What is a state sales tax holiday?
Some states offer a period of time during which certain purchases you make are not subject to state sales taxes.
Each state program varies. Some states limit the type of purchase to a particular product (i.e., school supplies, clothing, energy savings products, etc), or to a specific amount (i.e., purchases up to $2,100).
Although you may not have to pay state sales tax during sales tax holidays, you may still have to pay taxes levied by local counties or jurisdictions.
In Missouri, local jurisdictions are given the authority to decide whether or not they will charge local sales taxes. For a list of cities that have opted out (that will charge sales taxes) visit The Department of Revenue.
Back-to-School State Sales Tax Holidays in MO
Section 144.049, RSMo, establishes a sales tax holiday during a three-day period beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ending at midnight on the Sunday following. Certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items as defined by the statute, are exempt from sales tax for this time period only.What is Tax Exempt During the Back-To-School Tax Holiday?
- School Supplies: This includes items normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes such as computer software with a value of $350 or less, textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, crayons, art supplies, rulers, book bags, back packs, handheld calculators, chalk, maps, and globes.
"School supplies" does not include watches, radios, CD players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable or desktop telephones, copiers or other office equipment, furniture, or fixtures.
- Clothing: Including apparel worn on the body (not clothing accessories), footwear, school uniforms. "Clothing" does not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands, or belt buckles.
- Personal Computers: Which includes laptops, desktops, or tower computer systems which consists of a central processing unit, random access memory, a storage drive, a display monitor, a keyboard, and devices designed for use in conjunction with a personal computer, such as a disk drive, memory module, compact disk drive, daughterboard, digitalizer, microphone, modem, motherboard, mouse, multimedia speaker, printer, scanner, single-user hardware, single-user operating system, soundcard, or video card.
Other Spending Limitations
An article of clothing cannot exceed a taxable value of one hundred dollars. School supplies are not to exceed fifty dollars per purchase. Computer software cannot exceed a taxable value of three hundred fifty dollars, and personal computers or computer peripheral devices cannot exceed three thousand five hundred dollars.Upcoming School Supplies and Personal Items Sales Tax Holiday Dates in NC
- August 7-9, 2009
- August 6-8, 2010
- August 5-7, 2011
- August 3-5, 2012
For more information about the school supplies and personal items sales tax holiday, visit The Department of Revenue.
