Cue Andy Williams: “It’s the most, wonderful time, of the year….”

Parents across South Florida are gearing up to send their children back to the classroom after another summer vacation- and 18 months of remote/ hybrid learning. In Palm Beach County, public school begins on August 10th, in Broward August 18th, and in Miami-Dade County August 23rd.

As if a return to some semblance of normalcy isn’t enough of a call to rejoice, the State of Florida has more than tripled the length of the Florida Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, extending the 3-day event to 10 days!

Starting tomorrow, Saturday July 31st, to Monday August 9th, there will be no sales tax on qualifying purchases, resulting in a 7% savings on all back-to-school essentials. Here’s a guide for everything that qualifies, and everything that doesn’t.

Qualifying School Supplies ($15 or less per item):

Pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, glue, calculators and rulers.

Supplies Not Tax Free:

Printer paper, white-out products, and other general office supplies.

Qualifying Clothing, Footwear, Accessories ($60 or less per item):

Apparel, footwear, wallets, backpacks or bags- including handbags and diaper bags! 

Clothing, Footwear, Accessories Not Tax Free:

Briefcases, suitcases, garment bags, watches and jewelry.

Qualifying Noncommercial Personal Computers and Accessories (first $1,000 of the sale price):

Laptops, desktops, tablets, electronic book readers, keyboards, modems, routers and monitors.

Personal Computers and Accessories Not Tax Free:

Cell phones, video game consoles, and digital cameras. 

There are a few other restrictions to keep in mind as you make your tax-free shopping list. The tax exemption does not apply to athletic supplies, the rental or repair of qualifying items, or purchases made in a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment or airport. 

If you want to learn more about eligible items this year’s Back-to-School Tax Holiday, here is a link to the FAQs: https://floridarevenue.com/backtoschool/Documents/2021FlaBTSTaxHolidayExternalFAQsConsumers.pdf