The official attire in Texas for many involves a nice pair of boots & a big ol' belt buckle around your pants. For some people, it's a fashion statement. For others...it's just something cool to wear. But in every case, if you buy a belt buckle, you have to pay more because of this very weird tax that's only for Texas.

Canva
Canva

Texas is the only state with a belt buckle tax

I know...it sounds fake, right? But it's not. Texas is the only state where a sales tax is included when you buy a belt buckle. And we're talking about the BIG belt buckles. Like THIS.

Or what Lane Pryce had in Mad Men...

According to CBS, Texas has a sales tax of 6.25% for every belt buckle you wish to purchase. In fact, the Texas Star Comptroller website even listed all the items that are taxable or exempt during tax-free sales weekends. On the website, belt buckles are still listed as "Taxable".

WHY is there a belt buckle tax?

Well the reason WHY belt buckles have that 6.25% sales tax, is that they're considered an "accessory" (like jewelry), not a "necessity" when you're buying clothes. So if you're wanting to complete a cowboy look, cowboy boots & cowboy hats DON'T have a sales tax but the belt buckle DOES.

cowboy boots and hat in front of Monument Valley
frederic prochasson

Some other interesting state taxes that Texas has include the firework tax; meaning a sales tax of 2.0% on all sales of fireworks in Texas. And we're one of the few states WITHOUT a corporate income tax -- only 10 states have no corporate income tax.

Khanchit Khirisutchalual
Khanchit Khirisutchalual

SO, next time you're shopping for belt buckles, just remember to have a little extra cash at the checkout. Gotta pay those additional taxes...

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