Back-to-school tax holiday arrives early after Legislature moves up dates

With the back-to-school countdown ticking, Florida’s school supply sales tax holiday took effect this week.

Between now and Aug. 20, families won’t pay sales tax on a variety of items.

According to the Department of Revenue, the exemption applies to several categories of items, summarized in a list published by the Legislature.

School supplies costing $50 or less per item are exempt, including binders, colored pencils, compasses, composition books, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, highlighters, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks, pens, protractors, rulers, scissors and staplers.

Backpacks, clothes, shoes, wallets and handbags costing $100 or less per individual item are also exempt.

Learning aids costing $30 or less qualify as well, including memory games, flashcards, electronic books, matching games, puzzle books, toys for learning math or reading, and stacking toys.

Personal computers — desktop, laptop or tablet — and certain computer-related accessories with a sales price of $1,500 or less are exempt too. Those accessories include storage drives, hard drives, computer docking stations, computer cables, modems, monitors, motherboards, headphones, ink cartridges, web cameras, tablets, printers, scanners and computer software. Computers for commercial use are not exempt, nor are computers costing more than $1,500.

Expecting to save a few bucks on sales tax on items at Disney World or the airport on your way home? You’re out of luck. 

“The annual sales tax holiday does not apply to sales of any eligible items within a theme park or entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport,” according to the Department of Revenue.

This year, the Legislature changed the dates of the Back-to School Sales Tax Holiday and moved it up earlier to begin this week.

“We know our back-to-school sales tax holiday is popular and highly utilized as families and seniors map out and plan for specific purchases on clothing, shoes, school supplies, and personal computers,” Sen. Bryan Ávila said earlier this year.

“Adjusting the timing of this monthlong holiday to better align with school start dates adds flexibility before the start of the school year, helping Florida students hit the ground running on the first day of school.”