This weekend you can stock up on back-to-school items without paying sales tax. The tax-free holiday is happening statewide. It was created as a way to give parents a break on back-to-school shopping. Am. Sub. H.B. 49 enacted a sales tax holiday to occur only in 2018. The holiday starts on Friday, August 3, 2018 at 12:00 a.m. and ends on Sunday, August 5, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Additionally, Sub. S.B. 226 provided for a permanent sales tax holiday on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of August each year.
During the holiday, the following items are exempt from sales and use tax:
- Clothing priced at $75 per item or less;
- School supplies priced at $20 per item or less; and
- School instructional material priced at $20 per item or less.
“Clothing,” as defined by the state, is all human wearing apparel suitable for general use. It includes, but is not limited to, shirts; blouses; sweaters; pants; shorts; skirts; dresses; uniforms (athletic and nonathletic); shoes and shoe laces; insoles for shoes; sneakers; sandals; boots; overshoes; slippers; steel-toed shoes; underwear; socks and stockings; hosiery; pantyhose; footlets; coats and jackets; rainwear; gloves and mittens for general use; hats and caps; ear muffs; belts and suspenders; neckties; scarves; aprons (household and shop); lab coats; athletic supporters; bathing suits and caps; beach capes and coats; costumes; baby receiving blankets; diapers, children and adult, including disposable diapers; rubber pants; garters and garter belts; girdles; formal wear; and wedding apparel.
“School supplies” include only the following items: binders; book bags; calculators; cellophane tape; blackboard chalk; compasses; composition books; crayons; erasers; folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila); glue, paste, and paste sticks; highlighters; index cards; index card boxes; legal pads; lunch boxes; markers; notebooks; paper; loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper; pencil boxes and other school supply boxes; pencil sharpeners; pencils; pens; protractors; rulers; scissors; and writing tablets.
“School instructional material” includes only the following items: reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks, and workbooks.
Items used in a trade or business are not exempt under the sales tax holiday.
Learn more at www.tax.ohio.gov/sales_and_use/salestaxholiday/holidayfaq.aspx.