Florida's back to school sales tax holiday ends Sunday. Here's what to know
Polk County school teachers are already back at work a week before public school students return for the first day of the 2023-24 school year on Friday.
Orientation for Polk County Public Schools middle and high school students is Tuesday, and Wednesday for elementary students. The first day of school is Friday, Aug. 11.
And if you're looking for last-minute supplies, Sunday, Aug. 6 is the last day of Florida's 2023 Back to School tax holiday. That means there's no sales tax on a wide variety of items that are commonly purchased ahead of the school year.
Here's a look at what the tax holiday covers, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.
Clothing, footwear and accessories
Clothing, footwear and certain accessories with a sales price of $100 or less per item are exempt from sales tax.
The Department of Revenue offers a substantial list of examples. It includes things like shirts, shorts, skirts, blouses, barrettes and bobby pins, belts, bookbags, purses, ties, suits, slacks and jackets, underclothes, etc. It also includes things like raincoats, Scout uniforms, costumes, hats and caps, certain types of safety clothing, martial arts clothing and certain fitness apparel.
The department also lists clothing items that do not qualify for the holiday. Those include things like handkerchiefs, jewelry, watches, keychains, luggage, life jackets and vests, makeup bags and a long list of athletic equipment.
The devil's in the details with some categories. Take athletic wear, for example. While there is no tax on things like baseball cleats and bowling shoes, aerobic and fitness clothing, there's a long list of equipment that doesn't qualify -- such as athletic gloves, pads, skates, ski boots and vests.
Similarly, while safety clothes are exempt from tax, a lot of safety equipment isn't. Those include knee and elbow pads, paint or dust masks, safety glasses and goggles and hard hats.
The full lists can be found at https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/tips/Documents/TIP_23A01-06.pdf.
School supplies
The department of revenue says certain school supplies with a sales price of $50 or less per item are tax exempt.
And the list of exempt supplies contains the vast majority of what you would expect: binders, calculators, composition books, construction paper, crayons, colored pencils, erasers, folders, glue, highlighters, pens ... it's a long list with no surprises.
The list of things that don't qualify is much shorter, and actually might be more surprising: books that are not otherwise exempt, computer paper, correction tape (or fluid or pens), masking tape and printer paper.
School libraries will look the same when classes resume Thursday ... but they're not
Learning aids
The exemption covers certain learning aids and jigsaw puzzles with a sales price of $30 or less.
This list, as provided by the Department of Revenue, includes: electronic books, flashcards, interactive books, jigsaw puzzles, learning cards, matching games, memory games, puzzle books, search-and-find books, stacking or nesting blocks or sets, toys that teach reading or math skills.
The sales-tax exemption does not apply if these items are bought at a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport.
Personal computers and certain accessories
The sales tax holiday includes a break on personal computers and computer-related accessories with a sales price of $1,500 or less, so long as they're purchased for noncommercial or personal use -- not a business.
As one could guess, this list can get complex.
What's included, according to the Department of Revenue, are things like computers (laptop or desktop), tablets, electronic book readers, cables, computer batteries, storage drives, docking stations, keyboards, mouse devices, motherboards, modems, routers, scanners and printers, RAM, speakers, web cameras and non-recreational software, such as antivirus, educational and word-processing programs.
What's not included? Regular batteries, computer bags and cases for devices, cellular phones, computer paper, gaming machines or video game consoles, fax machines, furniture, digital cameras, TVs and gaming software.
Again, a more complete list is at https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/tips/Documents/TIP_23A01-06.pdf.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Only a couple days left in Florida's back-to-school sales-tax holiday
