SHOPPERS in a major US state are being urged to make the most of a tax-free shopping weekend.
Everything from clothing and accessories to electronics is being rude in price for a limited time.
Shoppers in a major US state are being urged to make the most of a tax-free shopping weekend[/caption]
Over a dozen states in the US are offering tax breaks in July and August.
So far, states such as Alabama and Tennessee have given shoppers the chance to shop without having to pay for sales tax on top of their items.
Now, Arkansas is the next state in the US to join the list, but it is only lasting for two days.
Shoppers have from August 2 through August 3 to make use of the savings.
But it is important to note that you only save money if you spend over a certain limit on some items.
Items that will be lowered in price include things like clothing and shoes.
But to get the sales tax removed from the overall price, you need to spend $100 or less on each item.
For clothing accessories, the same goes, but for $50 instead.
School supplies are also reduced in price, something which shoppers are already on the lookout for, according to data.
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.
The data shows that this is going up, too, 22% from last year and 17% in 2019.
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.
“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.”
Several states saw their tax breaks begin on August 1, including Iowa, South Carolina and Virginia.
States removing sales tax
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
PRICE RISE PRESSURE
At the same time, shoppers are expecting to spend more money on back-to-school items than ever before.
The NRF also learned that 76% of shoppers are anticipating higher price tags for the items they need.
This isn’t the only data that shows the rising pressure on people’s wallets, particularly for the back-to-school season.
Coresight Research found that 68% of shoppers said inflation would limit what they spent.
And 73% of shoppers expect price increases, while 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.”
Arkansas is the next state in the US to join the list, but it is only lasting for two days[/caption]
