Two sales tax holidays in Tennessee this summer

Shopper alert: The Tennessee General Assembly has approved two sales tax holiday weekends for this summer in an effort to support the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

One tax holiday is for clothing and back-to-school items, and the second one focuses on restaurants, according to a Monday morning announcement from the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

The first tax-free holiday weekend, which includes clothing, computers and other back-to-school items, begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 31, and ends Sunday, Aug. 2, at 11:59 p.m.

The second weekend, which exempts restaurant food and drink purchases from sales tax, begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7 and ends Sunday, Aug. 9, at 11:59 p.m.

Other good news for shoppers is that

the price thresholds for this sales tax holiday weekend will be double what they were in past years. For school supplies and clothing, the 2020 price threshold for qualifying items is $200 or less; for computers and other electronics, the threshold is $3,000 or less. That’s compared to a $100 threshold on clothes and school supplies and $1,500 on computers in years past.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense economic strain on Tennessee families. These sales tax holidays will allow them to keep more of their hardearned money and support Tennessee businesses,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a press release.

This double sales tax holiday is for 2020 only, officials said.

A list of exempt items for the first weekend is available at the Department of Revenue’s website.

For more information about the sales tax holiday weekends, go online to tntaxholiday.com.

LARRY MCCORMACK/USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE Tax-free weekend brings out hoards of bargain-hungry shoppers every year.

LARRY MCCORMACK / THE TENNESSEAN In addition to the annual back-to-school sales tax holiday, Tennessee will exempt restaurant food and drink purchases from sales tax for a weekend in August 2020.