When is Florida's back-to-school tax holiday?

The Department of Revenue's 2026 publication says the holiday ran from Monday, July 20 through Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. Its 2025 publication said Aug. 1 through Aug. 31 and called the holiday annual, so the dates differ by year. Check the Department's publication for the next window.

Do online orders qualify, and what counts as the order date?

Yes. The Department says eligible items bought from a remote seller are exempt when the order is accepted during the holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is after it ends. An order is accepted when action is taken to fill it, for example confirming an internet order by email.

Can I average a buy one get one price so both items stay under the cap?

No. The Department says the total price of items advertised as buy one, get one free, or buy one, get one for a reduced price, cannot be averaged in order for both items to qualify for the exemption. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Department.

Do I have to collect Florida tax if I sell from another state?

The Department says that since July 1, 2021 a business with taxable remote sales over 100,000 dollars in the previous calendar year must collect and remit. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Florida Department of Revenue.

Florida's month-long tax holiday: rules for bundles, BOGO and shipping

Florida's back-to-school sales tax holiday is no longer a weekend. The Department of Revenue's 2026 publication puts it at Monday, July 20 through Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, a window of more than four weeks, and calls the holiday annual. That length changes how a Shopify store plans: the question is no longer whether to run a weekend promotion but how to keep offers legal and clear for a month. The Department's own publication answers several offer questions directly. A set that mixes exempt and taxable items is taxed as a whole, a buy one get one free price cannot be averaged so both items qualify, and separately stated shipping is split across the items on the order.

Updated October 10, 2026 · 13 sourced facts

Photo: DXR, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

Annual Back-to-School sales tax holiday

Florida's holiday exempts clothing and footwear at 100 dollars or less per item, school supplies at 50 dollars or less, learning aids at 30 dollars or less and personal computers at 1,500 dollars or less. The 2026 window ran from Monday, July 20 through Thursday, Aug. 20. The Department's 2025 publication called the holiday annual, but its window moved between 2025 and 2026, so check the Department's publication for the 2027 dates before you print them.

Clothing and footwear at 100 dollars or less
School supplies at 50 dollars or less
Learning aids at 30 dollars or less
Personal computers at 1,500 dollars or less

Watch out: The limits apply per item, and the Department says a set that combines exempt and taxable items is taxed as a whole, a buy one get one price cannot be averaged so both items qualify, and shipping is split across the items. A bundle price that spreads across items is where a store makes a mistake.

Source: Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026)

A mix and match plan for a month-long tax holiday

Before the window opens
Build the pick-any-three set only from items that qualify on their own and sit under their cap, such as notebooks under 50 dollars or clothing under 100 dollars. The Department taxes a set that mixes exempt and taxable items as a whole, so keep taxable items out of it.
Source: Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026)
When you set the price
Price each pick so that every item is within its own cap, and do not rely on averaging. The Department says a buy one get one price cannot be averaged so both items qualify. Where you are unsure how to split a bundle price across items, ask the Department before you publish it.
Source: Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026)
During the window
Use your own store discounts, which reduce the sales price, and do not count on manufacturer rebates, which do not. Show shipping as its own line, because the Department splits separately stated shipping across the items on the invoice.
Source: Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026)
At the end of the window
Say the end date in the banner and keep the time zone out of doubt. For a remote seller, an order is accepted when you act to fill it, such as sending a confirmation email, and that has to happen inside the window.
Source: Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026)

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Questions merchants ask

When is Florida's back-to-school tax holiday?: The Department of Revenue's 2026 publication says the holiday ran from Monday, July 20 through Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. Its 2025 publication said Aug. 1 through Aug. 31 and called the holiday annual, so the dates differ by year. Check the Department's publication for the next window.
Do online orders qualify, and what counts as the order date?: Yes. The Department says eligible items bought from a remote seller are exempt when the order is accepted during the holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is after it ends. An order is accepted when action is taken to fill it, for example confirming an internet order by email.
Can I average a buy one get one price so both items stay under the cap?: No. The Department says the total price of items advertised as buy one, get one free, or buy one, get one for a reduced price, cannot be averaged in order for both items to qualify for the exemption. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Department.
Do I have to collect Florida tax if I sell from another state?: The Department says that since July 1, 2021 a business with taxable remote sales over 100,000 dollars in the previous calendar year must collect and remit. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Florida Department of Revenue.

Shipping into the state

Florida has 53,625 square miles of land and a port with a record year behind it: Port Everglades reported 1,167,552 TEUs for fiscal year 2025. For a store, the shipping rule that matters is that separately stated shipping is split across the items on an invoice in proportion to price, and shipping on an exempt item is also exempt. Fulfillment cutoffs are the other Florida question: the holiday runs into the weeks before the Atlantic season's Sept. 10 peak, so keep a delivery notice ready to turn on across the state.

Source: Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026)

Source: Port Everglades: Port Everglades shatters its own records (Dec. 2025)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010)

Source: NOAA National Hurricane Center: Climatology

The year at a glance

Cities in Florida

JacksonvilleJAXPORT's fiscal 2025 container and vehicle counts, Duval County's 1.5 percent surtax and the Gate River Run on March 6, 2027, turned into a spend-and-get plan.
MiamiMiami's SwimShow in June, Art Basel Miami Beach in December, PortMiami's cruise traffic and hurricane season shape swimwear offers. Dated, sourced facts.

Facts and sources

The Department of Revenue's TIP 26A01-11, issued July 1, 2026, says Florida's 2026 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday begins on Monday, July 20, 2026, and ends on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
During the holiday, tax is not due on clothing, footwear, wallets, bags, handbags, backpacks, fanny packs and diaper bags priced at 100 dollars or less per item, certain school supplies at 50 dollars or less per item, learning aids and jigsaw puzzles at 30 dollars or less, and personal computers and certain accessories at 1,500 dollars or less when bought for noncommercial personal use.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's 2025 publication said the 2025 holiday ran from Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, and that the holiday now occurs annually, every August; the 2026 publication moved the window to July 20 through Aug. 20, so dates can change from one year to the next.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 25A01-08, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2025) (accessed October 10, 2026)
When tax-exempt items are normally sold together with taxable merchandise as a set or single unit, the sales price of the set or unit is subject to sales tax, and items normally sold as a unit cannot be separately priced and sold as individual items to qualify for the exemption.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department says the total price of items advertised as buy one, get one free, or buy one, get one for a reduced price, cannot be averaged in order for both items to qualify for the exemption.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Eligible items bought from a remote seller are exempt when the order is accepted during the holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after it ends, and an order is accepted when action is taken to fill it, such as confirming an internet order by email to the customer.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
When separately stated shipping charges are part of the sales price and both taxable and exempt items are on one invoice, the shipping charge is allocated to each item in proportion to its share of the order, and the shipping charge for an exempt item is also exempt.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Store coupons, discounts and rebates offered by the retail seller reduce the sales price of an item for the holiday, while a manufacturer's coupons, discounts and rebates do not because the retailer is reimbursed for them.
Florida Department of Revenue: TIP 26A01-11, Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday (2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Florida's general state sales tax rate is 6 percent, and many counties add a discretionary sales surtax that depends on where the item is delivered.
Florida Department of Revenue: Florida Sales and Use Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
Effective July 1, 2021, Florida requires a business making remote sales into the state to collect and remit tax if its taxable remote sales exceeded 100,000 dollars over the previous calendar year.
Florida Department of Revenue: Florida Sales and Use Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
The National Hurricane Center puts the Atlantic season at June 1 to November 30 and the peak at Sept. 10, so the back-to-school window and the stretch after it sit in the build-up to the season's busiest weeks.
NOAA National Hurricane Center: Climatology (accessed October 10, 2026)
Port Everglades reported 1,167,552 TEUs for Fiscal Year 2025, a preliminary figure it called a new port record, in a release dated Dec. 5, 2025.
Port Everglades: Port Everglades shatters its own records (Dec. 2025) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Florida has 53,625 square miles of land area and 65,758 square miles in total, because water makes up much of the state's area.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)

Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.

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