Pine Belt shoppers will be able to save some cash during the 48 hours of the Sales Tax Holiday on Friday and Saturday, but they will have to follow a few rules when it comes to making smart choices in back to school sales.
The 2018 Sales Tax Holiday takes place between 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 27, and midnight Saturday, July 28.
First, the most important rule to follow is that the item being purchased falls within the guidelines of what clothing and footwear is eligible for the tax break.
Clothing that qualifies are any article of apparel designed to be worn on the human body including pants, shirts and blouses, dresses, coats, jackets, belts, hats, undergarments and multiple piece garments sold as a set. Footwear is eligible for the Sales Tax Holiday if it is any article of apparel for human feet except for skis, swim fins, roller blades, skates and any similar items.
Not qualifying for the Sales Tax Holiday are accessories as jewelry, handbags, luggage, umbrellas, wallets, watches, backpacks, briefcases and similar items.
The second requirement of purchases during the Sales Tax Holiday is each item must cost less than $100. The Sales Tax Holiday applies to each eligible item selling for less than $100, regardless of how many items are sold at the same time.
Items priced at $100 or more are subject to Sales Tax at the regular retail rate of 7 percent. For example, a customer buys two shirts at $50 each, a pair of slacks at $75 and a pair of shoes at $110. No sales tax is due on the sale of the two shirts and the pair of slacks at a cost of $175, even though the combined cost exceeds the $100 threshold. However, sales tax is due on the entire $110 for the shoes because they cost more than $100 as a single item.
Rentals of clothing and footwear do not qualify for the Sales Tax Holiday and are subject to 7 percent sales tax.
Articles that are normally sold together, such as a pair of shoes or a uniform, must continue to be sold as a set or a single unit. Components of the unit cannot be priced separately and sold as individual items in order to qualify for the holiday.
The total price of items advertised as "buy one, get one free" or “at a reduced price" cannot be averaged to qualify both items for the holiday. The amount of sales tax due depends on the actual price paid for each item sold.
