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Texas sales tax holiday mash-up: Save on on water, energy-efficient products Memorial Day weekend

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Saturday through Monday, two sales tax holidays — the Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday and the Water Efficient Products Sales Tax Holiday -- will run concurrently. Throughout the weekend, Texas shoppers can save money on certain energy- and water-efficient products.

Both sales tax holidays run from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 29, through 11:59 p.m. Monday, May 31.

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The Texas Comptroller’s office estimates Texas shoppers will save about $13.4 million in state and local sales taxes during the weekend.

“Outdated water systems and inefficient appliances, along with triple-digit temperatures, can put a tremendous strain on our water supplies and power grids,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a release. “By taking advantage of these sales tax holidays, Texans can make upgrades that will help alleviate those pressures and lower their utility bills — while saving money on state and local sales taxes.”

There’s no limit to the number of qualifying products a shopper can purchase tax free. For more information on the Water-Efficient Products Sales Tax Holiday or the ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday, visit the Comptroller’s website.

MORE: Memorial Day and ENERGY STAR Tax-Free Weekend mash-up means big savings

Qualifying Water-Efficient Products

During the holiday period, shoppers can buy any product tax free that displays a WaterSense label or logo. These items can be bought for either personal or business purposes. Texans can also buy certain water-conserving products tax free during the holiday period. Unlike WaterSense®-labeled items, these items are only exempt when you purchased for use at a residential property.

Shoppers can buy items tax free during the holiday that are used or planted for conserving or retaining groundwater; recharging water tables; or decreasing ambient air temperature, and so limiting water evaporation.

Examples of items that qualify for the exemption include

  • a soaker or drip-irrigation hose
  • a moisture control for a sprinkler or irrigation system
  • mulch
  • a rain barrel or an alternative rain and moisture collection system
  • a 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

Non-Qualifying Water-Efficient Products

Examples of items that do not qualify for the exemption include

  • construction/building materials
  • awnings and other items used to create shade
  • air conditioners*
  • ceiling fans*
  • sprinklers

*Certain air conditioners and ceiling fans can be bought tax free as part of the Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday which runs concurrently with the Water-Efficient Products Sales Tax Holiday during Memorial Day weekend.

Qualifying Energy Star Products

You can buy, rent or lease only the following ENERGY STAR®-labeled items tax free:

  • 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

Non-Qualifying Energy Star Products

Examples of items that do not qualify and are taxable, even if they are ENERGY STAR®-labeled include

  • water heaters
  • clothes dryers
  • freezers
  • stoves
  • attic fans
  • heat pumps
  • wine refrigerators
  • kegerators
  • beverage chillers

Source: Texas Comptroller’s Office


About the Author
Briana Zamora-Nipper headshot

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.

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