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Purchase Energy Star and water-efficient products tax-free May 28-30

rain barrel

Rain barrels and other alternative water-collection systems are tax-free May 28-30.

Texans can save money and conserve Saturday-Monday, May 28-30, during the combined sales tax holidays for products marked Energy Star and WaterSense. Other water-conserving items also qualify under guidelines from the Texas Comptroller’s office.

Qualifying Energy Star energy-efficient products can be purchased, rented, or leased and include:

  • 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 lightbulbs
  • clothes washers
  • dishwashers
  • dehumidifiers

Products that do NOT qualify and are taxable, even those marked Energy Star, include:

  • water heaters
  • clothes dryers
  • freezers
  • stoves
  • attic fans
  • heat pumps
  • wine refrigerators, kegerators, and beverage chillers

WATER-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS

Products marked WaterSense as well as many other water-conserving and water-efficient items qualify for the May 28-30 sales tax holiday. WaterSense products may be purchased tax-free for personal or business use. Items without a WaterSense logo are only tax-free if purchased for residential use.

Qualifying items include those used for:

  • conserving or retaining groundwater;
  • recharging water tables;
  • or decreasing ambient air temperature to limit water evaporation.

Examples of qualifying items include:

  • soaker or drip-irrigation hoses
  • moisture-control devices for sprinkler or irrigation systems
  • mulch
  • rain barrels or alternative rain- and moisture-collection systems
  • permeable ground cover surfaces that allow water to reach underground basins, aquifers, or water-collection points
  • plants, trees, and grasses
  • water-saving surfactants
  • soil and compost

Examples of non-qualifying items include:

  • construction/building materials
  • awnings and other items used to create shade
  • air conditioners and ceiling fans (certain ones can be purchased tax-free in the Energy Star sales tax holiday)
  • sprinklers

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Qualifying items may be purchased in store, online, or by phone, mail, and other means. Delivery, shipping and handling, and transportation charges are part of an item’s sales price. Visit the Energy Star sales tax holiday webpage or the water-efficient products sales tax holiday webpage on the Texas Comptroller’s office website for more information.

editor@thepicayune.com