It’s almost back-to-school season and the state of Ohio is giving us a break on school supplies. Ohio is offering a weekend-long sales tax holiday in August to help back-to-school shoppers reduce the cost of clothing and school supplies. (In fact, in 2019, a bill was passed to make the Tax Holiday a permanent event the first weekend in August each year.)
Here’s everything you need to know about Ohio’s Tax Free Weekend:
This year’s Tax Free Weekend is August 4-6, beginning at 12 am on Friday, August 4 and ending at 11:59 pm on Sunday, August 6.
The tax exemption applies to clothing and footwear items that cost $75 or less and to supplies and instructional materials that cost $20 or less. Items priced higher than those limits are not eligible for the tax savings.
There are lots of items that qualify for the Tax Free Weekend:
- Any item of clothing priced at $75 or less;
- Any item of school supplies priced at $20 or less; and
- Any item of school instructional material priced at $20 or less.
Multiple qualifying items can be purchased in a single tax-exempt transaction:
For example, the purchase of two shirts, two pair of pants, a pair of shoes and a jacket (each item costing $50, total purchase $300) are all tax exempt? There is no limit on the amount of the total purchase. The qualification is determined item by item.
The $75 clothing exemption only applies to items under $75.
In other words, if the selling price of an item of clothing is $80, the exemption only applies to items selling for $75 or less. If an item of clothing sells for more than $75, tax is due on the entire selling price.
Many types of items qualify as school supplies.
According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, “School supplies” include the following items:
“School supplies” include only the following items: binders; book bags; calculators; cellophane tape; blackboard chalk; compasses; composition books; crayons; erasers; folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila); glue, paste, and paste sticks; highlighters; index cards; index card boxes; legal pads; lunch boxes; markers; notebooks; paper; loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper; pencil boxes and other school supply boxes; pencil sharpeners; pencils; pens; protractors; rulers; scissors; and writing tablets.
Items not included in this list are taxable. “School supplies” does not include any item purchased for use in a trade or business.
Be sure to check with your favorite retailers (we LOVE Once Upon a Child!) for special sales and promotions. For example, many retailers last year offered sales on school supplies to break below the $20 price point.
Find more Sales Tax Holiday FAQ’s at ohio.gov.