FLORIDA, USA — Florida's back-to-school tax holiday is set to begin July 29, offering savings on essential supplies like binders, pencils, computers and more.
These items and many more will be tax-free between July 29 and Aug. 11. However, not all items qualify, and there are certain price points to watch while filling up the shopping cart.
This holiday is separate from Florida's Freedom Tax holiday, which ends July 31.
What's included in the back-to-school tax-free holiday?
The lists below are not exhaustive. Check the Florida Department of Revenue website for more examples and stipulations.
Clothing and accessories ($100 or less per item):
- Any wearing apparel, including footwear
- Hair and neck accessories (excluding jewelry)
- Handbags, backpacks, fanny packs and diaper bags (excluding briefcases and suitcases)
Computers and computer-related activities for personal use ($1,500 or less per item):
- Calculators
- Desktops
- Electronic book readers
- Handheld devices
- Keyboards
- Laptops
- Modems
- Monitors
- Mouse devices
- Nonrecreational software
- Peripheral devices
- Personal digital assistants
- Routers
- Tablets
- Tower Computers
Learning Aids ($30 or less per item):
- Flashcards or learning cards
- Interactive or electronic books and toys intended to teach reading or math skills
- Matching or other memory games
- Puzzle books and search-and-find books
- Stacking or nesting blocks or sets
School supply items ($50 or less per item):
- A full list of detailed school supply items can be found here
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Other need-to-know information:
Layaway sales
Eligible items sold as layaway sales qualify for the exemption when:
- The customer accepts delivery of the merchandise during the sales tax holiday period.
- The customer puts an eligible item on layaway, even if the final payment is made after the tax-free period.
Coupons, discounts, rebates
The amount of the reimbursement to a customer (i.e., how much the coupon removed from the final price) is still included in the taxable sales price of an item.
For example, if purchasing a $60 notebook with a $10 coupon so that the customer only pays $50, the notebook would still not qualify for exemption because the retailer is still reimbursed for the amount of any discount provided to customers.
However, the product will still be eligible if the original retail price before discounts qualifies as an exemption, regardless of the deals or coupons.
Returns
When a customer returns an eligible item purchased during the sales tax holiday period and requests a refund or credit of tax:
- The customer must show a receipt or invoice showing that the tax was charged and paid on the item's original purchase.
- The retailer must have sufficient documentation to show that the tax was paid on the item's original purchase.
Online purchases
Eligible items purchased through an online marketplace are exempt when purchased during the sales tax holiday, even if delivery is after the period.
Exchange
When a customer purchases an eligible item during the sales tax holiday period and then later exchanges the item for the same item (different size or color), no tax is due, even if the exchange is made after the sales tax holiday period.
Gift cards
- A sale of a gift card is not taxable.
- Eligible items purchased using a gift card during the sales tax holiday period qualify for the exemption, regardless of when the gift card was purchased.
- Eligible items purchased after the sales tax holiday with a gift card purchased during the period are taxable.
Buy one, get one purchase
To qualify for the exemption, the total price of items advertised as "buy one, get one free" or "buy one, get one for a reduced price" cannot be averaged for both items.