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Fifteen states and the District of Columbia are offering
shoppers back-to-school sales tax holidays this year. The participating jurisdictions are listed below
alphabetically.
Most of the tax-exempt shopping sessions fall on the
first weekend of August. But be sure to carefully schedule your
shopping trip or you could miss out on the savings. Georgia's event starts on a Thursday instead of the usual Friday; Connecticut shoppers have to wait until the middle of August for their tax bargains. And even some of the holidays that hew to the standard first weekend date vary a bit; events in Iowa and Louisiana, for example, end at midnight Saturday instead
of running through the end of the weekend.
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Back-to-school tax holiday schedule |
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Also, do your homework before you shop. Some items you give the clerk to ring up might not save you any sales-tax dollars. And the tax-free or still-taxable designations aren't always logical.
Participating states have detailed and
sometimes seemingly contradictory lists of sales-tax-exempt
items and those on which stores will still tally tax. Check them out before hitting the mall.
Alabama
- Tax holiday dates: Aug. 1 to Aug. 3
- General exempt items:
During the first weekend of each August, Alabama
shoppers will be spared paying state sales tax
on clothing costing less than $100, as well
as on school supplies selling for up to $50
each and books that cost up to $30. Computers
and software are also tax-exempt as long as
their costs do not exceed $750.
- Notable exceptions:
While the state sales tax will not be collected
this weekend, cities and counties have the choice
to opt out of the holiday. The state has compiled
a table
showing which local jurisdictions are participating.
More information is available on Alabama's
sales-tax holiday Web site.
Connecticut
- Tax holiday dates: Aug. 17 to Aug. 23
- General exempt items: Clothing and
footwear costing less than $300 per item are free from sales and
use taxes during this week. Layaway purchases also qualify, as long the customer puts the qualifying clothing or footwear on layaway during the tax-exclusion week; none of the subsequent payments, even if made after the sales tax holiday ends, are taxable. Rented clothing, such as formal wear, also is exempt, as long as it does not exceed $300 and the customer takes possession of the clothing during the tax holiday week.
- Notable exceptions: Be careful when time-shifting purchases. If you place a tax-exempt article on layaway during the tax holiday week, none of your payments on the item are taxable even it they are made after the holiday ends. But if you get a rain check for a tax-exempt eligible item that is unavailable during the holiday week and you redeem it after the tax holiday ends, the item is taxable.
More information is available on Connecticut's
sales-tax holiday Web site.
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