It’s really hard to believe that Summer is almost over, and many of you will be sending your kids back to school! Sending your kids back to school can be a really expensive time of year, because your kids are growing out of clothes and need new school supplies. Fortunately, a lot of states have implemented sales tax free holidays around this time of year to help parents out a little bit. You could easily spend about $250 to $400 dollars per kid for some new clothes, shoes and school supplies, so that extra 6% to 9% sales tax could add up to some nice savings.
And even if you’re not shopping for the “back to school” season, there’s nothing to stop you from taking advantage of this tax-free period. I really think that every state should have a tax free holiday once a year, because the tax revenue they’ll lose will be made up by stimulating the economy from increased retail purchases. Many states have already had their tax free holiday, but here is a list of tax free holidays coming up in a state near you:
Connecticut: August 15th to 21st for clothing and footwear (items must cost less than $300 each).
Florida: August 13th to 15th for clothing less than $50 each and school supplies less than $10 for each item.
Illinois: August 6th to 15th for clothing, footwear, and school supplies less than $100 each.
Texas: August 20th to 22nd for clothes, school supplies, and backpacks less than $100 each.
Maryland: August 8th to 14th for clothing and footwear less than $100 each.
Massachusetts: August 14th and 15th for non-business individual items under $2,500 per item.
Some states had their tax free weekend this past weekend. Did any of you take advantage of it? How much do you estimate that you saved from shopping on that weekend specifically? If you’re wondering what items speicifically qualify for free sales tax, you can visit your state’s website and there should be more information there. Crowds will be big and lines will be long, so I would try to avoid high-trafficked areas and shop at off-peak times.
