Tips for Tax-Free Back-to-School Shopping

This month, select states are offering tax-free shopping to those purchasing items for the upcoming school year. Although not available across the entire country, it is noteworthy for consumers in the 16 different states that are offering a sales tax holiday just as parents are picking up items to get students ready to head back to school. If you're lucky enough to reside in a participating state, you'll want to take advantage of this time to purchase items that are tax-exempt.

Texas was one of the first states to start an annual tax-free shopping holiday, first offering a tax-free weekend for clothing, backpacks and school supplies back in 1999. Frugal lifestyle expert Rachel Holland, the founder of SurvivingtheStores.com and HowtoHomeschoolforFree.com, lives in Texas and enjoys shopping during the tax-free holidays.

"Tax-free weekend is one of the best times of the year to buy clothing, shoes and school supplies, and I always try to take advantage of the discount. Many stores are already running great back-to-school sales and offering high-value coupons, so when you combine the sales, coupons and tax-free savings, that can really help you make the most of your back-to-school budget," Holland says.

She also notes that although the tax-free weekend can be a great time to shop, you still want to use your savvy shopping skills and shouldn't justify purchasing an item at full price just so you can get it tax free. A good sale price can be 30 percent off of regular retail or higher, so if you are able to purchase that item during a decent sale in the next few weeks or months, you'll end up saving more money by waiting for the sale.

Before heading to the store, you want to be sure to familiarize yourself with qualifying items for your own state's tax-free holiday. You can find this information by visiting your local state tax department's website which should have a list of qualifying products, as well as any minimum requirements or purchase limits. The tax holiday stipulations vary widely from state-to-state, so you'll want to make sure you have a firm understanding of which items qualify for tax-exemption.

Also, be sure to keep up-to-date on your own state's tax legislation. Just because your state held a tax-exempt shopping period in the past doesn't mean that it will continue in the future. For example, the District of Columbia offered a sales tax holiday during select times in August up until 2010, when the holidays were repealed. More recently, North Carolina, which offered a tax-free weekend during August for the past 12 years, decided in 2014 that they will no longer offer tax-free holidays.

The follow states have confirmed that they will offer a sales tax holiday this year: Alabama (for clothing, computers, school supplies and books), Arkansas (for clothing and school supplies), Connecticut (for clothing and footwear), Florida (for school supplies, clothing and computers), Georgia (for school supplies, clothing and computers), Iowa (for clothing), Louisiana (for all tangible personal property), Maryland (for clothing and footwear), Mississippi (for clothing, computers and school supplies), New Mexico (for clothing, computers, computer equipment and school supplies), Oklahoma (for clothing), South Carolina (for clothing, school supplies and computers), Tennessee (for clothing, school supplies and computers), Texas (for clothing, backpacks and school supplies) and Virginia (for clothing and school supplies).

In addition to giving you the chance to get stocked up on all the standard back-to-school items, tax-free holidays can also be a great time to purchase items that you normally buy at full price, without paying sales tax. If you double up by also taking advantage of any available sales, store promotions and discounts as Holland recommends, then you can up your total savings even more. Remember to be strategic and spend time searching out coupons ahead of time even if you're shopping on a tax-free weekend.

Benjamin Franklin might have noted that only death and taxes are certain, but these tax-free weekends let you get around that rule. Frugal shoppers can score great deals and stretch their back-to-school budget even further. You might even be able to pick up some extra new outfits and notebooks as a result.

Laura Harders is the founder of Beltway Bargain Mom, one of Washington DC's most popular sites for money-saving tips, finding the best deals and living a frugal lifestyle.