Sales Tax ‘Holiday’ to occur this weekend

Clothing, supplies exempt over three days

State Sen. John Eklund is encouraging Ohio families to take advantage of the upcoming weekend’s “holiday.”

State Sen. John Eklund, R-Munson Township, is encouraging Ohio families to take advantage of the upcoming weekend’s Sales Tax “Holiday.”

Beginning Aug. 2 at midnight and running until Aug. 4 at 11:59 p.m., Ohioans are expected to save millions of dollars on backto-school items during the three-day tax-free holiday.

During the 132nd Ohio General Assembly, Eklund co-sponsored Senate Bill 226 to make the Sales Tax Holiday a recurring event every year on the first weekend of August.

“This weekend is a great opportunity for Ohioans to stock up on supplies for the school year,” Eklund stated in a news release.

“As a result of this tax relief effort, many working families in our state will be more empowered to send their children to school with all the materials they will need to be successful.”

According to the National Retail Federation, the average family with schoolage children planned to spend an estimated $673 on back-to-school supplies and clothing in 2016.

During the holiday weekend, the following items are exempt from sales and use tax:

• All shoes and clothing priced less than $75

• School supplies priced at $20 or less

• School instructional material priced at $20 per item or less

As long as each item purchased falls within the items listed above, the entire purchase will be tax free.

Additionally, online vendors will waive local and state sales taxes on designated items.

Items bought and paid by mail and by phone will also be eligible.

Items used for business or trade are not eligible for the tax-free holiday, the release stated. All vendors in the state must comply with the sales tax.

According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, for the sales tax holiday, “clothing” is defined as all human wearing apparel suitable for general use, including traditional items such as shirts, pants, skirts, sweaters, dresses and shoes, disposable diapers, formal wear and wedding apparel.

“School supplies” are very specifically defined, and include items like binders, book bags, calculators, art supplies and composition notebooks, crayons, erasers, folders and lunch boxes, to name a few.

Target stores are offering back-to-school kids’ clothing starting from $5, in addition to buy-one-getone 50 percent off shoe deals and clearance prices on various toys and school supplies.

For more information about Ohio’s Sales Tax Holiday, including further specifics on which items qualify for savings, visit https://www.tax.ohio. gov/sales_and_use/ SalesTaxHoliday.aspx.