Comments for Save On School Supplies With Sales Tax Holidays

Save On School Supplies With Sales Tax Holidays

2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

School supplies in eight states are tax-free this weekend thanks to sales tax holidays. Hurry though, because the savings expire at the end of the day, unless you live in Washington D.C., where the savings last through August 10. The full list, inside...

]]> The eight states are the usual southern bastions of education:

Alabama - up to $50
Georgia - up to $20
Missouri - up to $50
New Mexico - up to $15
North Carolina - up to $100
South Carolina - unlimited savings!
Tennessee - up to $100
Virginia - up to $20
Washington D.C. - up to $100 through August 10

Sales tax holidays were popular with state legislators back before the crumbling economy decimated state budgets. Florida already eliminated their sales tax holidays, and we wouldn't be surprised if more states cut the tax breaks next year. Enjoy them while they last!

2008 State Sales Tax Holidays [Federation of Tax Administrators]
Do your homework before buying school supplies [The Chicago Tribune]

Comment from saltwaterkisses on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T22:17:41Z

@ croush1211

yeah no Fla sales tax break for us- the signs are some stores taking the intitiative and giving us an extra 6-7% discount, Which is actually pretty cool I guess.

I like discounts-

Comment from FightOnTrojans on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T22:10:16Z

@The Great Aussie Evil: Yah, considering our great Governator has just relegated all state employees into poverty, a sales tax holiday wouldn't help us one bit. Man, I miss Gray Davis...

Comment from The Great Aussie Evil on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T19:22:05Z

I think California's actually INCREASED sales tax on school supplies, due to our budget crisis.

Comment from TheStonepedo on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T19:13:36Z

If I can't afford the (5% to 12% depending on location) sales tax on a given item, I tend to equate that to not being able to afford that item. People truly in need who may have been eligible for welfare handouts will get less because taxes (which fund welfare programs) are not being collected. Sales tax holidays have an anti- Robin Hood effect.

Comment from JackWalker on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T18:50:09Z

@crazybutch: Yes, the overall article is about school supplies, but the meat of it is about the tax-free holidays.

The article's poster used the tax-free holidays as a reason to incite people to buy school supplies since the school year is just around the corner.

Comment from battra92 on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T18:36:09Z

I don't know how much more you can save. I mean, Walmart*, Staples et. all have all had HUGE discounts on school supplies practically giving stuff away for pennies of what they normally charge. They even are encouraging the teachers to buy supplies for their kids.

We need to buy a dehumbidifier so we'll probably wait until then to buy it.

Comment from crazybutch on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T18:17:29Z

@JackWalker: @croush1211: @serreca:
i think this post is about school supplies being tax- free in certain states as well as clothing, etc as usual in other states. Texas is certainly having a tax free holiday on clothes and back packs; my managers have been talking about it for weeks at my store.

Comment from croush1211 on 2008-08-04

2008-08-04T08:04:05Z

Is Florida's decision to get rid of the sales-tax holidays a recent development? I was there all last week and saw several advertisements regarding it. I was also under the impression that it would last for about 10 days, not just the weekend.

Comment from B on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T04:58:15Z

Or just save on school supplies by stealing office supplies from work.

Comment from chiieddy on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T04:37:12Z

@huginn: That's correct. We're trying to move a planned trip to the Stoughton IKEA up a week to take advantage of the savings. We're redoing our living room and while our $1500 budget means we'd only save $75, that's still a dinner out for sushi :)

Comment from 11hawkinst on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T04:21:34Z

Or... you could live 10 miles from the Delaware border where it's always tax free!

Comment from serreca on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T03:33:12Z

I don't know where Consumerist gets their info, but in Alabama all clothing is tax-free up to $100 per item. Also, computers and computer accessories up to $750 are tax-free.

Comment from t325 on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T03:20:16Z

I used to work at Target. If I were a shopper, I'd rather spend the extra 2 bucks in sales tax than deal with all of the crowds there, not to mention half of the shit was always out of stock. It's like black Friday.

Comment from Gaambit on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T02:43:41Z

In GA, you can also get tax free on all computers under $1500. My local Mac store knocked down their MacBook Pros to $1499 just for this...which is what I'm typing on now! sweet, sweet deal.

Comment from WaywardSoul on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T01:49:11Z

To run with witeowl's comment, there are also numerous online stores that sell academic versions of popular software for greatly discounted prices. You just need be a student or parent of a student and be able to document your/their status. It's quite easy and can save hundreds to thousands depending on their software needs. Also, if a student has a software developer bent, Microsoft now gives away many of its software development tools for FREE. Just search for Dreamspark.

Comment from Exek on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T01:43:29Z

New Hampshire Tax Free all year long

Comment from GearheadGeek on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T01:40:32Z

I avoid shopping areas like the plague during Texas' back-to-school tax holidays. Wading through the horde of locusts picking over crap for a whopping 8.25% savings is absolutely NOT worth it to me... few stores have significant sales that weekend, because they know huge crowds will be shopping anyway. I just wait for better sales at other times.

Comment from ITDEFX on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T01:35:22Z

The best buy's here in Northern VA had NO TAX on everything in the store. There was no up to 20 dollars rule here.

Comment from witeowl on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T01:32:38Z

@taney71: FWIW, many universities have their own computer store where students (and faculty) can buy computers and software with significant discounts for educational use.

Comment from smrtypants44 on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T01:09:25Z

if you consider school uniforms school supplies then you can add Oklahoma to the list, shoes and apparel under $100

Comment from guilliam on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T00:57:33Z

And of course Ohio isn't having one, even though it would've gone a long way to help our struggling economy.

Comment from antisane on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T00:43:56Z

I love living in NH... every day is a "sales tax holiday" :)

Comment from doctor_cos wants you to remain calm on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T00:39:02Z

Floriduh shelved theirs due to the 'loss of revenue.'
This didn't stop Gov. Charlie Crist from GIVING AWAY $224 million dollars...[blogs.orlandosentinel.com]

Comment from taney71 on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T00:25:00Z

Seriously they should lift the sales tax on computers. Many lower middle class kids go to college these days need a computer.

Comment from huginn on 2008-08-03

2008-08-04T00:18:06Z

@JackWalker: The Mass one was pending in the state's house. It was just signed into law last friday.

[www.associatedcontent.com]

So for all you Massholes and fellow New Englanders out there. Aug 16-17 is your weekend. As long as it is under 2,500 and is not car or telecommunications related

Comment from varro on 2008-08-03

2008-08-03T23:32:07Z

Oregon, of course, has no sales tax. Washingtonians - come to Jantzen Beach and pick the Target, Office Depot, and Old Navy bare!

Comment from JackWalker on 2008-08-03

2008-08-03T23:27:13Z

Massachusetts cut the sales tax holiday? From what I've read and understood, Massachusetts is still carrying its tax-free holiday this year on August 16th and 17th. Where are you getting your information Consumerist?