In a word - nada.
In 2020, the August sales tax holiday allowed Tennesseans to enjoy food and drinks at their favorite restaurant - without paying sales tax. This included alcohol.
Post-pandemic 2022 is not so kind to the hospitality industry. Although some food at grocery stores is exempt from sales tax for the entire month of August, alcoholic beverages are not. You’ll pay regular tax for your favorite six-pack of suds or bottle of vino at Publix.
Meals served at restaurants are taxed. So are drinks at the bar, taproom, and tasting room.
There is one silver lining. Sales of apparel are tax exempt from Friday, July 29 until midnight Sunday, July 31, 2022. Sell all your hats, shirts, boxers - you name it. Yes, breweries, distilleries, and wineries qualify for the sales tax exemption for apparel, as long as the item costs less than $100.
All this talk about holidays has us humming Charles Brown’s classic Merry Christmas Baby.
I haven’t had a drink this morning,
But I’m all lit up like a Christmas tree.