NEWS
Sales tax holiday can help back-to-school shoppers
Texas Comptroller Don Huffines is reminding shoppers they can save money on clothes and school supplies during the state’s sales tax holiday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 7-9.
State law exempts sales tax on qualified items — such as clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks — priced below $100, saving shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend. The dates of the sales tax holiday and list of tax-exempt items are set by the Texas Legislature.
“I am encouraging Texas families to take advantage of this sales tax holiday,” Huffines said. “As a father of five, I know how fast these expenses add up, and this weekend is the perfect time for Texans to save cash on the items they need.”
Huffines estimates that shoppers will save $142.5 million in state and local sales tax during this year’s sales tax holiday.
The exemption applies whether shoppers buy items in stores, online, by telephone or by mail.
Shoppers using layaway also can benefit. Items placed on layaway or final payments made on existing layaway purchases during the holiday are tax free, provided the individual item price remains below $100.
If a retailer mistakenly charges sales tax on a qualifying item, customers may request a refund directly from the seller. For more information about sales tax refunds, go to the Comptroller’s website.
A full list of tax-free items is available at TexasTaxHoliday.org.
As of Thursday, the Lake Amon Carter water level has dropped below an elevation of 917.0 msl. This triggers the activation of the City of Bowie, TX Drought Contingency Plan. Therefore, the City of Bowie, TX and their water customers are now under Drought Stage 1 restrictions, which are considered voluntary. If Lake Amon Carter were to drop below 913.0 feet, the City of Bowie would enter Stage 2 mandatory restrictions.
Customers are asked to voluntarily comply with watering on Wednesday and Saturday if you live at an odd-numbered address and Thursday and Sunday if you live at an even-numbered address.
The board of directors for the Amon Carter Lake Water Supply District also ask its customers to follow the city’s restrictions since the district’s water comes through the Bowie system.
Bowie Independent School District Trustees will meet in a pair of meetings on Aug. 31 to finalize the budget and tax rate.
At 7 a.m. a public hearing on the budget and tax rate will be conducted.
At 7:10 a.m. action items include amending the 2025-26 budget as the fiscal year concludes Aug. 31. The board will designate any committed fund balanced for potential or future projects.
Trustees will adopt the budget for fund 199, 24 and 599 for 2026-27 school year, followed by the 2026 tax rate.
Also on the agenda is cancellation of the Nov. 3 election since there are no contested races.
An executive session is listed related to personnel, security, real property and legal counsel consultation.
The August session of the Montague County Grand Jury saw 15 cases presented, with all but one receive a no-bill. Four are sealed awaiting the arrest of a suspect.
The 97th District Attorney’s office reported the follow indictments out of this session. The no bill, which is a case jury felt did not warrant an indictment, was for possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams.
The four sealed indictments are for: Professional failed to make required child abuse report intent to conceal, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, tamper/fabricate physical evidence with intent to impair and injury to a child/elderly/disabled person with intent of bodily injury (changed from previous case).
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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