference to small, independent shops and restaurants,” Brown said in a state news release.

“Small businesses have endured a pandemic, supply chain and labor issues, and rising prices on everything from gasoline to grocery bags,” Brown said. “By shopping local during these tax holidays, we can repay the small businesses that remained open and provided us with the goods and services we needed despite the many obstacles.”

Small business owners surveyed for NFIB’s latest Small Business Economic Trends report ranked inflation as the No. 1  issue affecting their business, followed by quality of labor.

To learn more about Tennessee’s tax holidays, visit https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax/sales-tax-holiday.html.

Lee Erwin contributed to this report.