COSTS of back-to-school items will be lowered in 17 US states thanks to a widely embraced series of tax exemptions.
In July and August, several states will hold holidays on sales tax to save you money – see if your state is on the list.
Costs of back-to-school items will be lowered in 17 US states thanks to a widely embraced series of tax exemptions[/caption]
This means that certain purchases made for school will not be made more expensive by taxes.
Most of the tax-free items are things like school clothing, school, shoes and supplies.
The states are holding these tax breaks at different times throughout the coming weeks, so it’s vital to know when it is happening in your area.
Mississippi will be the first state to hold the sales-tax holiday, doing so from July 11 through to July 13.
Other states that will be holding sales tax holidays on these items include New Mexico, Missouri, Alabama and Ohio.
Notably, both Ohio and Mssachusetts are extending their tax holidays to include more than just back-to-school items.
Also, there are five states that do not charge sales tax at all during the year.
These are:
- Alaska
- Montana
- Delaware
- Oregon
- New Hampshire
The move comes at a vital time for the US consumer, as more shoppers than ever are shopping for back-to-school items early.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics found that this year, 26%of back-to-school and college shoppers had already started browsing and buying items by early June.
This is up 22% from last year and 17% in 2019.
A further 74% of those surveyed expressed worry that tariffs would cause items to get pricier as the year goers on.
Katherine Cullen, National Retail Federation vice president of industry and consumer insights, told USA Today: “Customers and retailers alike enjoy the benefits of sales tax holidays.
States removing sales tax on back-to-school items
Alabama
July 18-20
What’s tax-free:
Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item
Computers: $750 or less per item
School supplies: $50 or less per item
Books: $30 or less per item
Arkansas
Aug. 2-3
What’s tax-free:
Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item, clothing accessories: $50 or less per item
School supplies
Electronic devices used for school
Connecticut
Aug. 17-23 (Always the third Sunday in August to the following Saturday)
What’s tax-free:
Clothing and footwear less than $100
Florida
Florida expanded its back-to-school sales tax holiday to include the whole month of August.
Aug. 1-31
What’s tax-free:
School supplies: $50 or less per item
Clothing, footwear, accessories: $100 or less per item
Computers and related accessories: $1,500 or less
Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles: $30 or less
Iowa
Aug. 1-2
What’s tax-free:
Clothing or footwear: $100 or less per item
Maryland
Aug. 10-16 (Always the second week of August)
What’s tax-free:
Clothing, footwear and accessories: $100 or less per item
Backpacks: the first $40 of a backpack/bookbag purchase is tax-free.
Massachusetts
Aug 9-10
Eligible retail items bought for personal use costing $2,500 or less (not limited to school supplies).
There are several exceptions when tax still applies, including: meals, motor vehicles and boats, gas and electricity, tobacco, marijuana or alcoholic beverages and any single item with a price more than $2,500.
Mississippi
July 11-13
What’s tax-free:
Clothing, and footwear: $100 or less per item
School supplies: $100 or less per item
Missouri
Aug. 1-3
What’s tax-free:
Clothing: $100 or less per item
School supplies: $50 or less per item
Computers: $1,500
Computer software: $350 or less
Computer peripheral devices: $1,500
Graphic calculators: $150 or less
New Mexico
July 25-27
What’s tax-free:
Clothing or shoes: $100 or less per item
Desktop, laptop, tablets or notebook computers: $1,000
Related computer hardware: $500 per item
School supplies: $30 per item
New York
New York does not have a sales tax holiday, but year-round in certain counties, including the county that covers New York City, have no sales tax for clothing and footwear worn by humans that is $110 or less.
Ohio
Aug. 1-14
What’s tax-free:
The tax-free period includes anything that is considered tangible personal property that is $500 or less.
This excludes watercrafts, anything with an outboard motor that must be titled, a motor vehicle, alcohol, tobacco, a vapor product or a product that contains marijuana.
Dine-in meals, which are usually taxed, are also tax-free if they are less than $500.
Oklahoma
Aug. 1-3
What’s tax-free:
Clothing or footwear: $100 or less per item.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania does not have a sales-tax holiday, but year-round it does not charge sales tax for clothing and certain footwear.
South Carolina
Aug. 1-3
What’s tax-free:
Clothing, shoes and accessories
School supplies
Computers, printers, earbuds and headphones
Certain bed and bath items
Diapers
Tennessee
July 25-27
What’s tax-free:
Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item
School supplies: $100 or less per item
Computers, including laptops and tablets: $1,500 or less per item
Texas
Aug. 8-10
What’s tax-free:
Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item
Backpacks: $100 or less per item
School supplies: $100 or less per item
Virginia
Aug. 1-3
What’s tax-free:
Clothing and shoes: $100 or less per item
School supplies: $20 or less per item
West Virginia
Aug. 1-4
What’s tax-free:
Clothing: $125 or less per item
Laptop or tablet computers: $500 or less per item
School instruction material: $20 or less per item
School supplies: $50 or less per item
Sports equipment: $150 or less per item
“These tax-free events can help drive customers to stores, and result in increased sales because customers may purchase additional items that they were not shopping for that day.”
INFLATION WORRIES
The NRF also found that 76% of shoppers are anticiapting higehr price tags for the items they need.
The average K-12 shopper, referring to someone shopping for kindergarten through 12th grade, budgeted $875 on average last year.
Those paying for college expected to spend $1,365.
A separate study from Coresight Research found that 68% of shoppers said inflation would limit how much they could spend.
Meanwhile, 73% of shoppers expect price increases and 64.9% expect product shortages.
Madhav Pitaliya, an analyst for Coresight Research said: “Back-to-school 2025 is shaped by measured optimism: consumers are willing to spend more, but economic pressures like inflation and tariffs are driving them to seek value more aggressively.”
Most of the tax-free items are things like school clothing, school, shoes and supplies[/caption]
