It’s hard to believe we are only a few days away from the first day of school, especially with the Texas heat still lingering.

However, many public and private schools are starting classes in the next few days, which means it is time once again for the Texas sales tax-free weekend.

The 11th annual event begins this Friday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 22nd.

The intent of the weekend is to provide Texas families with a savings on their "back to school" shopping.

Certain items including clothing, shoes and backpacks priced under $100 are exempt from state and local sales tax. This exemption saves shoppers approximately $8 per $100 they spend.

The Texas State Comptroller, Susan Combs, has predicted that Texans will save approximately $59.3 million in taxes during this weekend event.

Some of the items that are tax-free include:

• Baby Clothes
• Backpacks
• Belts with buckles
• Boots
• Hats
• Coats
• Diapers
• Dresses
• Uniforms
• Sweatshirts
• Hosiery
• Jeans
• Jerseys
• Ties
• Pajamas
• Pants
• Raincoats
• Robes
• Shirts
• Shoes
• Socks
• Suits
• Sweaters
• Swimsuits
• Underclothes

Some of the items that are NOT tax-free include:

• accessories
• baseball cleats and pants
• work boots
• cloth and fabric
• dry cleaning
• football pants
• handbags/purses
• sports helmets
• jewelry
• sports related pads

Additionally, legislation passed in the 81st legislative session adds school supplies to the list of items excluded from these taxes. Since school supplies are essential to a child’s academic success, savings on these items will hopefully help ensure children are adequately prepared for their first day of school.

Some of the tax-free school supplies include:

• binders
• calculators
• crayons/markers
• erasers
• folders
• glue
• highlighters
• legal pads
• lunch boxes
• notebooks
• paper
• pencils
• pens
• rulers
• scissors

Layaway plans may be used to help families take advantage of these savings. For a complete list of supplies, clothing, and footwear exempted from the tax, you can visit the State Comptroller’s website here.

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If you have questions regarding the tax-free weekend, I invite you to contact my district office at 214.370.8305 or my capitol office at 512.463.0244.

Please free to email me as well at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and be sure to include your name and full address. I look forward to hearing from you.