Ready, Set, Shop: Everything You Need to Know About Tax Free Weekend

But even though the list of items that you can buy without paying state or local sales tax is limited, Last says stores have taken advantage of the busy weekend to hold sales on all types of items.

Virginia: Clothing purchases of $100 or less, school supplies purchases of $20 or less, energy star products of $2,500, hurricane preparedness items of $60 or more and generator purchases of $1,000 will be tax-free. If his mom had shopped during the tax holiday, she could have saved $15.02.

The school supplies included in the holiday tax exemption include but are not limited to backpacks, binders, calculators, composition notebooks, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, index cards, lunch boxes, markers, paper, pencils, pens, rulers, and scissors. That’s why shoppers like Brown and her son Hayden say it’s better to go ahead and pay the taxes and be sure you get what you need.

The new sales tax holiday, which will take place this Friday through Sunday, applies to all businesses throughout the state selling qualifying items. “Some states have different items and longer holiday periods, but it’s your delivery address”, said Boyce Smith, general manager of Walmart in Aloca.

“I think it’s a great thing for parents and teachers, especially teachers, because we spend so much time and effort getting our classrooms ready”, said Christine Berg, mother and third-grade teacher.

The Federation of Tax Administrators’ website shows 12 states, including South Carolina, will offer tax-free holidays this weekend.

“It allows them to space out the traffic we’re going to see for this holiday, in years past, over three days, there was an influx of people for those three days, lots of traffic, some retailers maybe couldn’t necessarily handle the increased workload”, he said.

Everyone qualifies for the discount, not just school kids, and anyone can save on school supplies, said Gary Gudmundson, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Taxation. You can also save on computers and certain accessories up to the first $750 spent. “But all of our clothing, athletic apparel, shoes, home goods, are all part of the tax free weekend”, said Doepp.