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Tennessee will launch a week-long sales tax holiday on food, both at grocery stores and at restaurants, later this month.
The sales tax holiday runs from Friday, July 30, through Thursday, August 5.
Food and ingredients you buy at the grocery store will be tax-free, basically almost anything a person can eat. It does not include alcohol, tobacco, candy, or dietary supplements.
It also includes most things you can buy from restaurants, food trucks, caterers, or grocery stores.
Here’s how the state defines what qualifies:
- Is sold in a heated state or heated by the seller,
- Contains two or more food ingredients mixed together by the seller for sale as a single item; or
- Is sold with eating utensils, such as plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses, cups, napkins, or straws provided by the vendor.
Prepared food does not include food that is only cut, repackaged, or pasteurized by the seller, and eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and foods containing these raw animal foods requiring cooking by the consumer as recommended by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent foodborne illnesses.
Tennessee’s annual sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping also kicks off July 30, but it’s just for the weekend. It will end at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, August 1.
You won’t have to pay sales tax on items to help get your kids back to school, though anyone can take advantage of the savings.
Here’s what’s eligible:
- Clothing priced up to $100. It does not include jewelry, purses, or sports equipment.
- School and art supplies priced up to $100 each
- Computers, laptops or tablets that cost less than $1,500. It does not include flash drives, software, printer supplies and household appliances.
A year-long sales tax holiday on gun safety equipment, including gun safes and locking devices, is also underway.