The 2021 tax-free ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday begins this weekend.
From Saturday, May 29 through Monday, May 31, a wide variety of energy-saving products will be tax-free, specifically products with the ENERGY STAR® and WaterSense® seal of approval, according to the Texas Comptroller's Office.
There is no limit on the amount of these products you can purchase online, in-store, by mail, or over the phone, as long as the item is both delivered to, and paid for, by the customer during the exemption period; or the customer orders and pays for the item, and the seller accepts the order during the exemption period for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period ends.
The comptroller's websitehas information about additional charges that could affect the sales price and additional information about the tax holiday.
The comptroller urges the public to continue to use the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines when purchasing items in-store.
Qualifying 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
Along withitems labeled with the WaterSense®label or logo you 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:
- 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 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
Other items that do not qualify:
- construction/building materials
- awnings and other items used to create shade
- air conditioners that are not labeled ENERGY STAR®
- ceiling fans that are not labeled ENERGY STAR®
- sprinklers
For more information, or to ask questions about the tax holiday, contact the comptroller's office at 800-531-5441, ext. 34545, or visit the Water-efficient products sales tax holiday page and Energy Star sales tax holiday pages on the comptroller's website.
