Sales Tax Holidays for Water-Efficient and ENERGY STAR®
Products Set for May 25-27
Buy This Month & Save
(AUSTIN) — Texas families and businesses can save on the purchase of certain water- and energy-efficient products during the state’s Water-Efficient Products and ENERGY STAR® sales tax holidays. Both take place Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27.
The Texas Comptroller’s office estimates shoppers will save about $12.6 million in state and local sales taxes during the Memorial Day weekend sales tax holidays.
“Inefficient appliances and outdated water systems can put a tremendous strain on our power grids and water supplies,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “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.”
This is the fourth year for the Water-Efficient Products Sales Tax Holiday. Products displaying a WaterSense® label or logo can be purchased tax-free for personal or business use. These include showerheads, bathroom sink faucets and accessories, toilets, urinals and landscape irrigation controls.
The sales tax holiday also applies to lawn and garden products that help conserve water outdoors. Items qualifying for the exemption include soaker or drip-irrigation hoses; moisture controls for a sprinkler or irrigation system; mulch; and plants, trees and grasses. These items can be purchased tax-free for residential use only. There’s no limit to the number of water-efficient or water-conserving products you can purchase tax-free. For more information on the Water-Efficient Products Sales Tax Holiday, visit the Comptroller’s website.
During the ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday, certain energy-efficient products displaying the ENERGY STAR logo can be purchased tax-free, including air conditioners priced at $6,000 or less, refrigerators priced at $2,000 or less, ceiling fans, fluorescent light bulbs, dishwashers, dehumidifiers and clothes washing machines. Visit the Comptroller’s website for more ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday details. Members of the media can access downloadable graphics and other resources at our online media center.
ENERGY STAR SALES TAX HOLIDAY
You can buy certain ENERGY STAR® energy-efficient products tax-free during the annual Texas ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday. There is no limit on the number of qualifying items you can buy, and you do not need to give the seller an exemption certificate to buy items tax free. This year's tax-free ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday begins Saturday, May 25, and goes through midnight on Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day).
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
- programmable thermostats*
*The ENERGY STAR qualification for programmable thermostats was suspended on Dec. 31, 2009. The ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday exemption for programmable thermostats only applies to those with ENERGY STAR labels before the suspension.
Non-Qualifying Products: Examples of items that do not qualify and are taxable, even if they are ENERGY STAR-labelled include:
- water heaters
- clothes dryers
- freezers
- stoves
- attic fans
- heat pumps
- wine refrigerators
- kegerators
- beverage chillers
Additional Charges Affect the Sales Price: Delivery, shipping, handling, and transportation charges by the seller are part of the item's sales price. Charges for installing free-standing items are also part of the item's sales price. If the item you buy is not taxable, then these charges are not taxable.
For air conditioners and refrigerators (because they have a price cap), you have to look at the item's total sales price to determine if you can buy it tax free.
For example, you buy an ENERGY STAR refrigerator for $1,995 with a $50 delivery charge for a total sales price of $2,045. Because the refrigerator's total sales price is more than the $2,000 cap for refrigerators, tax is due on the entire $2,045 sales price.
If a delivery charge is billed "per item", and an invoice has both exempt and taxable items, only the qualifying exempt item's delivery charge is exempt.
For a flat-rate delivery charge, the total delivery charge is applied to the tax-exempt items and is exempt if it does not cause the item's sales price to be more than its price cap.
Contractors and Taxable Service Providers
If you perform new construction or residential repair and remodeling contract work, you are a contractor. If you repair or remodel nonresidential real property, you are a taxable service provider.
- Purchases
- Sales
- More Information
For more information, contact us at Tax Help, or call 800-252-5555.
96-1331
(05/2018)
Estimated annual energy and water savings for eligible products are listed below: ENERGY STAR® Appliance vs. Conventional
- Appliance Type Energy Savings Water Savings
- Central Air Conditioners 8%
- Room/Window Air Conditioners 10%
- Refrigerators 9%
- Ceiling Fans 40%
- Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs 70%
- Clothes Washers 25% 33%
- Dishwashers 12% 30%
- Dehumidifiers 30%
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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