2012 Sales Tax Holidays
It’s once again time for back-to-school shopping and… Sales tax holidays! What follows is an alphabetical list of states with sales tax holidays along with a brief summary of what’s included in each location.
Sales tax holidays, state-by-state
Alabama: August 3-5. Clothing up to $100/item, computers up to $750/item, school supplies up to $50/item, books up to $30/item. (link)
Arkansas: August 4-5. Clothing up to $100/item, school supplies. (link)
Connecticut: August 19-25. Clothing and footwear up to $300/item. (link)
Florida: August 3-5. School supplies up to $15/item, clothing and footwear up to $75/item. (link)
Georgia: August 10-11. Clothing and footwear up to $100/item, personal computers and accessories up to $1000/item, school supplies up to $20/item. (link)
Iowa: August 3-4. Clothing and footwear up to $100/item. (link)
Louisiana: August 3-4. All “tangible personal property” up to $2500/item. (link)
Maryland: August 12-18. Clothing and footwear up to $100/item. (link)
Mississippi: July 27-28 (too late, sorry!). Clothing and footwear up to $100/item. (link)
Missouri: August 3-5. Clothing up to $100/item, computers up to $3500/item, software up to $350/item, school supplies up to $50/item. (link)
New Mexico: August 3-5. Clothing up to $100/item, computers up to $1000/item, computer accessories (hardware) up to $500/item, school supplies up to $15/item. (link)
North Carolina: August 3-5. Clothing and school supplies up to $100/item, instructional material up to $300/item, computers up to $3500/item, other computing supplies up to $250/item, sports and recreational equipment up to $50/item. (link)
Oklahoma: August 3-5. Clothing and (non-athletic) footwear up to $100/item. (link)
South Carolina: August 3-5. Clothing, school supplies, computers, bedding, linens, etc. (link)
Tennessee: August 3-5. Clothing and school supplies up to $100/item, computers up to $1500/item. (link)
Texas: August 17-19. Clothing, school supplies, and backpacks up to $100/item. (link)
Virginia: August 3-5. Clothing up to $100/item, school supplies up to $20/item. (link)
This should be a fairly comprehensive list, though I may have missed something. If so, please let me know and I’ll updated the list ASAP. Note that a few states have at least one other sales tax holiday during the year covering things like energy efficient appliances, hunting supplies, hurricane preparedness, etc.
So… Will you be taking advantage of a sales tax holiday in your area? Remember: Just because there’s no sales tax doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good deal. For example, if you can get something on sale in a non-holiday period, you might come out ahead skipping the sales tax holiday
Disclaimer: Discover is a paid advertiser of this site.
Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the Discover online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards.
Modified on August 15th, 2012 - 3 Comments
Filed under: Taxes
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» 2011 Sales Tax Holidays (Map)» Tax Holidays Starting Soon
» Sales Tax Holidays Reconsidered
» One Year Ago This Week (July 30th – August 5th)
» State and Local Sales Tax Rates (Map)
» Internet Sales Tax Coming Soon
» 2011 Sales Tax Holidays for Back-to-School Shopping
» 2010 Sales Tax Holidays
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
3 Responses to “2012 Sales Tax Holidays”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn 100 Reward Dollars after you make $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership.
Earn 25K Membership Rewards(R) points after you spend $2,000 during your first three months of Card membership.
Consumer friendly credit card with a great low rate of 7.25% and save on interest charges. No balance transfer fees and no annual fee.
The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards. No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And Discover won't increase your APR for paying late.*
The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards. No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And Discover won't increase your APR for paying late.*
Consumer friendly credit card with a great low rate of 7.25% and save on interest charges. No balance transfer fees and no annual fee.
Limited Time Offer: Get 25,000 Membership Rewards(R) points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months of Card membership. Enroll and select a qualifying airline to receive up to $200 annually in statement credits for incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, charged by the airline.
The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards. No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And Discover won't increase your APR for paying late.*
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Will Mac OS X Lion Kill Quicken 2007?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
How to save money on insurance
- More money, more happiness: Do you think money can buy happiness?
- Overdraft fees soared to $32 billion in 2012
- How do you combat prom inflation?
- How should you choose a bank? Look in the mirror.
- The cost of clean water
- College debt 101
- Is it possible to live debt free?
- How to prepare for a home appraisal
- Home prices are up: good news or bad?
- A bit of foolishness
July 30th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
I totally agree with your last comment. I would think retailers would have less sales, especially on clothes because everyone will think they are getting such a great deal by not paying sales tax! Tricky but likely true… at least that’s what I would do if I were running a business…
July 31st, 2012 at 11:09 am
Pennsylvania (PA) doesn’t have a tax holiday in the classic sense, but they DON’T tax clothing, footwear or food (unless you are buying something tricky like a swimsuit, which IS actually taxed. There are also some things in the grocery store that are taxed too, but for most part food is tax-free). If you live in a state bordering PA, it might be worth taking a road trip! Just doing my part to boost the PA economy and to save some folks some money…
Some state’s don’t have SALES TAX ON ANYTHING! Imagine going out to eat and not even paying sales tax! It’s dreamy…
Here’s a rundown on State sales tax from: http://www.retirementliving.com/taxes-by-state
State Sales Tax
All states except Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon, collect sales taxes. Delaware collects a Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) which is a business and gross receipts tax that can total 2.07%. Some have a single rate throughout the state though most permit local city and county additions to the base tax rate. Those states with a single rate include Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
States with the highest sales tax are: California (7.25%), Indiana (7%), Mississippi (7%), New Jersey (7%), Rhode Island (7%), Tennessee (7%), Minnesota (6.875%), Nevada (6.85%), Arizona (6.6%), Washington (6.5%), Kansas (6.3%), Texas and Illinois (6.25%).
Most states exempt prescription drugs from sales taxes. Some also exempt food and clothing purchases and a few also exempt non-prescription drugs.
July 31st, 2012 at 11:34 am
Does this apply to buying items online for that state you live in? I am in SC and wondering if I can just do my online shopping instead of going instore.