With the first day of school about a month away for many districts, Alabama’s 21st Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is here.
Starting Friday (July 17), Alabamians can stock up on clothing, school supplies, books, computers and educational software without paying the state’s 4% sales tax. Though it is not required, some counties and municipalities elect to remove their local taxes as well. View a list of the more than 300 participating localities here.
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Gov. Kay Ivey encouraged Alabamians to take advantage of the holiday to stock up for the coming school year.
This year’s holiday also marks the rollout of higher dollar limits for eligible items. The 56% uptick in item price for most categories comes after the Legislature passed a bill in 2025 to link dollar limits to the Consumer Price Index.
“The expanded exemption limits make this year’s tax holiday even more valuable for Alabama families,” said Rick Brown, president of the Alabama Retail Association, which advocated for the increase in 2025. “These changes help consumers purchase the items they need for the new school year while also supporting Alabama retailers in their local communities.”
Some of the higher limits include:
- Clothing and footwear priced at $156 or less, previously $100
- Certain school supplies priced at $78 or less, previously $50
- Computers or technology equipment priced at $1,173 or less, previously $750
- Books or textbooks priced at $47 or less, previously $30
Other eligible items include school uniforms, rulers, pens and pencils, laptops, printers, arts supplies, shoes, diapers and paper. View a full list of eligible items here.
Some local businesses say the holiday is the busiest shopping weekend of the year.
The Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday lasts from Friday, July 17, at 12:01 a.m. to Sunday, July 19 at midnight.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Claire Harrison and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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