How To Save Money on Back-To-School Shopping

Don't Break your Bank

Summer’s reaching an end and kids will soon return to school. Back-to-school shopping is unavoidable, and the lists seem to grow as fast as your little one. Good news - you don’t have to break the bank! Some states participate in tax-free shopping weekends to help ease expenses.

17 states currently offer tax-free shopping weekends. In participating states, you can shop in-store or from an online/catalog seller that does business in the state.

On designated tax-free weekends parents can save on items such as clothing, shoes, school supplies, backpacks, and etc. 

Note: There are some exceptions. All items must be priced under $100, and not everything you may need can be tax-exempt. 

Don’t let that discourage you from skipping out on tax-free weekend! There are many items that will be tax-free and perfect for swim lessons! We’ve listed our favorite items that are tax-exempt below. 

Tax-Free Eligible Items Perfect for Swim Lessons

• Backpacks (athletic, duffle or gym bags DO NOT qualify as tax-free)
• Lunch Boxes (great for packing snacks for lessons!)
• Swimsuits
• Sandals
• Flip Flops
• Baby Diapers
• School Supplies - Yes, school supplies! Creating an ‘art kit’ for your little one is perfect pre- or post-lesson if you have multiple kids taking lessons.

For our Texas followers, here’s a link for a full list of items that are exempt on the weekend of August 9-11: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/98-490/

For those of you outside of Texas, here’s a link that will tell you if and when your state participates in a tax-free shopping weekend: https://www.dealnews.com/features/Tax-Free/