If there is one back-to-school shortcut worth building your whole shopping trip around, it is your state’s tax-free weekend. More than 20 states hold a sales tax holiday sometime between mid-July and September, and most of them land right when back-to-school lists start piling up. How Tax-Free Weekend Actually WorksA sales tax holiday is a set period, sometimes a weekend, sometimes closer to a month, when a state temporarily removes sales tax from certain categories of items. How To Get the Most Out of the DayMake Your List and Set a Budget FirstWalk into tax-free weekend with a plan, not a browsing session. Stack Coupons and Cashback on TopTax-free weekend removes the sales tax, but it does not mean you should skip your usual savings habits.