Memorial Day weekend sales tax holiday focuses on saving energy, water
The Memorial Day weekend might just be the smartest time to tackle water-saving projects at your home. At the very least, it’s the best time to shop for them, with the annual WaterEfficient Products Sales Tax Holiday that runs Saturday to Monday.
The state’s annual end-ofsummer sales tax holiday is the one most people are familiar with, but this weekend’s sales tax respite targets a topic that conservationists think about, especially at the start of every hot, dry summer.
You can buy Energy Starlabeled appliances such as washers, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs and refrigerators ($2,000 or less) and not pay the state’s 8.25 percent sales tax. Some air conditioners and ceiling fans qualify. Clothes dryers, water heaters, wine or beverage chillers and freezers do not qualify.
The tax reprieve means that for every $100 you spend, you won’t pay an additional $8.25 in sales taxes.
Products with a WaterSense label or logo also qualify; those include things that conserve or retain groundwater, recharge water tables and decrease ambient air temperature. Examples include soaker or drip-irrigation garden hoses, moisture control for sprinkler/irrigation systems, mulch, rain barrels, soil, compost and permeable ground cover surfaces that allow water to reach underground collection sites. Household products would include
water-saving toilets as well as kitchen and bath faucets.
The WaterSense label means that the products use at least 20 percent less water and save energy, too. Similarly, the Energy Star rating, which is granted by the Environmental Protection Agency, is given to products that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants caused by inefficiency and make it easy for consumers to reduce their energy bills without sacrificing an appliance’s performance.
If spending money on new appliances isn’t in your budget, but you’re still trying to replace plants and trees that died in our harsh winter, this may be the weekend to buy them.
Mulch is included because topping off your landscaping with 2 to 4 inches of it helps the soil retain water and even helps more water get into the soil when it rains.
Texas A&M’s Agrilife Research Extension experts make plant selection easy for you. The wateruniversity.tamu.edu website not only guides you to drought-hardy plants but also offers tips on water conservation. Its user-friendly database includes thousands of plants, all listed with information on water and light needs.
Check off boxes to see what uses the least amount of water and you’ll get a list of succulents such as agave or yucca and trees such as American elm, Arizona cypress or a Houston favorite, live oaks. Flowering shrubs such as Rose of Sharon or Texas sage are good choices, as are ornamental grasses such as zebra grass and snake herb ground cover.
For information on the sales tax holiday go to comptroller.texas.gov; for information on water conservation go to wateruniversity.tamu.edu.