Texas' energy sales tax holiday is this Memorial Day weekend. See list of qualifying items

Alexis Simmerman and Sarah Ann Dueñas, Austin American-Statesman

It's not just Memorial Day weekend in Texas: It's also a sales tax holiday!

When is tax free weekend in Texas?

Texas’ Water-Efficient Products and Energy Star Sales Tax Holidays will occur from Saturday, May 25 to Monday, May 27.

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Energy Star tax holiday items

According to the Texas Comptroller’s office, you can buy an unlimited number of qualifying items without an exemption certificate.

QualifyingEnergy Star-labeled products to buy, lease or rent:

  • Air conditioners (with a sales price of $6,000 or less)

  • Refrigerators (with a sales price of $2,000 or less)

  • Ceiling fans

  • Incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs

  • Clothes washers

  • Dishwashers

  • Dehumidifiers

Items that do not qualify for the sales tax holiday, Energy Star-labeled or otherwise:

  • Water heaters

  • Clothes dryers

  • Freezers

  • Stoves

  • Attic fans

  • Heat pumps

  • Wine refrigerators

  • Kegerators

  • Beverage chillers

Power lines near the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Del Valle on March 24, 2020. The Texas A&M System is exploring the possibility of allowing companies to build a network of "peaker" power plants on its land across Texas.
Power lines near the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Del Valle on March 24, 2020. The Texas A&M System is exploring the possibility of allowing companies to build a network of "peaker" power plants on its land across Texas.

This weekend: 3.6 million Texans expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend, AAA says

Water-efficient tax holiday items

As with the Energy Star program, the number of qualifying water-efficient items you can buy is unlimited. Any product that displays a WaterSense label or logo is tax-free, but you also can buy these water-efficient and water-conserving products tax-free if used for your residence:

  • Soaker or drip-irrigation hoses

  • Moisture control for a sprinkler or irrigation system

  • Mulch

  • Rain barrels or alternative rain and moisture collection systems

  • Permeable ground cover surface that allows water to reach underground basins, aquifers or water collection points

  • Plants, trees and grasses

  • Water-saving surfactants

  • Soil and compost

If delivery, shipping and handling, or installation charges are part of the nontaxable item’s price, those charges are not taxable. But for air conditioners and refrigerators that have a price cap, you have to look at the item's total sales price, including extra costs, to determine whether you can buy it tax-free.

What is the Energy Star sales tax holiday?

The Energy Star program was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy in 1992. Its goals included encouraging economic growth and environment protection simultaneously.

The tax holiday was then created by the Texas Legislature. The Texas Comptroller’s office estimates that shoppers will save $15 million in state and local sales tax this year.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas sales tax holiday 2024: Save on these energy-efficient items

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