Tennessee's tax holiday: per-item caps, bundles and a volume offer plan
Tennessee has run an annual sales tax holiday since 2006, and the Department of Revenue's holiday page now lists the next one: 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 30 to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 1, 2027, after a 2026 holiday that ran July 31 to Aug. 2. For a store that sells apparel in multiples, the details that matter are all about the per-item cap. Clothing and school supplies qualify at 100 dollars or less each, computers at 1,500 dollars or less for personal use, and the Department's page says items sold together cannot be split up to stay beneath the cap. Online sales are eligible. That makes a multi-unit offer, such as buy three and save, a rule-reading exercise before it is a promotion.
Annual sales tax holiday
Clothing and school supplies priced at 100 dollars or less each, and personal-use computers at 1,500 dollars or less, are exempt for one weekend. The Department's holiday page lists the 2027 weekend as Friday, July 30 through Sunday, Aug. 1, and online sales are eligible. The 2026 weekend ran from Friday, July 31 through Sunday, Aug. 2. Tennessee has held the holiday every year since 2006; confirm the dates on the Department's page before you print them.
- Clothing at 100 dollars or less per item
- School supplies at 100 dollars or less per item
- Computers at 1,500 dollars or less for personal use
Watch out: The cap is per item, and the Department says items sold together cannot be split up to stay beneath it. Its holiday page does not say how a discount, coupon or shipping charge affects the 100 dollar test, so ask the Department before you advertise a price that depends on one.
Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers
Questions merchants ask
- When is Tennessee's next sales tax holiday?
- The Department of Revenue's holiday page lists the 2027 holiday as beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 30, and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2027. The 2026 holiday ran from July 31 to Aug. 2, and the holiday has been held every year since 2006. Confirm the dates with the Department.
- Do online sales qualify for the holiday?
- Yes. The Department says items sold online are eligible, and that all purchases must be for personal use, not for business or trade.
- Why is a computer cap different from the clothing cap?
- Clothing and school supplies are capped at 100 dollars each, while personal-use computers are capped at 1,500 dollars, and the Department excludes storage media, software bought separately, printer supplies and household appliances from the computer category.
- What is Tennessee's single article tax?
- For one article, local tax applies to the first 1,600 dollars in most jurisdictions, and a state single article tax of 2.75 percent applies to the part between 1,600 and 3,200 dollars. This is not tax advice; confirm with the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
- When must an out-of-state store collect Tennessee tax?
- The Department's Sales and Use Tax Manual (August 2022) says an out-of-state dealer with no physical presence and sales above 100,000 dollars to Tennessee customers in the previous tax year has substantial nexus. Confirm the current rule with the Department; this is not tax advice.
A volume discount plan for the Tennessee holiday weekend
- Before the holiday weekend
List the apparel items priced at 100 dollars or less each and mark the ones near the cap. A volume offer on those items, such as buy two or three of the same shirt, should be priced per unit, because the Department tests each item and not the order total.
Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers
- When you design the steps
Do not sell a set of units as one bundle priced above the cap and then split it. The Department says items sold together cannot be split up to stay beneath the cap, so show each unit's own price on the volume steps and keep a real single-unit price.
Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers
- Choosing what to include
Leave out jewelry, handbags and sports equipment, which are not exempt clothing, and keep computers for personal use only. Add a note near the offer that business purchases do not qualify.
Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers
- Any time a customer asks about the discount
Tennessee's holiday page does not say how a discount changes the 100 dollar test, so do not tell customers that a volume step brings a 110 dollar item under the cap. Ask the Department in writing and keep the answer.
Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers
Build it with the Volume discount template.
Shipping into the state
Tennessee's logistics story is in the air: Memphis International Airport's board voted to rename the airport after the FedEx founder, Frederick W. Smith. For a store, the shipping question is different. The holiday page does not say whether a shipping charge counts toward the 100 dollar line, so a multi-unit offer should keep each item well under the cap, and the tax follows the delivery address across a state of 41,235 square miles of land.
Source: Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority: 2025 year-end release (Jan. 22, 2026)
Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers
Related reading
Cities in Tennessee
- MemphisMemphis is home to the FedEx World Hub. What its size means for carrier cutoffs and delivery promises, plus a shipping-tier plan for a Shopify store.
- NashvilleCMA Fest runs June 10 to 13, 2027, and Davidson County adds 2.75 percent local tax. Dated facts and a buy-three merch offer plan for Shopify stores.
Dates to plan around
- Annual sales tax holiday (2027: Friday, July 30 to Sunday, Aug. 1)Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers
Facts and sources
The Tennessee Department of Revenue's holiday page says the 2027 sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 30, 2027, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2027.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Tennessee Department of Revenue says the 2026 sales tax holiday began at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 31, 2026, and ended at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Tennessee's sales tax holiday continues two decades of savings (July 17, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department says Tennessee's annual sales tax holiday has been in place for two decades, with the first one held in 2006.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Tennessee's sales tax holiday continues two decades of savings (July 17, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Clothing and school supplies priced at 100 dollars or less each qualify for the holiday, as do computers for personal use priced at 1,500 dollars or less, items sold online are eligible, and purchases must be for personal use and not for business or trade.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers (accessed October 10, 2026)
Jewelry, handbags, and sports and recreational equipment are not exempt clothing, apparel over 100 dollars is excluded, and for computers the Department excludes storage media, individually purchased software, printer supplies and household appliances.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's holiday page says items sold together, such as shoes, cannot be split up to stay beneath the 100 dollar maximum for clothing, that the same applies to school supplies normally sold together, and the page does not address how coupons, discounts or shipping charges affect the cap.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Holiday, Clothing, School Supplies and Computers (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's Sales and Use Tax Manual says school instructional materials, meaning reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks and workbooks, are excluded from the products that may qualify for one of Tennessee's sales tax holidays.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax Manual (August 2022) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department states that the general state sales tax rate is 7 percent, and that the local rate varies by county and city.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax (accessed October 10, 2026)
On a single article, local tax is applied only to the first 1,600 dollars of the price in most jurisdictions, the state single article rate of 2.75 percent applies to the portion between 1,600 and 3,200 dollars, and nothing above 3,200 dollars is subject to the state single article tax.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Single Article Special Tax Rates (accessed October 10, 2026)
Tennessee's Sales and Use Tax Manual says an out-of-state dealer with no physical presence that makes sales above 100,000 dollars to Tennessee customers during the previous tax year has substantial nexus, and that the threshold was reduced from 500,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars effective Oct. 1, 2020.
Tennessee Department of Revenue: Sales and Use Tax Manual (August 2022) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority's 2025 year-end release says its Board of Commissioners voted to rename Memphis International Airport after FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith.
Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority: 2025 year-end release (Jan. 22, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Tennessee has 41,235 square miles of land area and 42,144 square miles in total.
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.