Today is Small Business Saturday, a charge card marketing initiative that has become an accepted nationwide effort to celebrate small, independent retail operations. It's also an official tax holiday in the Land of Enchantment. New Mexico's Small Business Gross Receipts Tax Holiday falls each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The tax holiday began at 12:01 a.m. today and ends at midnight tonight. For this one day, the state allows a gross receipts tax break on sales of qualifying items at certain small businesses. For the eligible companies, New Mexico provides a deduction from gross receipts for retail sales of... Read more →
Tax holiday
The bridge connecting El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico, is one of several international exchange points expecting increased traffic this weekend as Mexican shoppers visit to take advantage of Lone Star State tax holiday savings. (Photo by Nils Huenerfuerst on Unsplash) The final five summer sales tax holidays are upon us, with Texas kicking things off this weekend. And it's going to be an international affair. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials expect a higher volume of crossings into the Lone Star State starting tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 11. That's the first day of Texas' three-day back-to-school tax holiday. If... Read more →
Photo by Saulius Sutkus on Unsplash August has arrived, reminding us that summer is almost over. There are just a few weeks left to take a final vacation during these sweltering dog days. But before you head out to a beach retreat or a cooler mountain cabin, take a few minutes for taxes. This month is a good time to make some tax moves that could save you some (or more) dollars and/or keep you out of tax trouble. Here are five to consider. 1. File your 2022 return by Aug. 15. OK, this applies only to a few, relatively... Read more →
Get ready Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia shoppers. Your back-to-school tax holidays are coming up in August. And yes, Floridians, your event wraps up this week. Many school supplies, like these at my local grocery store, will be sales-tax-free in Texas later this summer. (Photo by Kay Bell) With August just one day away, it's definitely time for parents and youngsters alike to get ready for the reopening of classrooms. Yes, those two groups likely will celebrate (or not) differently. But there's one thing they can share,... Read more →
Get ready Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee shoppers. Your back-to-school tax holidays are this month. The rest of this year's no-tax shopping events are scheduled for August. Many school supplies, like these at my local grocery store, will be sales-tax-free in Texas later this summer. (Photo by Kay Bell) Wow! We're into the third week of July already. You know what that means. School is just around the proverbial corner. And you know what that means. States are holding their annual sales tax holidays. There are four this month in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee. A baker's dozen are scheduled... Read more →
Hello, July! Yeah, I know my welcome to the first full month of summer is a bit late. But admit it. You don't really focus on the month either until after you wrap up July 4th celebrations. Since Independence Day this year fell on Tuesday, that meant an extra-long holiday weekend for lots of us. But the fireworks are over and, sadly, we'll never be independent of taxes. So it's back to work this first week of July, and back to making tax moves that can at least keep a few more dollars out of Uncle Sam's clutches. Here are... Read more →
The upcoming Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer. It's also the start of a couple of sales tax holidays in Texas and Florida. Texas energy & water tax savings: Let's start here in Texas. Beginning Saturday, May 27, and running through Monday, May 29, Lone Star State shoppers won't have to pay state and local sales taxes that usually apply to purchases of energy- and water-saving products. The tax-free qualifying appliance purchases and related items include — Energy Star-qualified air conditioners priced at $6,000 or less; refrigerators priced at $2,000 or less; ceiling fans; incandescent and fluorescent... Read more →
Inflation is still a concern, for consumers and politicians, but it is easing a bit (at least for some consumers). One reason for the change is falling gas prices. GasBuddy reported on Sept. 12 that for the thirteenth consecutive week, the nation’s average per-gallon gas price dropped. It went to $3.67 per gallon, down 7.6 cents from a week ago. AAA's daily tracker shows a Sept. 15 national per gallon average of $3.698. But those are averages. Your pump prices may vary. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, noted in the latest analysis that there are "drastically... Read more →
CT and NJ shoppers get sales tax relief on classroom clothing and, in the Garden State, more at the end of this month. And then there were five. That's how many states remain in the August back-to-school tax holiday list. Three of them — in Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts — are this weekend. The other two, in Connecticut and New Jersey, will close out this month. Since most of the 19 states offering tax holidays this year have by now held their no-tax shopping events, all y'all know the drill. The table below has specific dates and links with tax-free... Read more →
Photo by Daniel X. O'Neil via Flickr CC With things more or less back to whatever now counts as normal, kids (and parents) are counting down the days until school restarts. They're also looking, especially with inflation bumping up prices, for ways to save on necessary school supplies, which a recent National Retail Federation (NRF) survey found are expected to be around $864 this year. Sixteen states are offering ways to help their back-to-school shoppers. They're offering state (and in some cases local) sales tax holidays in August. Florida's two-week back-to-school tax holiday began July 25 and continues through midnight... Read more →
Summer's winding down, with schools opening their doors across much of the country in just a few weeks. So of course, you're thinking of one last getaway to escape the sweltering dog days. But before you head out to a beach retreat or cooler mountain cabin, take a few minutes for taxes. August is a good time to make some tax moves that could save you some dollars and future headaches. Here are four to consider. 1. Make your tax holiday shopping list: The return this fall of students to classrooms is most welcome by COVID-weary parents who saw much... Read more →
Summer's winding down, meaning kiddos soon will be going back to school. But before they head to their classrooms, they'll need a few things. Three Southern states are focusing on families with such shopping lists. Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee are closing out July with back-to-school tax holidays. The longest is Florida's event, which began Monday, July 25, and runs through Sunday Aug. 7. Sunshine State shoppers can save on purchases of clothing ($100 or less); school supplies ($50 or less); learning aids and jigsaw puzzles ($30 or less); and computers and certain accessories ($1,500 or less). Tax holidays in Mississippi... Read more →
Shopping is even more fun when you also get some sales tax holiday savings. (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio) The theme for many state sales tax holidays this year is go long. On July 1, three states kicked off sales tax break periods that run at least one year. But four states are sticking to the usual, and shorter, time frame for their annual sales tax holidays this month. Alabama kicks off these more traditional back-to-school tax holidays this weekend. From Friday, July 15, through Sunday, July 17, Yellowhammer State shoppers will see the state's sales tax waived on purchases of... Read more →
19 states are holding sales tax holidays this summer, most focusing on back-to-school shopping. But some states are offering tax savings on other items and have multiple events planned, led by Florida with 9 tax holidays on the way for a wide variety of shoppers. Many school supplies, like these at my local grocery store, will be sales-tax-free in Texas later this summer. (Photo by Kay Bell) Florida's official nickname is the Sunshine State, but this year it qualifies for another title. It's king of the state sales tax holiday season. Florida, along with 17 other states, is offering the... Read more →
Sen. Ron Wyden chairing a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing. (SFC YouTube video screenshot) President Joe Biden's three-month gas tax holiday seems to be sputtering, so some are turning their attention to another energy approach. They want to impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies. "Exxon made more money than God this year," Biden said in a June 10 address before Port of Los Angeles dockworkers and union representatives, but they are not using those profits to drill more. Biden followed that appearance with a letter to top oil executives urging they boost the supply of gasoline, diesel and... Read more →
Gasoline prices continue to drop a bit in suburban Austin, Texas. (Photo by Kay Bell) President Joe Biden today asked Congress to suspend federal fuel taxes for three months. He's also urging states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide similar relief. The White House's time frame, outlined in a fact sheet, calls for the 18.4 cents per gallon (cpg) gasoline and 24.4 cpg diesel non-collection period to start in July and run through September. In announcing temporary excise tax holiday proposal, Biden said it was designed to help motorists during the busy summer travel season. House and Senate... Read more →
Ah, August. In normal times (remember those?), we'd be complaining about the late-summer heat, parents would be counting down days until school started, and tax geeks would be looking at things they should do this month. Well, things are decidedly not normal. It's been abnormally hot in much of the country already. Some schools are reopening, but with more COVID-19 precautions than they had planned since the virus has re-emerged with a vengeance due to the Delta variant. Those August tax moves, though, they're still around, of course with some coronavirus twists. And today, Aug. 2, the first Monday of... Read more →
Attention shoppers in Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Your states are holding back-to-school sales tax holidays this final weekend in July, and beyond for Sunshine State and Volunteer State tax bargain hunters. Retailers are getting ready for youngsters to return to classrooms. Shoppers are getting ready for tax-free savings on school supplies and more. (Photo by Kay Bell) Despite a surge among unvaccinated of the COVID-19 Delta variant, most schools are making plans to welcome students back to classrooms this fall. Retailers also are joining the back-to-school parties. This year, 18 states scheduled sales tax-free events, most of them... Read more →
UPDATED, Aug. 14, 2021: This post was published originally on July 15 in advance of the 2021 back-to-school state sales tax holiday season. Now, almost a month later, the 2021 sales tax holiday season wraps up this weekend with three events. Connecticut's and Massachusetts' no-tax events started today. Maryland's week-long tax holiday ends at the stroke of midnight tonight. You can find more on each state's tax holiday in the table below. It has details and handy links for all 18 of this summer's tax-free shopping events, whether completed or finally under way. It's mid-July, a particularly important date this... Read more →
Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer across the United States. It's also a time for sales tax free shopping in two states. Here in Texas, my neighbors and I get the long weekend to pick up some water and energy efficient appliances without owing the state's 6 percent and local sales taxes, which could afford up to another 2 percent in tax savings. My friends and former neighbors in Florida also get a sales tax holiday this coming holiday weekend and longer. Last week, the Sunshine State's governor signed into law the state's 10-day-long 2021 Disaster Preparedness... Read more →