Alabama's two tax holidays, and a flat 8 percent rate for remote sellers

Severe Weather Preparedness sales tax holiday

A severe weather kit, priced to stay under the caps

1. By November 2026

   Pick the kit's components from the Department's list and price each one at 94 dollars or less: batteries, a flashlight, a NOAA weather radio, a first aid kit, a tarp. List the components and each price on the product page, because the Department's sources set a cap per item and say nothing about a bundle price.

   Source: Alabama Department of Revenue: 2027 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday fact sheet

2. After November 28, 2026

   Open the Department's participation list for 2027 and note which of your biggest Alabama delivery towns joined. Localities had to adopt the holiday at least 90 days before the weekend, so the list should be largely settled by then. Do not promise the shopper that local tax is waived: Athens joined and Alabaster did not, in the Department's September 2026 list.

   Source: Alabama Department of Revenue: Severe Weather Preparedness participating counties and municipalities (updated Sept. 25, 2026)

3. Friday, February 26 to Sunday, February 28, 2027

   Run the kit during the holiday and say what it covers: the state sales tax on covered items, not the local tax everywhere. The Department's window starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ends at midnight Sunday, so schedule the offer to those times.

   Source: Alabama Department of Revenue: 2027 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday fact sheet

4. Before your Alabama sales reach 250,000 dollars in a calendar year

   Decide how you will collect: under the regular state and local rules, under the Simplified Sellers Use Tax at a flat 8 percent, or through a marketplace facilitator. The rule counts the previous calendar year's sales into Alabama and states no transaction count.

   Source: Alabama Department of Revenue: Rule 810-6-2-.90.03, out-of-state sellers

5. Friday, July 16 to Sunday, July 18, 2027 (computed)

   Plan a second holiday offer for back-to-school using the Department's rule of the third Friday in July. No 2027 fact sheet was out when we checked, so use the 2026 caps (156 dollars per article of clothing, 78 dollars per school supply item) only as a guide and re-read the 2027 sheet before you print any cap in your banner. See plan requirements for the Classic bundle template on the pricing page.

   Source: Alabama Department of Revenue: 2026 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday fact sheet

Build it with the Classic bundle template.

Requires: Growth plan or higher, Shopify Plus may be required.

Questions merchants ask

When is the Alabama severe weather sales tax holiday in 2027?

The Department of Revenue's 2027 fact sheet lists Friday, February 26 at 12:01 a.m. through Sunday, February 28 at midnight. The Department's page says the holiday falls on the last full weekend of February each year. Covered items are free of state sales tax; local tax may still apply. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Alabama Department of Revenue.

When is the 2027 back-to-school holiday?

The Department says the back-to-school holiday starts on the third Friday in July and ends at midnight on the following Sunday, which makes it July 16 to 18, 2027 (computed from that rule; the Department had not published a 2027 fact sheet when we checked). The Department adjusted the 2026 caps for inflation under Act 2025-309, so wait for the 2027 sheet before quoting one.

Does my city or county have to join the holiday?

No. A county or municipality may exempt covered items from its own taxes by adopting a resolution or ordinance at least 90 days before the holiday weekend, and the Department publishes the list of those that have told it. In back-to-school, Geneva County, Oxford, St. Clair County and Thomasville exempt only their regular tax and not the 1 percent education tax.

What is the Simplified Sellers Use Tax, and who can use it?

It is a program that lets an eligible remote seller collect, report and remit a flat 8 percent on all sales into Alabama instead of calculating state and local rates. The Department describes an eligible seller as one that sells into Alabama from outside the state, has no physical presence in it, and is not otherwise required to collect Alabama tax. Sellers apply and must be accepted before they collect.

Does a sales tax holiday apply to a sale under the flat 8 percent rate?

The Department's Simplified Sellers Use Tax page says the flat 8 percent applies to all sales made into Alabama and does not mention the holidays, so we cannot say how the two interact. Ask the Department's Sales and Use Tax Division before you advertise a holiday price to Alabama shoppers if you collect under the program.

Related reading

• Back-to-School Promotions Beyond Supplies
• Product Bundling on Shopify: Types and Math
• Sales Tax Holidays for Online Sellers

Dates to plan around

1. Feb 26, 2027 to Feb 28, 2027Severe Weather Preparedness sales tax holidayAlabama Department of Revenue: 2027 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday fact sheet
2. Jul 16, 2027 to Jul 18, 2027Back-to-school sales tax holiday (computed: third Friday in July to Sunday)Alabama Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holidays

The year at a glance

Shipping into the state

Facts and sources

• The Department's fact sheet titled 2027 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday says Alabama will hold the holiday beginning Friday, February 26, at 12:01 a.m. and ending Sunday, February 28, at midnight, that covered items are free of state sales tax, and that local sales tax may still apply.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: 2027 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday fact sheet (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The same fact sheet lists covered items at 94 dollars or less per item, among them AA, AAA, C, 6-volt and 9-volt batteries, cell phone chargers, battery or self-powered radios and NOAA weather radios, flashlights and lanterns, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, duct tape, non-electric coolers and can openers, ice packs, self-contained first aid kits, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and it covers a portable generator with power cords in a single purchase of 1,564 dollars or less.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: 2027 Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday fact sheet (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department's holiday page says no state sales or use tax is due on covered items under sections 40-23-230 to 40-23-233 of the Code of Alabama and Rule 810-6-3-.66, that the holiday runs on the last full weekend of February from 12:01 a.m. Friday to midnight Sunday, and that a county or municipality may exempt covered items from its own sales or use taxes by a resolution or ordinance adopted at least 90 days before that weekend.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department's participation list for the severe weather holiday, updated September 25, 2026, shows Athens as participating (Ordinance 2026-2434, effective period 2027) and Alabaster as not participating (notice received August 13, 2026, effective period 2027), and it states that localities that do not levy a sales tax are not listed.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: Severe Weather Preparedness participating counties and municipalities (updated Sept. 25, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department's sales tax holidays page says the back-to-school holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on the third Friday in July and ends at midnight on the following Sunday under sections 40-23-210 to 40-23-213 of the Code of Alabama, and that retailers are required to participate and may not charge tax on items that are exempt during a holiday.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holidays (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department's 2026 back-to-school fact sheet, for July 17 to 19, 2026, set the caps at 156 dollars or less per article of clothing, 78 dollars or less per school supply item, 47 dollars or less per book and 1,173 dollars or less for a single computer purchase; no 2027 fact sheet was out when we checked.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: 2026 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday fact sheet (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department's notice on Act 2025-309 says that for calendar year 2026 it adjusts the holidays' covered dollar amounts by the percentage change in the consumer price index from December 2006 to December 2024, rounded to the nearest whole dollar, and that the Act lengthens the time a locality has to adopt a holiday from 30 days to 90 days.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: Notice on sales tax holidays, CPI adjustments and local government notification (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department lists back-to-school local limits: the holiday applies only to the regular 1 percent tax in Geneva County and St. Clair County and the regular 4 percent tax in Oxford and Thomasville, and that Geneva County, St. Clair County and Oxford do not grant a holiday for the 1 percent tax levied for education, while Thomasville also excludes the 1 percent collected for the Hospital/Industrial Board.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, local government exemption limitations (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department's Simplified Sellers Use Tax page says an eligible seller that sells into Alabama from outside the state, with no physical presence in it, may collect, report and remit a flat 8 percent sellers use tax on all sales made into Alabama after applying and being accepted, reports by the 20th of the month for the prior month, and may keep a discount of 2 percent of the tax collected and remitted on time, which the page caps at 8,000 dollars a month on the first 400,000 dollars collected.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT) (accessed October 10, 2026)

• Rule 810-6-2-.90.03 says an out-of-state seller making retail sales of tangible personal property into Alabama must register and collect tax when those sales exceed 250,000 dollars per year based on the previous calendar year's sales, and may do so under the regular state and local rules, under the Simplified Sellers Use Tax, or through a marketplace facilitator; the rule states no transaction count.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: Rule 810-6-2-.90.03, out-of-state sellers (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Department's state rate table lists the general state sales tax at 4 percent and the state food and grocery rate at 2 percent effective September 1, 2025, down from 3 percent for September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2025.

  Alabama Department of Revenue: State Sales and Use Tax Rates (accessed October 10, 2026)

• Alabama has 50,645 square miles of land area.

  U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)

• The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate puts Alabama's resident population at 5,193,088 on July 1, 2025, up from the April 2020 estimates base of 5,025,437.

  U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates (accessed October 10, 2026)

Cities in Alabama

• BirminghamBirmingham's 4 percent city sales tax, Jefferson County's 2 percent and the October event weekends, with a BOGO plan that fits the FTC's rules on free.