Tax-free weekend in Missouri starts Friday. What items are exempt for 2023?

Joseph Hernandez
·3 min read

Missouri is once again suspending sales taxes on back-to-school items for a weekend to help families prepare for a return to the classroom without breaking the bank.

Missouri’s tax-free weekend this year will be Aug. 4-6. Anyone can shop without paying any state or local sales taxes on included items, even if you’re not shopping specifically to go back to school or if you don’t live in the state.

Here’s what to know when planning your shopping.

WHICH STORES PARTICIPATE IN TAX-FREE WEEKEND?

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, every store in Kansas City and the rest of the state will be part of Missouri’s tax-free weekend. Municipalities within the state can no longer opt out of the sales tax after Senate Bill 153 was passed in 2021.

The Department of Revenue said tax-exempt items bought online also count toward the tax-free weekend. The items can be delivered after the weekend, but the transaction has to be completed Aug 4-6 and shipped to a Missouri address.

ARE THERE LIMITS TO HOW MUCH ITEMS CAN COST TO BE TAX-FREE?

Yes, some items have price caps to qualify for tax exemption.

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue:

  • A piece of clothing must cost no more than $100.

  • School supplies can’t exceed $50 per purchase.

  • Graphing calculators need to cost no more than $150.

  • Computer software must cost no more than $350.

  • Computers, laptops and peripheral devices, like keyboards or a mouse, can cost no more than $1,500.

For example, a pair of jeans that costs $50 is tax-free, but a Chiefs jersey that costs $130 will be taxed.

WHAT ARE ALL OF THE QUALIFYING TAX-FREE ITEMS?

These clothing items will be tax-free:

  • Belts

  • Cloth and other materials for making uniforms and other clothing

  • Coats

  • Diapers, both cloth and disposable

  • Dresses

  • Gloves

  • Hats

  • Housecoats and slippers

  • Jackets

  • Leggings

  • Pants

  • Shirts

  • Shorts

  • Shoelaces

  • Shoes or boots

  • Socks

  • Tights

  • Undergarments

Computer items that will have taxes suspended include:

  • Compact disk drives

  • Daughterboards

  • Digitizers

  • Disk drives

  • Desktop and laptop computers

  • Display monitors

  • Keyboards

  • Memory modules

  • Microphones

  • Modems

  • Motherboards

  • Mouse

  • Multimedia speakers

  • Printers that must be connected to a computer

  • Random access memory

  • Scanners

  • Single-user hardware

  • Single-user operating systems

  • Soundcards

  • Storage drives

  • Tablet computers or iPads

  • Tower computer systems

  • Video cards

You will not have to pay sales taxes on these school supplies:

  • Art supplies

  • Art razor knives and replacement blades

  • Backpacks

  • Binder clips

  • Blank computer disks

  • Book bags

  • Card stock

  • Chalk

  • Crayons

  • Dry-erase markers

  • File folders

  • Graphing calculators

  • Globes

  • Glue

  • Handheld calculators

  • Hole punches

  • Index divider tabs

  • Index dividers

  • Inkjet refills

  • Journals

  • Lunch boxes

  • Magnetic note pads

  • Maps

  • Mini pocket packs with paper

  • Musical instruments

  • Note cards

  • Notebooks

  • Padlocks

  • Paper

  • Poster mounting putty

  • Pushpins

  • Rubber bands

  • Rulers

  • Scissors

  • Staplers

  • Staples

  • Stencils

  • Tape

  • Textbooks

  • Thumbtacks

  • USB flash drives

  • Writing instruments

  • Writing tablets

ARE THERE ITEMS THAT DON’T QUALIFY?

While these items may be used in school, these are not included in the tax-free weekend:

  • Adding machine tape

  • Batteries

  • Belt buckles

  • Blackboards

  • Briefcases

  • Bulletin boards

  • CD players

  • Copiers

  • Desktop telephones

  • Digital cameras

  • Envelopes

  • Facial tissues

  • Film

  • Film processing

  • Furniture or fixtures

  • Handbags

  • Handkerchiefs

  • Headbands

  • Headphones

  • Halloween costumes

  • Handheld media devices, like iPods

  • Jewelry

  • Keepsake boxes with paper

  • Locker mirrors

  • Mailing tapes

  • MP3 players and accessories

  • Non-digital cameras

  • Paper trimmer and blade refills

  • Portable telephones

  • Power strips

  • Pre-recorded compact discs and DVDs

  • Radios

  • Scarves

  • Single-use cameras

  • Sporting equipment

  • Standalone printers

  • Storage bags

  • Sunglasses

  • Tablecloths

  • Thank-you notes

  • Ties

  • Umbrellas

  • VHS tapes

  • Watches

  • Watchbands