Back-to-school season is upon us, which means sales-tax holidays are about to start in some states.
If you shop for school supplies and possibly other items in these states during a sales-tax holiday, you won’t be charged the state sales tax on exempt items.
Each state sets its own parameters for sales tax holidays. Exempt items and spending caps differ from state to state.
In many states with back-to-school sales-tax holidays, however, it’s not just school or office supplies that are tax-free during these periods. Clothing is also commonly exempt, and sometimes personal computers are exempt as well.
So if you’re in need of something that will be tax-free during an upcoming holiday, you can boost your savings by buying it at that time.
For example, in the state where I currently live, Florida, I could buy an e-reader or a tablet, laptop or desktop computer that costs as much as $750 and not pay any taxes. Florida has a 6 percent sales tax, so I’d save up to $45 by making that purchase on Aug. 4-6.
States with upcoming sales tax holidays include:
- Arkansas: Aug. 5-6
- Connecticut: Aug. 20-26
- Florida: Aug. 4-6
- Iowa: Aug. 4-5
- Louisiana: Aug. 4-5
- Maryland: Aug. 13-19
- Mississippi: July 28-29
- Missouri: Aug. 4-6
- New Mexico: Aug. 4-6
- Ohio: Aug. 4-6
- Oklahoma: Aug. 4-6
- South Carolina: Aug. 4-6
- Tennessee: July 28-30
- Texas: Aug. 11-13
- Virginia: Aug. 4-6
Click on a state for more information about which items are exempt and the spending caps that may apply.
For plenty of other ways to save on back-to-school needs, check out “15 Ways to Cut the Cost of Back-to-School Shopping.”
What’s your favorite way to save this time of year? Let us know below or over on our Facebook page.
Add a Comment
Our Policy: We welcome relevant and respectful comments in order to foster healthy and informative discussions. All other comments may be removed. Comments with links are automatically held for moderation.