Dollar General Clearance Sale 2026: When It Happens, Penny List Myths & How to Save
Last updated: October 16, 2026 · Coupons, weekly ad and delivery offers were checked on Dollar General’s official website on October 16, 2026. Clearance prices are set store by store and change without notice, so confirm prices in your local store or the DG app.
- No official clearance calendar: Dollar General doesn’t publish clearance sale dates. Its official On Sale page has no clearance section, and markdowns vary by store.
- When clearance shows up: mostly after holidays. Shopper reports show Christmas items at 50%–70% off right after Christmas, then down to a few cents by late January (according to The Krazy Coupon Lady and Hip2Save).
- Penny items are unofficial: they’re reported to be items stores are supposed to pull from shelves, and some stores refuse to sell them.
- Official ways to save: digital coupons in the DG app (most recently a $5 off $25 pre-tax coupon that ran October 12–16, 2026), the weekly ad, $1 Every Day items, Cash Back offers and a free-delivery-fee offer for myDG Delivery.
Search for “Dollar General clearance sale” and you’ll find pages promising a big event on a specific date, often with made-up percentages. We checked dollargeneral.com and couldn’t find any of that. Dollar General runs coupons and weekly deals, but it doesn’t announce store-wide clearance events or publish a clearance schedule. Clearance does happen. It just happens store by store, mostly after seasons and holidays.
This guide covers what Dollar General actually publishes, what deal sites have reported about seasonal markdowns and the “penny list,” and the savings tools you can count on in 2026.
Does Dollar General have an official clearance sale?
No, not as a scheduled event. We checked Dollar General’s On Sale page on October 16, 2026. It lists Featured Coupons, Deals of the Week (linked to the weekly ad), Grocery and Household deals, themed deal pages (soda, pizza, snacks, baking, pantry) and the $1 Every Day section. There is no clearance section and no clearance calendar. The weekly ad page doesn’t mention clearance either.
So when a website tells you a “Dollar General clearance sale” starts on a certain Friday at 50% off, be skeptical. Unless Dollar General posts that offer on its own site or in its app, there’s no way to confirm it. Clearance in the store is real, but timing and discounts differ from one location to the next.
When does Dollar General put items on clearance?
The most reliable pattern is seasonal. When a holiday ends, leftover seasonal stock gets marked down. Here’s what deal sites have reported, with dates, so you can see how it usually goes:
| When | What was reported | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Right after Christmas (Dec 26, 2022) | 70% off Christmas seasonal, home, party supplies and apparel. 50% off Christmas candy | The Krazy Coupon Lady |
| Late January (Jan 24, 2023) | Leftover Christmas items and gift sets down to 10¢ (Krazy Coupon Lady) or 25¢ (Hip2Save), with limited stock | The Krazy Coupon Lady, Hip2Save |
| Off-season (August 2026) | 50% off Christmas items such as gift wrap, lights and artificial trees, varying by store | The Krazy Coupon Lady |
| Every week | New clearance markdowns are added weekly and get deeper until items reach $0.01 | The Krazy Coupon Lady penny guide (Sept 2026) |
These are past reports, not a promise for 2026. Use them as a rough guide. Deep discounts tend to come in the weeks after a holiday, and stock sells out fast. Food Republic (July 2026) also describes the markdowns as progressive. Once an item hits 90% off, a penny price may be close.
The Dollar General penny list: what’s true and what’s myth
“Penny items” are products that ring up for $0.01 at the register. Dollar General doesn’t advertise them, and shoppers can’t see the store’s markdown list. Everything known about them comes from deal sites and online shopper communities. Here’s what reliable reporting says:
- Why they exist: According to The Krazy Coupon Lady, a penny price is a signal for staff to pull the item from the shelf. Penny items are the ones that got missed.
- Timing: The Krazy Coupon Lady says its penny list is updated on Monday afternoons and that penny markdowns usually happen on Tuesdays. Some registers don’t update until later on Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Stores can refuse: Food Republic and The Krazy Coupon Lady both say some stores refuse to sell penny items. The Krazy Coupon Lady cites the employee handbook as saying they should be sold, but we found no public Dollar General policy that guarantees it.
- Nothing is guaranteed: The penny list is crowd-sourced. An item on the list may already be gone, or it may never have been in your store.
Myth: “There’s an official Dollar General penny list.” Fact: No. Lists online are made by shoppers and bloggers, not Dollar General. If you go penny hunting, be polite, check the price with the DG app’s scanner first, and don’t ask employees to find penny items for you.
Real ways to save at Dollar General in 2026
These are the savings tools we confirmed on dollargeneral.com and in the official DG app listing on October 16, 2026:
| Savings tool | What you get | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Digital coupons | Coupons on “hundreds of items every week,” per the DG app listing | Clip them in the DG app or at dollargeneral.com with a myDG account. Saved deals sit in your myDG Wallet |
| $5 off $25 coupon | $5 off a purchase of $25 or more, pre-tax, after other discounts. This week’s coupon was listed through October 16, 2026 | One per purchase and one per person. It can’t be combined with other DG $2, $3 or $5 off store coupons. Exclusions include gift and prepaid cards, propane, milk, tobacco and alcohol |
| Weekly ad / Deals of the Week | Weekly sale prices at your store | Open “Weekly Ad” on dollargeneral.com or in the app and set your store |
| $1 Every Day | Select products starting at $1 | Browse the $1 Every Day section under On Sale |
| Cash Back offers | Item-specific cash back, e.g. “Earn $2.00” on a listed product | Clip from the Coupons & Cash Back page. Each offer has its own expiration date |
| myDG Delivery | One free delivery fee on a myDG Delivery order. ASAP delivery (about an hour) costs an extra $1 | Clip the offer in the app or on dollargeneral.com while signed in to myDG. Other fees may apply |
About the “$5 off $25 on Saturdays” rumor: Dollar General has run $5 off $25 digital coupons before. The one we found this week was promoted as “This Week Only” for Monday through Friday, October 12–16, 2026, not as a Saturday deal. Dollar General doesn’t publish a fixed day for it, so check the Coupons page or the app each week instead of waiting for a Saturday.
How to find clearance at your Dollar General: step by step
- Set your store in the DG app. Prices, the weekly ad and coupons depend on your location.
- Clip digital coupons first. Before you go, open Coupons & Cash Back and clip what you need, including any $5 off $25 offer that’s live.
- Check the seasonal aisle after holidays. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, summer and Halloween leftovers are the usual clearance candidates.
- Scan before checkout. Use the app’s price check. The shelf tag may not show the newest markdown yet.
- Stack carefully. A $5 off $25 coupon needs $25 pre-tax after other discounts, so heavy clearance can bring you under the minimum.
- Keep your receipt. Return rules vary for clearance and seasonal items, so ask at your store before you buy if it matters.
Mistakes to avoid
- Trusting “clearance event” dates online. Unless dollargeneral.com or the app shows the offer, treat it as a rumor.
- Driving across town for a penny item. Penny lists are unconfirmed, and the item may be gone or not sold to you.
- Forgetting the coupon fine print. Milk, tobacco, alcohol, gift cards and prepaid cards don’t count toward the $5 off $25 coupon.
- Using old codes. Dollar General’s offers are digital coupons tied to your myDG account, not promo codes from coupon sites.
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FAQ
When is the Dollar General clearance sale in 2026?
Dollar General doesn’t publish a date for a clearance sale. Markdowns happen store by store, mostly after holidays. Deal sites have reported Christmas items at 50%–70% off right after Christmas in past years.
What day does Dollar General mark down clearance?
There’s no official markdown day. The Krazy Coupon Lady reports that penny markdowns usually happen on Tuesdays and that new clearance markdowns are added weekly, but this isn’t confirmed by Dollar General and can vary by store.
Is the Dollar General penny list real?
Penny items are real, but the list isn’t official. The lists are compiled by shoppers and deal bloggers. Penny prices reportedly mean an item should be pulled from the shelf, and some stores refuse to sell them.
Does Dollar General still do $5 off $25?
Yes, sometimes. In mid-October 2026, dollargeneral.com listed a $5 off $25 (pre-tax) digital coupon valid through October 16, 2026, limited to one per person. It doesn’t run every week, so check the Coupons page or the DG app.
How do I get Dollar General digital coupons?
Create a free myDG account in the Dollar General app or on dollargeneral.com, then clip coupons from the Coupons & Cash Back page. Clipped deals are saved in your myDG Wallet for your next purchase.
Sources: Dollar General homepage, Dollar General On Sale, Coupons & Cash Back, $5 off $25 coupon terms, Weekly Ad, myDG Delivery, DG app listing (App Store), The Krazy Coupon Lady penny list guide, The Krazy Coupon Lady Christmas clearance (2022), The Krazy Coupon Lady Christmas clearance (2023), The Krazy Coupon Lady 50% off Christmas clearance (2026), Hip2Save Christmas clearance, Food Republic penny deals (checked October 16, 2026).
CouponVPS is not affiliated with Dollar General, The Krazy Coupon Lady, Hip2Save or Food Republic. Clearance prices, coupons and offers are set by Dollar General, vary by store and may change or end at any time. Always check dollargeneral.com, the DG app or your local store for current prices and terms.
