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Tennessee’s sales tax holiday, historically, has been meant to help families buy clothing and school supplies for the upcoming school year. It seems just like last week that the school year ended, but, whether we realize it or not, the end of summer is in sight and the start of the 2024-25 school year.

For families who plan summer spending as carefully as possible in anticipation of next school year’s expenses, the sales tax holiday is good news.

Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $874.68 on clothing, shoes, electronics and school supplies, according to the NRF. That’s $15 less than last year’s record of $890.07, but is the second-highest amount in the survey’s history.

Total back-to-school spending is expected to reach $38.8 billion, also the second-highest on record after last year’s high of $41.5 billion, the NRF said.

The most popular destinations for back-to-school shopping are online (57%), department stores (50%), discount stores (47%), clothing stores (42%) and electronic stores (23%).

The sales tax holiday is designed to give parents a break on back-to-school purchases. Specific items – including clothing, shoes, accessories and school supplies – are exempt from sales tax for the weekend of July 26-28. The savings add up to around $10 for every $100 spent. While that might not sound like much to some, for many – especially those with large families – it adds up nicely,

While the policy is perhaps meant to aid lower-income families looking to get the most out of their back-to-school budgets, the truth is everyone can take advantage of the savings. Even better, the holiday could provide an opportunity to shop for school items at some of our local small businesses, too.

In general, just about every type of clothing and shoes priced at under $100 are exempt from sales tax, which means it’s not only for school children.

School supplies exempt from sales tax include binders, book bags, calculators, cellophane tape, blackboard chalk, compasses, composition books, crayons, erasers, folders, glue and paste, highlighters, index cards, legal pads, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks, various types of paper, pencils, pencil boxes and sharpeners, pens, protractors, rulers and scissor. So, teachers benefit from the weekend as well.

All in all, the annual sales tax holiday weekends are a win for consumers and for business.