Florida back-to-school sales tax holiday starts Monday, runs 2 weeks

Parents, start your shopping carts: Florida’s back to school sales tax holida y begins Monday at midnight and runs through Aug. 11.

Shoppers are poised to save on clothes priced at $100 or less, school supplies at $50 or less and computers valued at $1,500 or less over the two-week period.

The holiday was first approved by lawmakers in 1998 and has become a tradition as families gear up for the school year.

The sales tax holiday has become a big deal for retailers, too, with those specializing in clothes and school items stocking and staffing as if it were Black Friday.

“It’s very similar. It’s a very intense shopping period,” said Scott Shalley, President and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation. “It’s a two-week period so that gives people ample time … but it is intense and many of our retailers offer supplementary sales to take advantage of it.”

But a boon to consumers can be a bit of a bust to the state treasury: State economists expect consumers to save $97.2 million during the next two weeks, costing the state $76.7 million and local governments $20.5 million in lost income.

The length and scope of the back-to-school sales tax holiday can differ from year to year, depending on the economy and what types of items the Legislature opts to include.

During recessionary times when the state faced severe shortfalls, lawmakers did away with the holiday entirely, such as in 2002-03 and 2008-09, and in other years restricted it to three days.

But with a low unemployment rate and flush state coffers – the budget has $17 billion in reserves – lawmakers approved a two-week period with a wide range of items exempt from sales tax.

“I appreciate the Legislature stepping up and renewing this,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an event in Aventura on Thursday to highlight the holiday. “It’s important that we’re able to provide relief for Florida families, particularly given how things have gone up so much over the last three and a half years.”

Back-to-school tax breaks enjoy bipartisan support

The back-to-school sales tax holiday receives bipartisan support in the Legislature, but Democrats have warned the break isn’t a silver bullet for low-income families.

“It’s really important to … do what we can to try to put money back in people’s pockets but you also just can’t ignore ... the reality that there are families that, even with the tax break, are struggling to afford school supplies,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Before heading out to stock up for the school year, consumers should be aware of the exceptions and limits to the sales tax holiday.

Items bought at a theme park, entertainment complex, hotel or airport will still include the sales tax. Computers bought for commercial purposes are still subject to the sales tax, too.

Most clothing and school supplies are included in the holiday but there are some items that don’t fall under the sales tax exemption. Jewelry, watches and sports equipment will still be taxed. Computer paper, printer paper and masking tape will be taxed as well.

Computers and related items such as keyboards, mice, routers, modems and headphones are exempt from the sales tax but CDs, DVDs, cell phones, video game consoles, game controllers, surge protectors and televisions are not.

Number of tax holidays growing in Florida

As sales tax holidays have grown in popularity, lawmakers have included different editions in recent years giving consumers more options to save and padding the tax-cut bill they pass each year.

This year’s bill ( HB 7073 ) included four sales tax holidays: The back-to-school holiday, a disaster preparedness holiday, a “freedom” month holiday and a “tool time” holiday.

The “freedom” holiday runs through all of July and exempts a variety of summer-themed items and event tickets. But it overlaps with the back-to-school sales tax holiday by a few days and won’t end until Wednesday.

So while sunglasses, for example, aren’t included in the clothing items exempt under the back-to-school holiday, they are still exempt under the “freedom” holiday through Wednesday.

Shalley said Florida shoppers are attuned to the back-to-school holiday and won’t be deterred by conflicting or confusing messages arising from overlapping sales tax holidays.

“The key to a successful sales tax holiday is clarity and communication for both the retailer and the consumer,” Shalley said. “We have two legacy holidays in Florida with disaster preparedness and back to school, and I think most retailers and consumers are familiar with them in getting a handle on what to expect.”

For more information

∎ For a complete list of items included in the sales tax holiday visit the Florida Department of Revenue’s website .

Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida back-to-school sales tax holiday starts Monday, runs 2 weeks