Tax holiday to help shoppers save on back-to-school
The first day of school is approaching, and if you haven’t started shopping yet, you might want to hold off just a little bit longer.
Ohio will have its first tax holiday this weekend. From 12:01 a.m. Friday, August 7, to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 9, Ohio shoppers won’t have to pay sales tax on clothing, school supplies and instructional material.
There are some exceptions — individual items of clothing must be priced at $75 or less and school supplies and instruction materials at $20 or less.
Price limits only apply to individual items, so shoppers can buy as many items as they want. Anything outside of the price limits is taxed at the standard rate.
The tax holiday is a first for Ohio. It was signed into law late last year.
POSITIVE TURNOUT
Belden Village Mall in Jackson Township is anticipating a big turnout.
“It seems like it’s hopefully going to be another version of Black Friday,” said Gina Bannevich, the mall’s marketing director.
Since the holiday is a first for Ohio, it’s hard to know what to expect, but the buzz surrounding the weekend seems to be positive, she said.
The holiday will benefit families, especially those with multiple children of different ages going through size changes, she said.
“As a mother of two, I appreciate it,” she said.
Because of the sales tax holiday and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival, the mall is preparing for big crowds with extra security and is allowing stores to open early at 9 a.m.
It’s also working with its retailers to ensure their systems are prepared to handle the temporary tax exemption.
People shopping that weekend should come out with excitement, but also patience, Bannevich said.
FOOD DRIVE
The holiday is also an opportunity for shoppers to give back.
The Stark County Hunger Task Force will hold a food drive at Belden Village Mall during tax holiday weekend.
As part of its Hunger at Home campaign, the organization will collect nonperishable food donations in the mall’s center court.
Anyone who donates will be entered in a drawing to win a $250 gift card to Macy’s, Bannevich said.
The donations will be distributed through the organization’s network of more than 30 Stark County pantries, which provide critical food assistance to more than 27,000 people each month, according to a news release.
The goal is to collect enough donations during the weekend to support the Task Force’s Backpack for Kids program for the year, Bannevich said.
The program provides hungry kids with food to take home over the weekend.
“If the state is giving to us, let’s give to our community even further,” she said.
Reach Jessica at 330-580-8322 or jessica.holbrook@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @jholbrookREP
The price limit just applies to a particular item, not your total purchase. There’s no limit on how large a total transaction can be.
What’s included?
Shoppers won’t have to pay sales tax on three categories of items:
• Clothing priced at $75 or less;
• School supplies priced at $20 or less;
• School instructional material priced at $20 or less.
Those broad categories include a lot of different items, some you may not expect.
• School supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, cellophane tape, blackboard chalk, compasses, composition books, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, paste, paste sticks, highlighters, index cards, index card boxes, legal pads, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks, various types of paper, poster board and construction paper, pencil boxes and other school supply boxes, pencil sharpeners, pencils, pens, protractors, rulers, scissors and writing tablets.
• Instructional material: Instructional material is limited to reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks and workbooks.
• Clothing: Clothing isn’t limited to just kids clothes, so this is a great time for parents to stock up too. Tax-exempt clothing is any apparel “suitable for general use.” That broad definition includes your typical garments — pants, shirts, skirts etc. — but also includes: various shoes, shoe laces, shoe insoles, socks and other hosiery, coats and jackets, cold-weather accessories, belts and suspenders, ties, scarves, aprons, lab coats, athletic supporters, bathing suits, costumes, baby receiving blankets, diapers (children and adult), garters and garter belts, formal wear and wedding apparel.
It doesn’t include accessories such as handbags or wallets, any protective equipment, sewing equipment or supplies, sports or recreational equipment, separate belt buckles, separate costume masks, separate patches or emblems.
How much in savings?
We’ve created a sample school supply list — based on supply lists from elementary schools around Stark County — and looked at how much you could save if you didn’t have to pay sales tax. Costs listed are estimates based on prices at major retailers with local locations.
List:
Bookbag -- $15
Pencil box -- $3
Two 24-packs of crayons -- $4.98
Kids scissors -- $1
Two glue sticks -- $2.50
One bottle of glue -- 50 cents
Five pocket folders -- $2.50 (50 cents each)
Two wide-ruled notebooks -- $1.50 (75 cents each)
Three packs of #2 pencils -- $6 ($2 per pack)
Three jumbo erasers -- $1.50
Four dry erase markers -- $3.25
Total: $41.73
With tax (6.5 percent rate): $44.44
Savings: $2.71