Save cash during Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday

MADISON – Consumers can catch a break while buying merchandise that students will need when Madison City Schools returns in session.

The 2019 Alabama Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday will allow participating localities to avoid charging the tax on goods that individuals buy during one weekend.

The sales tax holiday begins the third full weekend of July, starting at 12:01 a.m. on July 19 and ends at midnight on July 21.

The sales tax holidays dates back to 2006. A county or municipality by resolution or ordinance adopted at least 30 days before the third full weekend of July can provide for the exemption of “covered items.” The exemption involves county or municipal sales or use taxes.

Madison residents will receive the tax-free purchases based on Ordinance 2019-120.

During select hours on July 19-21, clothing will be exempt if each item costs $100 or less. This list include belts, sandals, shoes, sneakers, socks and boots; caps, hats, raincoats, coats, shirts and neckties; diapers, pajamas and underwear; dresses, hosiery and scarves; gloves, gym suits and jackets; jeans, pants and shorts; and school uniforms.

However, numerous items related to apparel are taxable. Some of these items are cosmetics, handbags, jewelry, sewing supplies, umbrellas, wigs, protective gear, sports equipment, band instruments, breathing masks, face shields, hard hats and helmets, safety glasses and goggles, tool belts and welders’ gloves and masks.

Shoppers will not pay sales tax for school computer supplies that a student commonly uses in a course involving a computer. Any single purchase qualifies if the sales price is $750 or less. This tax-exempt list includes computers, storage media, compact disks and printers with supplies like paper and ink.

Many school supplies are exempt if an item costs no more than $50. These purchases include binders and folders, chalk, calculators, book bags, calculators, composition books and many types of paper, crayons and erasers, folders, glue and paste sticks, highlighters and markers, index cards, legal pads, poster board, pencils and sharpeners, rulers and scissors.

Books will be exempt from sales tax, if the price per book is $30 or less.

For a complete list of tax-exempt merchandise, visit revenue.alabama.gov, click “SERVICES” in the dropdown menus. On the next window, click “Sales & Use Tax” and click “Sales Tax Holidays.”