Shoppers in 12 states can buy a variety of items this weekend, or at least part of it, and not worry about paying sales tax on the purchases.
For North Carolina's shoppers, it will be a bittersweet three tax-free days.
This will be the Tar Heel State's last back-to-school sales tax holiday. The state's recently enacted tax overhaul eliminated the tax-free weekend, which the N.C. Department of Revenue said cost the state an estimated $13.6 million last year and is expected to cost
about $13.4 million this year.
North Carolina's tax-free weekend and those in 11 other states are previewed in the table below.
|
State sales tax rate (local rates also may apply) |
Tax holiday dates |
Tax-exemption items and per-item price limits. Links below provide full lists, 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| Virginia 4.3% | Friday, Aug. 2 through Sunday, Aug. 4 | Clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less. School supplies costing $20 or less. |
Tax holiday shopping tips: While the tax exemptions on certain items can save you some dollars, make sure you don't blow the cash before you leave the shopping center.
Check
your state's tax holiday Web page to find out exactly what is tax-free.
Make a list of the tax-free items you need or want.
Stick to your list.
If you give in to taxable impulse purchases, you could end up spending more than you saved by not owing sales taxes.
More tax holidays coming up:
While the bulk of tax-free holidays are this weekend, five more states' tax-free shopping days are a bit later in August. They are:
- Connecticut — Aug. 18 through Aug. 24
- Georgia — Aug. 9 through Aug. 10
- Maryland — Aug. 11 through Aug. 17
- Massachusetts — Aug. 10 through Aug. 11
- Texas — Aug. 9 through Aug. 11
As these tax-free events near, I'll provide you with your their sales tax holiday guidelines.
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