Tax Free Week – Sunday, August 18 – Saturday, August 24

Connecticut’s annual Sales Tax Free Week begins on the third Sunday of August and runs until the following Saturday. This year it’s 8/18-8/24! This is timed in the run up to the start of the new school year when families are shopping for back-to-school clothing.

Exempting tax on children’s clothing under $100 should be a year-round policy and was one of my priorities in the 2024 session. While that proposal was unsuccessful, we do still have our annual one week sales tax exclusion for clothing and footwear costing less than $100.

This applies to in-person purchases and purchases made online. The exemption applies to each eligible item costing under $100 regardless of how many of those items are sold to a customer on the same invoice. Tax is calculated on the final sales price, after all reductions and coupons have been calculated.

While most articles of clothing and footwear intended to be worn on or about the body, the following items do not qualify for exemption during Sales Tax Free Week:

• Any special clothing or footwear primarily designed for athletic activity or protective use that is not normally worn except when used for the athletic activity or protective use for which it was designed.
• Jewelry, handbags, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches, and similar items carried on or about the human body but not worn on the body in the manner characteristic of clothing.