Are clothing and apparel items taxable?
Most states tax clothing at the full rate. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Wisconsin broadly exempt clothing; New York exempts items under $110 per piece. Accessories (jewelry, handbags, belts), athletic uniforms, and costumes are taxable even in clothing-exempt states. Applying one rule nationally produces errors in both directions.
Most states tax clothing at the full state sales tax rate. A handful of states (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Minnesota) provide broad clothing exemptions, but each has carve-outs that catch sellers off guard. If you sell apparel into multiple states, you almost certainly have a mix of taxable and exempt treatment, and applying one rule to all states will generate errors in both directions.
States with clothing exemptions
| State | Exemption rule | What’s still taxable |
|---|---|---|
| New York | Exempt under $110 per item (not per order) | Items $110+ per piece; accessories (jewelry, handbags, belts, wallets) |
| Pennsylvania | Most clothing exempt | Accessories; formal wear rentals; fur clothing |
| New Jersey | Most clothing exempt | Fur clothing; accessories |
| Minnesota | Most clothing exempt | Athletic uniforms; protective equipment; costumes |
| Vermont | Exempt under $110 per item (mirrors NY) | Same carve-outs as New York |
The per-item threshold in New York and Vermont applies to the individual item price, not the order total. A $95 shirt and $85 pants both qualify individually, even in the same transaction. A $125 jacket does not qualify regardless of what else is in the cart.
What’s taxable even in clothing-exempt states
Even in states that broadly exempt clothing, these categories are almost universally taxable:
- Accessories: jewelry, handbags, wallets, belts, scarves, gloves (if not functional winter wear)
- Athletic uniforms: jerseys, team uniforms, competition gear
- Protective equipment: helmets, pads, sports guards
- Costumes: treated as costumes (Halloween-type), not everyday clothing
- Fur clothing: specifically carved out in several states
The logic is that these items serve specialized purposes rather than everyday personal dress. States that exempt “clothing” typically define it narrowly as items worn regularly for general use.
States that tax clothing at the standard rate
All other states with a sales tax, including California, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, and all the other major ecommerce destinations, tax clothing at the full standard rate. No exemption, no threshold. A $20 t-shirt and a $500 jacket are treated the same.
The practical issue for apparel brands
A brand selling into 15 states might have:
- 10 states where all apparel is taxable at the standard rate
- 2 states where most apparel is exempt (NY, PA)
- 2 states where apparel is exempt but some SKUs still taxable (accessories in NJ, uniforms in MN)
- 1 state with a per-item price threshold (NY again, different treatment above/below $110)
Manually tracking this per SKU per state is error-prone. The standard approach is to use product tax codes: assign each SKU a code that identifies it as clothing, accessories, athletic gear, or a related sub-category. Your sales tax platform then applies the correct state-specific rule automatically.
Related: How do I set the correct product tax code in Shopify for different product categories?
Sales tax holidays
Several states run periodic sales tax holidays that temporarily exempt clothing purchases, often back-to-school weekends in August. These are temporary and state-specific, with per-item price caps. If you have a tax platform, it should apply these automatically. If you’re managing state settings manually, you need to track holiday dates and caps for each participating state.
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