Sales tax holidays and taxability of clothing/back to school (part 2)

As we saw last time, sales tax holidays are continuing to enjoy a heyday this year. Here are the back-to-school and clothing holidays that start in August.

Iowa, Aug. 4-5: Any article of wearing apparel and typical footwear intended to be worn on or about the human body. “Clothing” does not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, sporting equipment, skis, swim fins, roller blades, skates and any special clothing or footwear designed primarily for athletic activity or protective use and not usually considered appropriate for everyday wear.

Missouri, Aug. 4-5: Clothing, any article having a taxable value of $100 or less; school supplies not to exceed $50 per purchase; computer software with a taxable value of $350 or less; personal computers (not to exceed $1,500); computer peripheral devices (not to exceed $1,500); graphing calculators (not to exceed $150).

New Mexico, Aug. 4-6: Clothing or shoes priced at less than $100. The price limit for desktop, laptop, tablets or notebook computers is $1,000; the limit for related computer hardware is $500. School supplies for use in standard, general-education classrooms must be under $30 per unit. Other price limits on other items such as calculators. Retailers are not required to participate.

Ohio, Aug. 4-6: An item of clothing priced at $75 or less (accessories or equipment excluded); an item of school supplies priced at $20 or less; and an item of school instructional material priced at $20 or less. Items used in a trade or business are not exempt.

Oklahoma, Aug. 4-6: Clothing and footwear priced less than $100.

South Carolina, Aug. 4-6: Clothing and clothing accessories; footwear; school supplies used for school assignments; computers, software, printers and printer supplies (whether purchased or leased).

West Virginia, Aug. 4-7: Certain clothing up to $125. Certain laptop and tablet computers up to $500. Certain school instruction material up to $20. Certain school supplies up to $50. Certain sports equipment up to $150.

Arkansas, Aug. 5-6: Electronic devices, school supplies, school art supplies, school instructional materials, and clothing. All retailers are required to participate.

Texas, Aug. 11-13: Many items of clothing and school supplies (check site). Must be priced at less than $100. Online sale of the item must take place during the holiday, even if delivery is later.

Maryland, Aug. 13-19: Qualifying clothing and footwear priced $100 or less will be exempt from sales tax. The first $40 of back/bookbag sales also qualify.

Connecticut: Tax-free week begins on the third Sunday of August and runs until the following Saturday.

New Jersey, Aug. 26-Sept. 4: Computers, school supplies and sport or recreational equipment for non-business use. Computers with a sales price less than $3,000; school art supplies means items commonly used by a student in a course of study for artwork, including clay and glazes, paints, paintbrushes for artwork and sketch and drawing pads, among other items.

School computer supplies with a sales price less than $1,000, including storage media, diskettes and compact disks, handheld electronic schedulers and PDAs (except cellular phones), printers and printer supplies.

School instructional materials including reference books, workbooks, reference maps and globes and textbooks; school supplies including, among many other items, binders, cellophane tape, composition books, folders, pencil boxes, pens and pencils, paper, calculators, protractors, book bags, crayons, glue and paste, markers and lunch boxes.

Sport or recreational equipment “designed for human use and worn in conjunction with an athletic or recreational activity that are not suitable for general use.”

If you need help figuring out sales tax wrinkles like tax holidays, get in touch. TaxConnex has experts to help answer these questions and to help you establish an ongoing process to ensure you remain compliant.