Hurricane Sales Tax Holiday in Florida Runs Through June 7

Residents in Florida will be able to stock up on hurricane supplies while saving big.  The sales tax holiday in Florida started June 1, and gives residents a chance to prepare for future hurricanes. 

The sales tax holiday starts on the first day of hurricane season and lasts for one week.  The holiday was expanded from three days last year to help draw attention to being prepared early for hurricanes.  State and local sales tax will be lifted during this time on disaster supplies. 

Some of the items that residents can save on include portable self-powered lights, portable self-powered radios, tarps, tie down kits, ground anchor systems, packages of batteries that cost $30 or less, and portable generators that cost less than $750.  They can also save on gas tanks that cost less than $25, coolers that cost $30 or less, and reusable ice that is less than $10. 

This tax holiday is expected to cut state revenue by nearly $4.6 million.  Local governments are also expected to see a reduction in revenue by about $1.2 million.  Retailers are expected to offer various discounts and deals for customers to save big as they shop around at the different stores participating.

The busy 2017 hurricane season saw 17 named storms.  Ten of those storms became hurricanes, and six reached major storm status.  The Florida Retail Federation hopes residents of Florida will take advantage of the holiday and load up on supplies early.  "You don't have time to wait later on in the summer, when potentially a hurricane is coming or has already hit and it's kind of almost too late to do that kind of stuff," said James Miller of the Florida Retail Foundation.