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Tax-free holidays (sometimes referred to as "sales tax holidays") are great opportunities for shoppers to purchase designated items such as clothing, school supplies, energy-efficient products and disaster preparedness necessities free from sales tax. Each state that participates in tax-free holidays has different rules and exclusions. Below are states that have tax-free holidays August 2-4, 2019.
Iowa will hold its annual sales tax holiday on select clothing and footwear on August 2-3, 2019. This allows shoppers to purchase eligible clothing and footwear selling for less than $100 per item tax-free. Businesses that sell eligible items and are open on these dates are required to participate in the sales tax holiday.
For more information about Iowa’s sales tax holiday on clothing and footwear, please refer to the Iowa Department of Revenue website.
Arkansas will hold its annual sales tax holiday on August 3-4, 2019. This allows shoppers to purchase eligible clothing and school supplies free of state and local sales tax. All retailers are required to participate and may not charge tax on items that are legally tax-exempt during the sales tax holiday.
During the tax-free holiday, the following items are sales tax exempt with a few conditions:
A full list of items can be found on the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s (DFA) itemized list.
For more information on the sales tax holiday, please refer to the Arkansas DFA website.
Oklahoma will hold its annual sales tax holiday on eligible clothing and footwear under $100 per item during August 2-4, 2019. This excludes any accessories, special clothing or footwear primarily designed for athletic activity or protective use, as well as the rental of clothing or footwear.
Retailers that sell eligible items and are open for business on these dates are required to participate in the sales tax holiday.
For more information about Oklahoma’s sales tax holiday, please refer to the Oklahoma Tax Commission website.
Missouri will hold its annual back to school sales tax holiday during August 2-4, 2019. During this time, the following items can be purchased tax-free:
During the tax-free holiday, the following items are sales tax exempt with a few conditions:
It is important to note that cities, counties and districts in Missouri can choose not to participate in this sales tax holiday. If one or all of the local taxing jurisdictions do not participate in the sales tax holiday, the state's portion of the tax rate (4.225%) will remain exempt for the sale of qualifying sales tax holiday items.
For more information, review the Missouri Department of Revenue’s Back to School Sales Tax Holiday FAQs and information page.
New Mexico will hold a sales tax holiday on select clothing, school and art supplies and computers August 2-4, 2019. New Mexico requires specified retailers to provide a deduction from gross receipts for retail sales of qualifying tangible personal property, selling the items “tax-free.”
The law limits the tax holiday deduction to receipts of retailers from sales of the following types of items:
For a comprehensive list of taxable and nontaxable items, please refer to New Mexico Bulletin B-200.18.
South Carolina will hold its annual sales tax holiday on August 2-4, 2019. During the sales tax holiday, a variety of back-to-school essentials are exempt from the state's 6% sales tax rate and any additional local taxes. Unlike other sales tax holidays across the country, there are no price restrictions on eligible goods.
Items that are tax-exempt during this sales tax holiday include:
Please refer to South Carolina Revenue Ruling 10-7 for the complete list of tax-exempt items or visit the South Carolina Department of Revenue webpage for more information.
Florida will hold its annual sales tax holiday August 2-6, 2019. During this period, qualifying items will be exempt from tax including:
Items that are tax-exempt during this sales tax holiday include:
For more information and a list of qualifying items, please review the Department of Revenue's Tax Information Publication (TIP) on the 2019 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, as well as the FAQs document.
Ohio will hold its annual sales tax holiday for clothing and school supplies during August 2-4, 2019.
During the holiday, the following items are exempt from sales and use tax:
It is important to note that items used in a trade or business are not exempt under this sales tax holiday. The sales tax holiday is set by law and vendors are required to comply.
For more specific information, please refer to the Ohio Department of Taxation Sales Tax Holiday FAQs.
Virginia will hold a combined sales tax holiday on select clothing, school supplies, footwear, hurricane and emergency preparedness items, and Energy Star and WaterSense products August 2-4, 2019.
During the sales tax holiday, the following types of products can be purchased without paying sales tax:
For more information about this sales tax holiday, visit the Virginia Taxation and Revenue Department for 2019 Combined Sales Tax Holiday Guidelines.
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