Maryland Tax-Free Week 2026: The 5-Day Countdown, What Qualifies, and the Loophole Virginia Shoppers Are Missing

Prefer video? Watch the short version on Instagram →

You have 5 days left. Maryland Tax-Free Week 2026 ends Saturday, August 15, and after that the 6% sales tax comes right back.

Here is why that matters in real dollars. If you spend $500 on back-to-school clothes and shoes this week, skipping the 6% sales tax saves you $30. Spend $1,000 and you keep $60. That is money that stays in your pocket for buying qualifying clothing and footwear, with no coupon and no catch.

And here is the part most people miss. There is no residency rule. If you live in Virginia, D.C., Pennsylvania, or Delaware, you can drive into Maryland and use it too. Virginia's own tax-free weekend already ended. Maryland's is still running for 5 more days.

Let me give you the whole playbook fast, because the clock is the point.

The Dates

Maryland Tax-Free Week 2026 runs Sunday, August 9 through Saturday, August 15.

Today is inside that window, but barely. You have through end of day Saturday, and then it is gone until next year. Every day you wait is a day of qualifying purchases you could have made tax-free and didn't.

What Actually Qualifies

The rule is simple. Any single piece of clothing or footwear priced at $100 or less is tax-free during the week. No 6% sales tax on it at all.

That covers shirts, pants, dresses, jackets, sneakers, boots, socks, and underwear, as long as each individual item rings up at $100 or less. The price is judged per item, not per cart.

There is no limit on how many qualifying items you can buy. You can put twenty $80 items in one transaction and every single one is tax-free. That is the move for stocking up on a growing kid's whole wardrobe in one trip.

The math is the reason to care. A $500 haul of qualifying clothing saves you $30. A $1,000 haul saves you $60. It is not life-changing money, but it is free money for shopping you were going to do anyway.

The Backpack Rule (Read This Carefully)

Backpacks get their own special rule, and it trips people up. The first $40 of a backpack or bookbag is tax-free. You only pay 6% sales tax on the amount above $40.

Two quick examples so you can picture it:

• A $50 backpack: the first $40 is exempt, so you only get taxed on $10. Your tax is about 60 cents instead of $3.
• A $200 backpack: the first $40 is exempt, so you get taxed on $160. Your tax is about $9.60 instead of $12.

One catch worth repeating. Only backpacks and bookbags qualify for this $40 break. Messenger bags, gym bags, purses, and lunch boxes do not. If it is not a backpack, this rule does not apply to it.

What Does NOT Qualify (The Trap That Trips People Up)

Plenty of stuff you might throw in the cart is still fully taxed. Watch for these:

• Accessories: jewelry, watches, handbags, ties, handkerchiefs, and hair accessories
• Protective equipment: football pads, hockey gear, ski goggles, and hard hats
• Sports-specific gear that is classified as sporting goods
• Any single item priced over $100, even by one cent

That last one is a hard cliff, and it is brutal. An item priced at $100.01 does not get a partial break on the first $100. It gets the full 6% sales tax on the entire price.

So a pair of shoes at $100.01 costs you about $6 in tax, for a total near $106. The same trip a shopper takes on a $99 pair pays zero tax. Spending one dollar less on the sticker saves you the entire tax bill.

Pro move: any time an item is sitting just over $100, check if there is a comparable option under $100, or ask if a sale or coupon can drop the sticker below the line. Getting under $100 flips the item from fully taxed to fully free. That is the highest-value 30 seconds of your whole shopping trip.

The No-Residency Loophole (Virginia Shoppers, This Is You)

This is the part I want every border-town family to hear. Maryland has no residency requirement. You do not have to live in Maryland to shop tax-free in Maryland this week.

Virginia's back-to-school tax-free weekend already ended. It ran August 7 through 9 and closed on Sunday. If you are in Virginia and you missed it, you are not out of luck. Maryland's runs through Saturday, August 15, and your Virginia address does not matter one bit at a Maryland register.

Same goes for D.C., Pennsylvania, and Delaware residents. If you live near the Maryland line, the trip pays for itself the moment you buy more than about $100 of qualifying stuff, because the 6% you save covers the gas and then some. For a big back-to-school haul, driving across the border is the easiest $30 to $60 you will make this week.

Online Ordering: The Deadline Trap

You do not have to walk into a store. Online orders qualify too, but the timing rule is strict.

The order has to be both placed and paid for during the tax-free window. If you check out at 12:05 a.m. on Sunday the 16th, you missed it, even if the item was in your cart all week.

Here is the sneaky part. Some retailers calculate tax when you order, and some calculate it when the item ships. If your item is back-ordered or slow to ship, the exemption can slip depending on how that store handles it.

The safe rule of thumb: only buy items marked "in stock, ships now." Skip anything that says back-ordered or ships in 2 to 3 weeks, because a delayed ship date is where the tax break quietly disappears.

Where to Shop

You do not need a special store or a promo code. Every retailer that collects Maryland sales tax is in, automatically.

That means big box stores like Target and Walmart, department stores like Macy's and Kohl's, athletic apparel shops, kids-focused stores like Old Navy, Carter's, and The Children's Place, and online retailers shipping to Maryland addresses. The 6% sales tax exemption is applied for you at checkout.

One thing to do anyway: glance at your receipt. If it shows tax on a qualifying clothing or footwear item under $100, flag it at the register or with customer service and get it fixed before you leave. Systems make mistakes, and it is your $6 to claim back.

Bottom Line

Five rules, one week, real money. Clothing and footwear $100 or less is tax-free. There is no limit on quantity. The first $40 of a backpack is exempt. One cent over $100 kills the whole break. And you do not have to live in Maryland to use it.

You have until Saturday, August 15. After that the 6% is back on everything.

Send this to a friend in Maryland, Virginia, or D.C. who has a back-to-school list, then follow @joinforbonus for more Paycheck Playbook moves that keep money in your pocket.

---

Meta description: Maryland Tax-Free Week 2026 runs Aug 9 to 15. Save 6% on clothing and shoes $100 or less, no residency rule. What qualifies, the backpack rule, and the traps.