Attention North Carolina shoppers looking for a new clothes washer. If you buy an energy efficient machine this weekend, you won't have to pay any sales tax on the appliance.
The Tar Heel State's fourth annual Energy Star sales tax holiday begins on Friday, Nov. 4, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 6.
During these three days, certain appliances that meet energy efficient guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy are exempt from sales and use taxes.
The easiest way to shop for your home appliance and tax needs is to look for products that feature, as the tax holiday's name indicates, the Energy Star label.
Tax-exempt products include qualifying clothes washers, freezers, refrigerators, central air conditioners, room air conditioners, air-source heat pumps, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and programmable thermostats.
And if you buy a product, such as an air conditioner or, given the time of year, a heat pump, you could get a double tax break if you're also able to claim the federal home energy efficiency tax break on your 2011 tax return.
Timing is everything: There is no price floor or ceiling to meet to get the North Carolina no sales tax treatment this weekend, but purchases must be "For Immediate Delivery" to qualify.
That means, says the state's Department of Revenue, the customer pays for the product during the holiday period and the retailer accepts the order and takes an action to fill the order for immediate delivery.
Deliveries delayed because of a backlog or because the item is currently unavailable to the seller or on back order by the seller are still eligible for the tax savings during the holiday weekend.
But if the shopper asks that a product's delivery be delayed, then the buyer must pay full sales tax on the purchase.
If, however, you had put a qualifying appliance on layaway earlier, you could get the sales tax exemption this weekend by making the final payment and having it delivered to your home during the sales tax holiday.
No sales tax break for business buyers: And sorry businesses. If you want to buy a new refrigerator for your company's break room this weekend, you also have to pay all the due sales taxes.
Purchases by businesses are not tax-exempt.
Details on the sales tax holiday are available in the North Carolina Department of Revenue's tax holiday bulletin or by calling the agency at 1-877-252-3052.
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Energy efficiency is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services.