Back To School Tax Free Weekend 2015 Guide
As part of our comprehensive Back to School coverage, we wanted to make sure you understand all of the options for saving money on your Back to School shopping. While you can find the best Back to School sales and deals on our Hot Deals Page, sometimes there isn't a deal on something you need. If this is the case, and you live in one of the 17 participating States, there are designated No Tax periods for Back to School shopping . So as you keep an eye on the Hot Deals Page, when your State's No Tax Back To School dates arrive, you can visit our store page for your favorite merchant, such as Walmart, scope out one last time if there are any deals you need, and if not, just click the green shop now button. Remember, the Tax Free Weekends cover online purchases as well.
The basic concept is pretty to easy to understand, stores won't collect State taxes on your purchases for the specific date range. Local taxes may still apply. The nuts and bolts details, however, can be a little confusing. In the table below, you will see which States participate, what kinds of things are eligible, and what the dollar amounts are. The dollar amounts are for specific items, and are not an aggregate cap on sales. For instance, if you see that State X offers shoes tax free, and it lists $200, then you know that if you live in State X, you can buy any pair of shoes priced $200 or less. If you have 3 children that all need new shoes, you can by 3 pairs, tax free, provided each pair is less than $200. There is a little bit of common sense to use for some items, and some not-so-intuitive rules as well, so you may want to click the links if you have any concerns. The big caveat we saw was that a lot of states do not cover purely athletic equipment, like football cleats, that cannot be used for school during school hours.
State's With 2015 Back to School Tax Free Weekends
| State | Eligible Items | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama |
Clothing: $100 Computers: $750 School Supplies: $50 Books: $30 |
August 7th - 9th | Arkansas |
Clothing: $100 School Supplies |
August 1st - 2nd |
| Connecticut |
Clothing: $100 Footwear: $100 |
August 16th - 22nd |
| Florida |
School Supplies Clothing: $100 Supplies: $15 Computers: $750 |
August 7th - 16th |
| Georgia |
Clothing: $100 Supplies: $20 Computers: $1000 |
July 31st - August 2nd |
| Iowa | Clothing: $100 | August 7th - 8th |
| Maryland |
Clothing: $100 Footwear: $100 |
August 9th - 15th |
| Massachusetts | August 15th & 16th | |
| Mississippi |
Clothing: $100 Footwear: $100 |
July 31st - August 1st |
| Missouri |
Clothing: $100 Computers: $3,500 School Supplies: $50 |
August 7th - 9th |
| New Mexico |
Clothing: $100 Computers: $1000 School Supplies: $30 Computer Equip.: $50 |
August 7th - 9th |
| Ohio |
Clothing: $75 School Supplies: $20 Instructional Materials: $20 |
August 7th - 9th |
| Oklahoma | Clothing: $100 | August 7th - 9th |
| South Carolina |
Clothing: Not Specified School Supplies: Not Specified Computers: Not Specified See .PDF for full list: |
August 7th - 9th |
| Tennessee |
Clothing: $100 School Supplies: $100 Computers: $1,500 |
August 7th - 9th |
| Texas |
Clothing: $100 Backpacks: $100 School Supplies: $100 |
August 7th - 9th |
| Virginia |
Clothing: $100 School Supplies: $20 |
August 7th - 9th |
Information up to date as of: July 16th, 2015
States not participating in Sales Tax Holidays include: Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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