Oklahoma's August tax holiday, a grocery tax that is state-only, and an inland river port
Oklahoma's sales tax holiday is a single idea in a short rule: clothing and footwear that sell for less than 100 dollars an article are exempt from sales and use tax from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August to midnight on the following Sunday. The Tax Commission's rule is concrete about how that test works for a seller, with worked examples for multi-buy orders, store coupons, a 10 percent markdown and a buy-one-get-one-free offer. Alongside it sits a change that matters to any store that ships food: since Aug. 29, 2024 the state portion of sales tax on food and food ingredients has been exempt, while local taxes still apply, and prepared food, alcohol and dietary supplements stay at the full state rate. The state also has an inland river port at Catoosa, near Tulsa, which describes itself as one of the largest and most inland in the country. This page walks through the holiday rule, the grocery change and the port from the primary sources, and ends with a multi-buy plan that keeps every item under the cap. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
August clothing and footwear holiday
The rule runs from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August to midnight on the following Sunday, which computes to Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, 2027, though the Tax Commission's help center still shows 2024 dates. Clothing and footwear priced under 100 dollars per article are exempt from sales and use tax, and the test is the sales price after a store discount or store coupon. Accessories, special athletic or protective clothing and footwear, and rentals are not covered.
- Clothing under 100 dollars per article
- Footwear under 100 dollars per pair
- Priced after store discounts and store coupons
- Online orders paid for and accepted for immediate shipment in the window
Watch out: Jewelry, handbags, wallets and watches are accessories and stay taxable, a packaged set with an ineligible item does not qualify, and the rule says nothing about shipping or handling charges, so ask the Commission whether a delivery charge counts toward the 100 dollar test before you price a 98 dollar item with a shipping fee. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
A multi-buy ladder that keeps every article under 100 dollars
- In the spring, before the holiday
Sort the catalog against the rule's exclusions. Shirts, jeans, sneakers and socks are clothing or footwear. Cleated athletic shoes, protective gear, jewelry, wallets and watches are not, so keep them out of the holiday banner.
- When you design the ladder
Build a two-pack and a three-pack of articles that each sell for under 100 dollars, such as 45 dollar shirts. The rule's own example has three 45 dollar shirts all qualifying even though the order totals 135 dollars, because the test is per article, not per order.
- When you set the discount
Use a store discount, not a manufacturer coupon. A 10 percent markdown that brings a 110 dollar item to 99 dollars qualifies under the rule, a manufacturer's coupon or rebate does not change the sales price, and a gift card cannot be used to get a price under the line.
- Before you add a free item
A free second item can qualify, according to the rule, as long as the first article is under 100 dollars, but a second item at a reduced price cannot be averaged with the first. If you use a buy-one-get-one, keep the paid item under 100 dollars.
- Friday, Aug. 6 through Sunday, Aug. 8, 2027 (computed)
Run the ladder for those three days once the Commission confirms them, and take orders for immediate shipment so a late delivery date does not matter. Ask the Commission how a delivery charge is treated, since the rule is silent on it.
Build it with the Volume discount template.
Questions merchants ask
- When is the Oklahoma sales tax holiday in 2027?
- The Commission's rule sets it from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August to midnight on the following Sunday, which computes to Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, 2027. The Commission's help center still shows the 2024 dates, so confirm the 2027 dates before you schedule an offer.
- How do the grocery exemption and the general state rate work in one cart?
- Since Aug. 29, 2024 food and food ingredients are exempt from the state portion of the tax, but local taxes still apply, and prepared food, alcoholic beverages and dietary supplements carry the full 4.5 percent state rate. In a cart with a bag of flour and a shirt, the flour carries only local tax and the shirt carries state and local tax unless the shirt qualifies for the holiday.
- Is a 110 dollar jacket with 10 percent off covered?
- The rule says a seller's discount taken at the time of sale changes the sales price, and its example is a 110 dollar pair of jeans discounted 10 percent, a 99 dollar sale that qualifies. A manufacturer's coupon does not count.
- Do I have to collect Oklahoma tax from another state?
- The Commission's help center says a remote seller must obtain a permit and collect once it has more than 100,000 dollars in taxable Oklahoma sales in the preceding or current calendar year. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
- What is the Port of Catoosa?
- It is a barge port and industrial park near Tulsa that Tulsa Ports says sits at the head of navigation for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and is one of the largest, most inland river ports in the country. The figures on this page are the port's own.
Related reading
Shipping into the state
Oklahoma has 68,595 square miles of land and 4,123,288 residents, and its freight story is a barge channel in the northeast: Tulsa Ports says over 82 million tons have passed through the Port of Catoosa since 1971. For a store the shipping question is the parcel, not the barge, and the tax question is how the order is taken: the holiday rule treats an order as qualifying if it is paid for and accepted for immediate shipment in the window, even when delivery comes later.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates
Source: Tulsa Ports: About
Dates to plan around
- Clothing and footwear tax holiday (first Friday through Sunday of August; computed, no 2027 notice posted)Oklahoma Tax Commission: Help Center, Businesses
Facts and sources
The Commission's rule says that beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ending at twelve midnight on the following Sunday, sales of any item of clothing or footwear with a sales price of less than one hundred dollars per article are exempt from sales and use tax, and its examples show three 45 dollar shirts all qualifying even though the total is 135 dollars.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Oklahoma Administrative Code 710:65, Sales and Use Tax, rule 710:65-13-511 (2024 edition) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Counting from the first-Friday rule, the first Friday of August 2027 is August 6, so the holiday would run Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, 2027, a window we computed because the Commission's help center still lists the 2024 dates, August 2, 3 and 4, and shows no 2027 notice.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Help Center, Businesses (accessed October 10, 2026)
The rule excludes accessories, such as jewelry, handbags, wallets, watches, umbrellas and luggage, special clothing or footwear primarily designed for athletic or protective use, and rentals, and its examples add that a 99 dollar gold pin does not qualify because it is an accessory and that a packaged gift set of a wallet and a tie does not qualify.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Oklahoma Administrative Code 710:65, Sales and Use Tax, rule 710:65-13-511 (2024 edition) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The rule counts discounts and store coupons taken at the time of sale in the sales price, so a pair of jeans at 110 dollars with a 10 percent discount is a 99 dollar sale and qualifies and a 100 dollar item with a 10 dollar store coupon qualifies at 90 dollars, while a manufacturer's coupon or rebate does not change the sales price and a gift card cannot be used to reduce a price to qualify.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Oklahoma Administrative Code 710:65, Sales and Use Tax, rule 710:65-13-511 (2024 edition) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The rule says a buy-one-get-one-free or two-for-the-price-of-one offer on eligible items qualifies when the other conditions are met, with a 99 dollar first pair of shoes and a free second pair both qualifying, but a buy-one-get-one at a reduced price cannot be averaged, so a 120 dollar coat and a half-price 60 dollar coat are taxed on the first only.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Oklahoma Administrative Code 710:65, Sales and Use Tax, rule 710:65-13-511 (2024 edition) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The rule says internet and mail sales qualify when the item is both paid for and delivered in the window, or when the customer orders and pays and the seller accepts the order in the window for immediate shipment even if delivery comes later, that a preorder can qualify if payment occurs in the window, and it does not mention shipping or handling charges.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Oklahoma Administrative Code 710:65, Sales and Use Tax, rule 710:65-13-511 (2024 edition) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Commission says that effective August 29, 2024 the sale of food and food ingredients and certain prepared food is exempt from state sales and use tax, that the exemption applies only to the state portion and all local sales and use taxes still apply, and that prepared food, alcoholic beverages and dietary supplements remain subject to the full state rate of 4.5 percent.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: State Sales Tax on Food and Food Ingredients (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Commission's help center says remote sellers are required to get a sales tax permit and collect Oklahoma state and local sales tax only if they have more than 100,000 dollars in taxable Oklahoma sales in the preceding calendar year or the current calendar year for delivery into the state, and that the exception does not apply to sellers with a physical presence.
Oklahoma Tax Commission: Help Center, Businesses (accessed October 10, 2026)
Tulsa Ports says the Tulsa Port of Catoosa sits at the head of navigation for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in northeast Oklahoma and calls it one of the largest, most inland river ports in the United States, with a 2,000-acre industrial park, and its own figure is an annual economic impact of 300 million dollars to Oklahoma.
Tulsa Ports: About (accessed October 10, 2026)
The port's history says over 82 million tons of freight have passed through since it opened in 1971, that the 50,000th barge entered in December 2017, and that more than 1000 barges pass through during a normal shipping year.
Tulsa Ports: About (accessed October 10, 2026)
Tulsa Ports says barge freight at the port is handled around the clock in a 1.5-mile, 12-foot-deep slack-water channel, that a full tow on the navigation system is a maximum of 12 barges, and that a single towboat moving up to 1,500 tons of freight can replace approximately 60 trucks or 15 rail cars, which is the port's own comparison.
Tulsa Ports: Shipping (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate puts Oklahoma at 4,123,288 residents on July 1, 2025, up from 4,097,758 a year earlier.
U.S. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates (accessed October 10, 2026)
Oklahoma has 68,595 square miles of land area.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Cities in Oklahoma
- Oklahoma CityOklahoma City's 2027 spring brings a marathon, an arts festival and the Women's College World Series. See the city tax rate and a buy X, get Y plan.
Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.