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Illinois Back-To-School State Sales Tax Holiday

July 31st, 2026

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State & Local Tax

Starting on August 7, 2026, and ending at the close of business on August 16, 2026, back-to-school shoppers in Illinois can purchase certain clothing and back-to-school-related items at a reduced state sales tax rate. During the state sales tax holiday period, the state sales tax rate is reduced from 6.25% to 1.25%.

During the state sales tax holiday, local sales tax will still apply.

Qualifying Items

The Illinois state sales tax holiday applies only to qualifying items. Qualifying items must have a retail selling price of less than $125 and must be listed as included items such as certain clothing, footwear, and school supplies. Listed items that are eligible for the sales tax holiday are:

  • Clothing, such as aprons, athletic supporters, bathing suit/caps, belts/suspenders, coats, jackets, gloves/mittens, lab coats, neckties, rainwear, rubber pants used for cloth diapers, scarves, underwear, school uniforms, shorts/pants, skirts/dresses, shirts/blouses and hosiery/pantyhose.
  • Footwear, such as shoes/sneakers/shoelaces, sandals, slippers, socks/stockings, footlets, boots/overshoes, insoles for shoes, and steel-toed boots.
  • School supplies, such as binders, bookbags, calculators, cellophane tape, crayons, composition books, chalk, colored pencils, folders, glue/paste/paste sticks, highlighters, index cards/boxes, legal pads, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks/notebook paper, pencils, pens, pencil boxes/sharpeners, rulers/protractors/compasses, and scissors.

Non-Qualifying Items

Non-qualifying items include all clothing and footwear with a retail selling price of $125 or more and items that are specifically listed as excluded from the state sales holiday. Nonqualifying items that are not eligible for the sales tax holiday are:

  • Listed clothing accessories such as briefcases/wallets/handbags, cosmetics, and jewelry.
  • Sport or recreational equipment such as sports goals, mouth guards, and wetsuits.
  • Protective equipment such as breathing masks, face shields, and hard hats/helmets.
  • Certain footwear such as dance or athletic shoes, roller/ice skates, and wader/fins.
  • Certain art supplies such as clay/glazes, paint, and sketch/drawing pads.
  • Instructional materials such as reference books, maps, textbooks/workbooks.
  • Electronics such as computers, computer supplies, and cell phones.

How Does This Impact Practitioners?

Practitioners should advise their retail clients to adjust their sales tax collection procedures during the sales tax holiday period for qualifying items and carefully ensure non-qualifying items are not included.

Practitioners should also remind clients that special sales during the holiday may require additional steps to confirm that the sale price qualifies as having a retail price under $125, and retailers should review the additional requirements for bundled sales, splitting items, rain checks, exchanges, back orders, and returns.

Qualifying sales during the sales tax holiday will be reported separately using Illinois Schedule K-12, Sales and Use Tax Holiday Schedule.

Back-to-School State Sales Tax Holidays in Other States

Qualifying Items Exempt from State Sales Tax

Qualifying Items Exempt from Both State and Local Sales tax

Qualifying Items Exempt From State Sales Tax and Local Sales Tax at a Reduced Rate

  • Iowa: August 7–8, 2026. Reduction of local sales tax up to 1%.
  • Texas: August 7–9, 2026. Reduction of local sales tax up to 2%.

By Kim Tipsord, EA
Tax Materials Specialist, U of I Tax School
Kim Tipsord

Disclaimer: The information referenced in Tax School’s blog is accurate at the date of publication. You may contact taxschool@illinois.edu if you have more up-to-date, supported information and we will create an addendum.

University of Illinois Tax School is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information in this site is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information. This blog and the information contained herein does not constitute tax client advice.

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