Tax-free shopping holiday this weekend
Many back-to-school items qualify to receive discount
New Mexico schools may be operating virtually through at least Labor Day Weekend but the annual back-to-school tax holiday remains in place.
Starting Friday and continuing through midnight Sunday, Santa Fe shoppers will see an 8.4375 percent discount off the top as the state gross receipts tax will be lifted on certain items related to school, such as clothing, computers and school supplies.
“This weekend’s tax holiday helps make back-to-school expenses a little more manageable,” Taxation and Revenue Department Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke said in a news release.
Clothing or shoes sold for less than $100 are tax-free for three days, but there are numerous exceptions, typically sports gear.
The tax holiday applies to desktop, laptop, notebook or tablet computers sold for no more than $1,000 along with ancillary items such as printers, keyboards and microphones sold for no more than $500.
School supplies costing less than $30 per unit also qualify for the tax holiday.
The state draws a line at items for use in “standard, general-education classrooms.” Watches, radios, compact disc players, headphones and sporting equipment do not qualify.
The Taxation and Revenue Department estimates New Mexico shoppers will save about $4 million in the three-day tax holiday.
New Mexico is one of 16 states with a tax holiday but the only one in the West.
The National Retail Federation and Prosper Insight & Analytics expect consumers will spend a record amount in back-to-school shopping because of the unclear picture of classroom or home schooling due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Most parents don’t know whether their children will be sitting in a classroom or in front of a computer in the dining room, or a combination of the two,” retail federation CEO Matthew Shay said in a news release.
“But they do know the value of an education and are navigating uncertainty and unknowns so that students are prepared,” he added.
The retail federation and Prosper Insight & Analytics predict parents with elementary school children will spend an average of $789.49 per family — some $93 more than last year.
College students and their families expect to spend an average of $1,059 per family, about $83 more than last year.