Tax holiday starts Aug. 7
The Alabama Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday for designated supplies and clothing will run from midnight on Aug. 7 to midnight on Aug. 9. (CONTRIBUTED)
MADISON – For the tenth year, the State of Alabama will conduct its Sales Tax Holiday for purchase of designated school supplies, computers and clothing.
Consumers will not pay state sales tax on approved items from Aug. 7 at 12:01 a.m. through Aug. 9 at midnight.
Clothing items priced at $100 or less (per article of clothing) will be except from state sales tax. The Alabama Department of Revenue describes these clothes as “all human wearing apparel suitable for general use.”
Shoes, boots, sandals, socks, belts and underwear qualify. Girls’ apparel includes dresses, hosiery and scarves. Other examples are coats and jackets, hats and caps, jeans and pants, shirts and shorts, gym suits and diapers.
School uniforms are another tax-exempt purchase.
For computers, software and related school supplies, a single purchase of $750 or less is acceptable. The Department of Revenue will accept a laptop, desktop or tower computer system with a central processing unit (CPU) and auxiliary devices like a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers sold as a package.
However, the department won’t accept computer parts and devices that are not sold as part of a package with the CPU.
Software and computer supplies that a student commonly uses in a course of study involving a computer will be tax-exempt during that weekend. Examples are storage media, diskettes, compact disks, handheld electronic schedulers and printers and associated paper and ink.
Classroom materials, art supplies and instructional items will be eligible, if the cost is $50 or less per item. A partial list of example merchandise follows:
* Desk supplies — Tape, pencils and sharpeners, pens, protractors, rulers, scissors, folders, glue and highlighters.
* Paper products — Composition books, index cards, notebooks, poster board, all types of loose paper and writing tablets.
* Personal items — Book bags and lunch boxes.
* Art supplies — Clay, glazes, paints and brushes
Books that cost $30 maximum are eligible.
For more information, call 334-242-1490 or 866-576-6531 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or visit revenue.alabama.gov/salestax/salestaxhol.cfm.
