Tax Planning How the Sales Tax Holiday Can Boost Your Back-to-School Savings Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by Elle Martinez Modified Jul 23, 2019 2 min read Back-to-school season is just around the corner! Depending on where you live, your state may be offering huge savings with a sales tax holiday shopping weekend on specific purchases. With most state sales tax ranging from about 4 – 10%, that means more money in your pocket. Dates vary, but this year many states are going sales-tax-free the first full weekend in August (scroll down for dates in your specific state). If you have several kids going to school this year, you can boost your savings by picking up paper, pens, calculators, and backpacks in one trip. And you can get even better deals on the bigger ticket items, namely laptops and tablets. Getting the Bigger Bang for Your Buck with Laptops You don’t want to buy a laptop because it was on sale, only to see it slow or break down in a year. While specs change year to year, here are some guidelines to help you purchase technology that will last. If your kid needs a computer they can easily take notes with, but not to run highly specialized programs, you may want to get a tablet instead. There are some wonderful bundles that give you a tablet (with warranty) and a case at a great bargain. They can use the tablet while at school and then do the heavy lifting on the home computer. For those who need more processing power, but still want the portability of a tablet, a hybrid like the Microsoft Surface or Lenovo Yoga may be just the right ticket for you. College students, and many high school students, likely require a laptop to keep up with their coursework. New processors come out frequently, but right now you can get incredible performance with some older models. Those who are using programs like Adobe Photoshop and Unity (to design video games) will want to make sure that their computer has plenty of memory – at least 8GB RAM. You’ll also want to check out reviews and make sure you get a laptop with a reputation for good battery life (at least 9 hours). I hope this helps you prepare your shopping list and figure out how you can save in advance. Be sure to check with your state tax administrator for specifics regarding your sales tax holiday. What supplies do you need to pick up this upcoming school year? Upcoming State Sales Tax Holiday Dates Alabama: July 19-21 Arkansas: August 3-4 Connecticut: August 18-24 Florida: August 2-6 Iowa: August 2-3 Maryland: August 11-17 Mississippi: July 26-27 Missouri: August 2-4 New Mexico: August 2-4 Ohio: August 2-4 Oklahoma: August 2-4 South Carolina: August 2-4 Tennessee: July 26-28 Texas: August 9-11 Virginia: August 2-4 NO SALES TAX HOLIDAY: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Written by Elle Martinez Elle helps families at Couple Money achieve financial freedom by sharing tips for reducing debt, increase income, and building net worth. Learn how to live on one income and have fun with the second. More from Elle Martinez Visit the website of Elle Martinez. Follow Elle Martinez on Facebook. Follow Elle Martinez on Twitter. Browse Related Articles Tax Refunds How to Use Your Tax Refund to Boost Your Retirement Sav… Life Listen Now: So You’re Buying a Car? Self-Employed 1099-K Myths: Venmo & PayPal Payments Life Listen now: So you want to be rich? Tax Refunds How to Turn Money Into More Money Life Listen now: So you’re buying a home? Family So You’re Living Together? Tax Planning Did You Miss the Tax Deadline? 3 Steps You Can Take Nex… Tax Planning Tomorrow is the Tax Deadline: 7 Things You Need to Know… Self-Employed Do Creators Pay Taxes on Money Earned? 6 responses to “How the Sales Tax Holiday Can Boost Your Back-to-School Savings” you may be able to enjoy tax free shopping for school supplies in several states. If you have several kids going to school this year, you can boost your savings picking up paper, pens, calculators, and back packs. Reply How this work Reply Figures that Calif does not do this. For a state that is already broke (well that is what they tell us) helping schools for a change, would be just so not them. With all the money the lottery gives, why could they not help “Families” who live in this state. That would be to much like right… Reply You said, in your email, that I could find out if my state offered the school purchases sales tax saving. Why, then, am I unable to find that information? Reply This is confusing — according to this site Oklahoma is 8/1, but on the OK Sales Tax website it is 8/7 to 8/9 Reply Ok Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply
you may be able to enjoy tax free shopping for school supplies in several states. If you have several kids going to school this year, you can boost your savings picking up paper, pens, calculators, and back packs. Reply
Figures that Calif does not do this. For a state that is already broke (well that is what they tell us) helping schools for a change, would be just so not them. With all the money the lottery gives, why could they not help “Families” who live in this state. That would be to much like right… Reply
You said, in your email, that I could find out if my state offered the school purchases sales tax saving. Why, then, am I unable to find that information? Reply
This is confusing — according to this site Oklahoma is 8/1, but on the OK Sales Tax website it is 8/7 to 8/9 Reply