Florida’s back-to-school sales tax “holiday” takes place Saturday, July 31 through August 9, and is expected to be a busy one for retailers with more students expected to be physically in classrooms for the 2021-2022 school year, and in need of more school supplies than last year.
The return of students to in-person learning should mean a big need for new clothes, school supplies, footwear, and much more during the 10-day tax holiday.
“They’re going to need supplies. But there’s a special emphasis now I think with things like backpacks and clothing, that maybe there wasn’t the same focus on last year,” Florida Retail Federation President Scott Shalley said on Tuesday.
The tax-free “holiday” deals include:
- School supplies like pens, pencils, erasers, and markers that are less than $15
- Any type of clothing or shoes, backpacks, and wallets under $60
- Any computer or computer accessory that is less than $1,000 – or the first $1000 of a personal computer, laptop, or tablets. Cell phones are not part of the tax-free deal “holiday.”
There is a catch when it comes to electronics, however: The computers are tax-free under $1,000, but the computer bags are not tax-free. The printers are tax-free, but not the paper for the printers. Accessories such as chargers, keyboards, and flash drives are covered by the holiday, but grab them quickly as it is expected that they will fly off the shelves quickly.
The holiday is part of a $196.3 million tax package that Florida lawmakers approved in April.
Bill Herrle, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business-Florida, said he hopes the Florida tax breaks can help businesses that were negatively impacted during the pandemic shutdown and that are still working to recover from the economic fallout of the ongoing pandemic.
