‘Tis the season for state sales tax holidays for many back to school students and other shoppers. We’ve compiled a list of states offering a sales tax holiday for consumers with information related to the items that qualify. Find out if your state is temporarily dropping sales tax next week or in the near future.

There are restrictions
It’s not a free for all. Many states offer a specific tax exemption by product and up to a certain dollar amount. For instance, Texas offers a sales tax holiday for clothing, footwear and school backpacks that are less than $100. This does not include accessories, athletic or protective clothing or rentals. Also, even though state sales tax may be temporarily dropped, local sales tax at the city level may still be in effect.

Does the consumer ever get the short-end of the stick during a sales tax holiday?
Yes, it happens sometimes. Certain businesses take advantage of the holiday by boosting their margins. For instance, rather than passing the sales tax savings onto the customer when a certain item like a back-pack is in high demand, they’ll actually raise prices to the equivalent of what it would have cost if there was not a sales tax holiday.

States                 2012 Dates            Max. Cost Per School Item
Alabama              Aug. 3-5                     $50

Arkansas             Aug. 4-5                     $100

Connecticut         Aug. 19-25                  $300*

Florida                Aug. 3-5                     $15

Georgia               Oct. 5-7                     $1,500**

Iowa                 Aug. 3-4                     $100**

Louisiana            Aug. 3-4                     $2,500

Maryland            Aug. 12-18                 $100*

Mississippi           July 27-28                  $100*

Missouri              Aug. 3-5                    $50

New Mexico        Aug. 3-5                     $30

North Carolina     Aug. 3-5                     $100

Oklahoma        Aug. 3-5                     $100

South Carolina    Aug. 3-5                     Unlimited

Tennessee          Aug. 3-5                      $100

Texas                 Aug. 17-19                   $100

Virginia               Aug. 3-5                      $20

*:These states have provide a sales tax holiday for only clothes and not school specific supplies as compared to the other states listed.
**: Georgia recently issued a sales tax holiday for energy efficient and water efficient products for non commercial use.

More questions? Browse answers or ask state sales tax questions online.

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