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July 20, 2022

Three Sales Tax Holidays to Remember in 2022

Co-authors: Bradley Sagraves & Kaitlyn Sell

 

The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation this year that increased our normal sales tax holidays from 1 event to 2 events and extending a specific sales tax exemption for safes.  Tennessee’s traditional sales tax holiday will begin on Friday, July 29, 2022 and continue through Sunday, July 31, 2022. During this weekend, sales of certain clothing items, school supplies, and computers will be exempt from Tennessee sales tax. It is important to note that all items purchased tax-free this weekend must be used for personal use and not for use in a business or a trade. Sales tax exemption on qualifying items will apply not only to items purchased in store, but to items purchased online as well.

During this weekend, general items of apparel such as shirts, pants, and shoes may be purchased tax free if the item costs $100 or less. Items costing more than $100 as well as jewelry, handbags, and sports and recreational equipment will not be exempt from sales tax this weekend.

Any school or art supply which costs $100 or less per item will also be exempt from sales tax. This includes items such as binders, backpacks, and pencils as well as art supplies such as clay, paints, and drawing pads.

Further, personal-use desktop computers, laptops, and tablets may also be exempt from sales tax if purchased during this weekend, provided that such computer costs $1,500 or less. It is important to note that certain computer accessories such as flash drives, CDs, individually purchased software, and printer supplies will not qualify for sales tax exemption. For a detailed list of items that are exempt from sales tax this weekend, visit the Tennessee Department of Revenue’s website at https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/sales-and-use-tax/sales-tax-holiday/sth-traditional.html.

The sales tax holiday for gun safes and gun safety devices, originally ending on June 30, 2022, has been extended through June 30, 2023. During this period, retail sales of gun safes as well as other gun safety devices are exempt from sales tax. A gun safety device is defined to include any integral device to be equipped or installed on a firearm that permits the user to program the firearm to operate only for specified persons.

Tennessee has additionally approved another state-wide sales tax holiday to begin on Monday August 1, 2022 and conclude on August 31, 2022. During this month, certain food and food ingredients may be purchased sales tax free. Food and food ingredients are defined to include “liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried, or dehydrated substances that are sold to be ingested or chewed by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value.” The Tennessee Department of Revenue has clarified that alcoholic beverages, tobacco, candy, dietary supplements and prepared food will not be exempt from sales tax during this month. Prepared food includes any food the seller has to prepare by mixing food ingredients together, heating food items up or selling the food with eating utensils. For a detail list of examples of food and food ingredients that will be exempt from sales tax, please see the Tennessee Department of Revenue Important Notice #17-20 located at https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/notices/sales/sales17-20.pdf.

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