States Back-To-School Tax Holidays: Since the pandemic hit, the back-to-school season has shifted, and while most learning will still take place face-to-face, certain school systems will continue to provide online or distance education. The impact of inflation on the 2022 holiday shopping season, however, is revolutionary.
Costs for all kinds of school supplies are going to be significantly higher now than they were in 2021, according to the CPI reaching a staggering 9.1% in June. Eighty-seven percent of parents who buy for children in grades K-12 say the economy will affect their spending in 2022, according statistics from the National Retail Federation.
Spending on back-to-school supplies and clothing is predicted to increase in 2022, despite the economy. Deloitte Consulting found that 37% of parents still intend to spend more in 2021 than they did in 2020. Deloitte estimates that this will amount to an average of $661 per child in 2022, an increase of 8% over the $612 paid in 2021.
If you live in one of the 17 states that offer tax breaks for back-to-school shopping, you may be able to save money on everything from computers to uniforms.
- Alabama
- Dates: July 15-17
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing items costing $100 or less
- Computers, computer software and school computer supplies with a sales price of $750 or less
- Other school supplies, school art supplies and school instructional material costing $50 or less
- Books costing $30 or less
- Arkansas
- Dates: Aug. 6-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing items costing less than $100
- Clothing accessories and equipment costing less than $50
- School supplies, school art supplies and school instructional material
- Connecticut
- Dates: Aug. 21-27
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and footwear costing less than $100
- Florida
- Dates: July 25 – Aug. 7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- School supplies selling for $50 or less per item
- Clothing, footwear and certain accessories selling for $100 or less per item
- The first $1,500 of the sales price of personal computers and certain computer-related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use
- Iowa
- Dates: Aug. 5-6
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and footwear costing less than $125 (reduced rate of 1.25%)
- Maryland
- Dates: Aug. 14-20
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and footwear costing less than $100
- The first $40 of a backpack or bookbag purchase
- Massachusetts
- Dates: Aug. 13-14
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Retail items of up to $2,500 purchased for personal use
- Mississippi
- Dates: July 29-30
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and footwear costing less than $100
- School supplies costing less than $100
- Missouri
- Dates: Aug. 5-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing valued at $100 or less
- School supplies, up to $50 per purchase
- Computer software valued at $350 or less
- Personal computers and computer peripheral devices costing $1,500 or less
- Graphing calculators costing $150 or less
- New Mexico
- Dates: Aug. 5-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and shoes costing less than $100
- Desktop, laptop, tablets and notebook computers costing $1,000 or less
- Computer hardware costing $500 or less
- School supplies under $30
- Ohio
- Dates: Aug. 5-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing priced at $75 or less
- School supplies and school instructional material priced at $20 or less
- Oklahoma
- Dates: Aug. 5-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and footwear costing less than $100
- South Carolina
- Dates: Aug. 5-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and accessories
- Footwear
- School supplies used for school assignments
- Computers, software and printers
- Certain bed and bath supplies
- Tennessee
- Dates: July 29-31
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing items costing $100 or less
- School and art supplies with a purchase price of $100 or less per item
- Computers for personal use, tablets and laptops with a purchase price of $1,500 or less
- Texas
- Dates: Aug. 5-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and footwear sold for less than $100
- School supplies and backpacks sold for less than $100
- Virginia
- Dates: Aug. 5-7
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Clothing and footwear costing $100 or less per item
- School supplies costing $20 or less per item
- Portable generators costing $1,000 or less
- Gas-powered chainsaws costing $350 or less
- Chainsaw accessories costing $60 or less
- Other hurricane preparedness items costing $60 or less
- Energy Star and WaterSense products purchased for noncommercial home or personal use costing $2,500 or less
- West Virginia
- Dates: Aug. 5-8
- What You Can Get Tax-Free:
- Certain clothing costing $125 or less
- Certain school supplies costing $50 or less
- Certain school instructional materials costing $20 or less
- Certain sports equipment costing $150 or less
- Certain computers and tablets costing $500 or less
States That Never Have Sales Tax
It’s a tax holiday every day for these states that have no sales tax year-round:
- Alaska
- Delaware
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- Oregon
Learn How to Spend Less on Back-to-School Needs
One option to cut costs on supplies for the new school year is to go shopping during a tax holiday. Additional money-saving advice:
- Make use of discount coupons.
- Before buying something expensive, it’s a good idea to do some research and compare prices.
- Get together with other parents to split the expense of school supplies.
- Don’t bring the kids, because they’ll probably want you to spend more money than you have.
- expected to spend
- Spend your money on pre-owned books and textbooks
- The student discount is worth taking advantage of.
- When you shop online, install a coupon- and cash-back-finding plugin like Honey.
- A trip to the dollar store is always in order.
- Pay with a credit card that gives you cash back when you make purchases
