2023 Ohio tax-free weekend is August 4–6

The 2023 Ohio sales tax holiday runs August 4 through 6 and applies to state and local sales taxes.

Like most sales tax holidays in July and August, the Ohio tax-free weekend is geared toward families with children. The temporary sales tax exemption applies to the following products if purchased for personal use (items used in trade or business are not tax exempt):

• Certain clothing priced $75 or less
• School instructional materials priced $20 or less
• School supplies priced $20 or less

Retailers registered in Ohio are required to participate in the tax-free weekend even if based in another state and selling online. 

The Ohio sales tax holiday begins at 12:00 a.m. on Friday and concludes at 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday. If a seller is located outside of Ohio, in another state or country, the time in effect at the seller’s location governs whether the exemption applies.

For instance, if an Ohio consumer were to purchase a $59 dress from a California retailer at 1:00 a.m. ET on August 4, the retailer would need to charge the consumer sales tax because it would be 10:00 p.m. PT on August 3 for the retailer. Yet if the consumer were to wait to purchase the dress at 1:00 a.m. ET on August 7, the retailer would not apply Ohio sales tax to the transaction because it would be 10:00 p.m. PT on August 6 in California.

Yes! Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina all have a tax-free weekend August 4, 5, and 6. Additionally, the Florida back-to-school sales tax holiday that began July 24 will end on August 6.

There are also sales tax holidays in a few other states on some of those days:

• The Arkansas tax-free weekend is August 5 and 6
• The Iowa tax-free weekend is August 4 and 5
• The West Virginia tax-free weekend is August 4 through 7

We provide state-specific information and other helpful sales tax holiday tips in our 2023 sales tax holidays blog.

Overlapping sales tax holidays complicate sales tax compliance for businesses that sell a variety of eligible products to consumers in multiple states. Retailers must monitor exact start and stop times and dates, pay attention to time zones, know how to handle layaway sales, returns, and shipping charges, and ensure sales tax isn’t applied to qualifying transactions in each state.

It's a lot, especially during the first weekend of August.

If you find sales tax holidays difficult to manage, now may be a good time to learn how automating tax compliance can help.