Summer 2013 sales tax holidays begin this weekend
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
But hold on moms and dads. The resumption of classes gets closer every day.
And so do the annual back-to-school state sales tax holidays.
In fact, the first of 17 summer tax holidays kicks off this weekend in Mississippi.
The events, ranging from two days to a full week, have over the years expanded beyond the traditional new school clothes and classroom supplies.
The announcement of the 2013 sales tax holidays, listed in the table below, as well as displayed in the cool map at Bankrate.com, is this week's Weekly Tax Tip.
|
State sales tax rate. |
Tax holiday dates |
Tax-exempt items and per-item price limits. Links in the column below provide full details on tax-exempt items. |
| Alabama 4% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing priced at $100 or less. Books priced at $30 or less. School supplies priced at $50 or less. Computers and software priced at $750 or less. |
| Arkansas 6.5% | Saturday, Aug. 3 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing priced at $100 or less. Apparel accessories priced at $50 or less. No dollar limit on school supplies. |
| Connecticut 6.35% | Sunday, Aug. 18 through Saturday, Aug. 24 | Clothing and footwear priced at $300 or less. |
| Florida 6% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing, footwear and accessories priced at $75 or less. School supplies costing $15 or less. Personal computers and certain related accessories priced at $750 or less per item. |
| Georgia 4% | Friday, Aug. 9 through Saturday, Aug. 10 | Clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less. School supplies selling for $20 or less. Computers and computer accessories priced at $1,000 or less. |
| Iowa 6% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Saturday, Aug. 3 | Clothing and footwear priced at less than $100. |
| Louisiana 4% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Saturday, Aug. 3 | Most tangible personal property sold for $2,500 or less. |
| Maryland 6% | Sunday, Aug. 11 through Saturday, Aug. 17 | Clothing and footwear costing $100 or less. |
| Mississippi 7% | Friday, July 26, through Saturday, July 27 | Clothing and footwear costing $100 or less. |
| Missouri 4.225% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing priced at $100 or less. School supplies costing $50 or less. Computer software priced at $350 or less. Personal computers and peripheral devices costing $3,500 or less. |
| New Mexico 5.125% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 |
Clothing or shoes priced at less than $100 per unit. Desktop, laptop or notebook computers priced at $1,000 or less; computer hardware priced at $500 or less. School supplies priced at less than $30 per unit. |
| North Carolina 4.75% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less. Sports and recreation equipment costing $50 or less. School supplies priced at $100 or less. School instructional materials costing $300 or less. Computers costing $3,500 or less and computer supplies selling for $250 or less. |
| Oklahoma 4.5% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less. |
| South Carolina 6% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | No maximum price limit is imposed on purchases of clothing, footwear and accessories; school supplies; bed linens and bath furnishings; and computers, software and printers and printer supplies. |
| Tennessee 7% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing and footwear costing $100 or less. School supplies priced at $100 or less. Computers priced at $1,500 or less. |
| Texas 6.25% | Friday, Aug. 9 through Sunday, Aug. 11 | Clothing and footwear priced at less than $100. Backpacks priced at less than $100. School supplies priced at less than $100. |
| Virginia 4.3% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less. School supplies costing $20 or less. |
Be a smart shopper: While you might be able to save some tax dollars on apparel, school supplies and computers, you also could overspend.
That's what businesses are hoping for.
Retailers must do extra work for the tax holidays, recalibrating registers to account for the select items that are tax-free for a few days, and train employees to ensure they can answer tax holiday questions. But store owners also know that the special tax-saving events tend to lure more shoppers.
And some of those shoppers might end up making impulse purchases of items not on their sales tax holiday lists.
Double-check states' lists of tax-free goods: So check your state's information as to what is and isn't tax free. The differentiations aren't always intuitive or logical.
A common distinction, for example, is belts and buckles. A belt with a buckle is tax-exempt in most states that offer tax-free clothing. But if you buy a buckle separately, it's taxable.
Also be careful with your computer purchases. In many cases, accessories for personal computers, such as keyboards, display monitors, mice and speakers, are tax-exempt as long as they are sold as a package with the machine's CPU. Buy the PC peripherals separately, and you could end up paying tax.
Local levies could still apply: And note that while the states' sales taxes are waived during the holidays, local sales taxes might remain in effect.
That's the case in Louisiana, which has a very broad tax holiday. But while the Pelican State's 4 percent state sales tax will be waived for two days next month, the sales taxes levied by parishes, municipalities, school boards and other political subdivisions still will be collected on all items during the Aug. 2-4 holiday period.
Similarly, three Mississippi municipalities -- Crenshaw, Enterprise and Heidelberg -- will not participate in the state's 2013 tax holiday and will collect sales tax on July 26 and 27.
So make your back-to-school shopping list, check your state's rules on what is and isn't tax-free, avoid localities that are still collecting sales taxes and then have fun at the mall!
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