How to get the most out of your state's sales tax holiday
No matter how you calculate it, back-to-school shopping is expensive.
Families with children in grades K-12 are expected to spend an average of $235.39 on clothing, $204.06 on electronics, $126.35 on shoes and $107.76 on school supplies听for听back-to-school in听2016,听.
The high cost of school-related items makes finding ways to save even more important.
This year, states across the country are again easing听the burden of stocking up on such purchases by eliminating sales tax for a few days.听We have everything you need to know to take advantage of these sales tax holidays.
What are sales tax holidays?
Sales tax holidays, also known as tax-free weekends, are periods of time during which听some听states remove sales tax on certain听types of items, such as听apparel and computers. A handful of states hold their no-tax holidays听in and around听, just in time for back-to-school shopping.
Sales tax holidays are limited to a couple of days in most states 鈥� hence the name tax-free weekends 鈥� and typically restrict eligible purchases by criteria such as product and price. For example, you might be able to purchase computer models that cost up to $1,000 tax-free, but not models that cost more.
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When are they?
Sales tax holidays vary by location. Here鈥檚 a look at the states that will be participating in summer 2016 and the items that will be tax-free. In some cases, state sales tax is eliminated, but stores still charge local sales tax.
Keep in mind that Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon don鈥檛 collect a state sales tax. Local governments can still levy tax.
| State | Dates | Eligible merchandise / Maximum cost per Item |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Aug. 5-7 |
Clothing / $100 Computers / $750 School supplies / $50听 Books / $30 |
| Arkansas | Aug. 6-7 |
Clothing / $100 School supplies / No maximum |
| Connecticut | Aug. 21-27 | Clothing and footwear / $100 |
| Florida | Aug. 5-7 |
Clothing / $60 School supplies / $15 |
| Georgia | July 30-31 |
Clothing / $100 Computers / $1,000 School supplies / $20 |
| Iowa | Aug. 5-6 | Clothing / $100 |
| Louisiana | Aug. 5-6 | 2% reduction (from 5%) on all tangible personal property / $2,500 |
| Maryland | Aug. 14-20 | Clothing and footwear / $100 |
| MIssissippi | July 29-30 | Clothing and footwear / $100 |
| Missouri | Aug. 5-7 |
Clothing / $100 Computers / $3,500 School supplies / $50 |
| New Mexico | Aug. 5-7 |
Clothing / $100 Computers / $1,000 Computer equipment / $500 School supplies / $30 |
| Ohio | Aug. 5-7 |
Clothing / $75 School supplies and instructional materials / $20 |
| Oklahoma | Aug. 5-7 | Clothing / $100 |
| South Carolina | Aug. 7-9 | School supplies, book bags, computers, printers, clothing, bedding, linens / No maximum |
| Tennessee | July 29-31 |
Clothing and school supplies / $100 Computers / $1,500 |
| Texas | Aug. 5-7 | Clothing, backpacks, school supplies / $100 |
| Virginia | Aug. 5-7 |
Clothing / $100 School supplies / $20 |
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How to use sales tax holidays听for back-to-school shopping
These are our top three tips for leveraging sales tax holidays to save on back-to-school shopping:
- Reserve major purchases for late July or August.听Wait to make major purchases, like laptops, until the tax-free period. If you can鈥檛 afford to make all of your school-related purchases at once, buy less expensive items, like pens and paper, at another time.
- Use a credit card.听Make your tax-free purchases with a听听to potentially qualify for rewards 鈥� such as cash back 鈥� on your spending.听听that are especially well suited to school-related purchases.
- Shop around.听Eliminating sales tax shouldn鈥檛 be your only means of saving. Before you go shopping听on a sales tax holiday, do your听homework. Use听websites like听听to听search for products by name听and compare their prices at multiple merchants.
Courtney Jespersen is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:courtney@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:听.
The article听听originally appeared on听.
