Florida Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is Here

Back to school supplies and other items you can buy tax free during Florida's Tax Holiday.Photo byPalm Coast Local

The Back To School tax holiday begins on Monday, July 29, 2024, and ends on Sunday, August 11, 2024. Here is a list of items you can save tax dollars on. Whether back to school items or stocking up on supplies you can save a little extra cash. You can go the the Florida Department of Revenue website here.

What items will be exempt from sales tax during the 2024 Florida Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday? During the 2024 Florida Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, certain clothing, footwear, and accessories with a sales price $100 or less per item, certain school supplies with a sales price of $50 or less per item, learning aids and jigsaw puzzles with a sales price of $30 or less, and personal computers and related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use with a sales price of $1,500 or less, are exempt from sales tax.

The tax holiday begins on Monday, July 29, 2024, and ends on Sunday, August 11, 2024. A list of items that are exempt from tax during the 2024 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is provided in Tax Information Publication (TIP) No. 24A01-03. These include:

Personal computers or personal computer-related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use having a sales price of $1,500 or less: Personal computers*

• Calculators
• Desktops
• Electronic book readers
• Handhelds
• Laptops
• Tablets
• Tower computers

* The term does not include cellular telephones, video game consoles, digital media receivers, or devices that are not primarily designed to process data.

Personal computer-related accessories*+ include:

• Keyboards
• Mice
• Modems
• Monitors
• Nonrecreational software
• Other peripheral devices
• Personal digital assistants
• Routers

The listed accessories are tax-exempt regardless of whether they are used in association with a personal computer base unit. + The term does not include furniture or systems, devices, software, monitors with a television tuner, or peripherals that are designed or intended primarily for recreational use.

Items having a sales price of $100 or less per item:

• Clothing
• All footwear (excluding skis, swim fins, roller blades, and skates)
• Any article of wearing apparel intended to be worn on or about the human body,
• (excluding watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, and handkerchiefs)
• Wallets or bags*, including
• Backpacks
• Diaper bags
• Fanny packs
• Handbags

* Briefcases, suitcases, and other garment bags are excluded.

School supplies having a sales price of $50 or less per item:

• Binders
• Cellophane tape
• Compasses
• Composition books
• Computer disks
• Construction paper
• Crayons
• Erasers
• Folders
• Glue or paste
• Legal pads
• Lunch boxes
• Markers
• Notebooks
• Notebook filler paper
• Pencils & Pens
• Poster board & Poster paper
• Protractors & Rulers
• Scissors
• Staplers and staples used to secure paper products

Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles having a sales price of $30 or less:

• Flashcards or other learning cards
• Interactive or electronic books and toys intended to teach reading or math skills
• Matching or other memory games
• Puzzle books and search-and-find books
• Stacking or nesting blocks or sets

FAQ: If I purchase an item that costs more than the limits stated above, do I owe sales tax only on the portion of the price that exceeds the limit for that item? If you purchase an item that would otherwise qualify for the sales tax exemption but costs more than the limits listed above, the item is not exempt, and you must pay sales tax on the entire price of the item.

FAQ: Is there a limit on the number of items that can be purchased exempt during the sales tax holiday? No. The exemption is based on the sales price of each item, not on the number of items purchased.

FAQ: If I buy a package or set of items that contains both taxable and tax-exempt items during the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, how is sales tax calculated? If a tax-exempt item is sold in a package with a taxable item, sales tax must be calculated on the sales price of the entire package or set.

FAQ: If the store is offering a “buy one, get one free” or “buy one, get one for a reduced price” special on coats and I purchase one for $200 and get another for free, will the transaction be tax-free because I am effectively paying $100 for each coat? No. The total price of items advertised as “buy one, get one free” or “buy one, get one for a reduced price” cannot be averaged for both items to qualify for the exemption. In this case, the purchase of the coats is taxable

FAQ: I purchase a gift card during the sales tax holiday, can I then purchase a qualifying item taxexempt using the gift card after the tax holiday ends? No. The purchase of the qualifying item must be made during the sales tax holiday to be taxexempt. However, when qualifying items are purchased during the tax holiday using a gift card, the items are tax-exempt; it does not matter when the gift card was purchased.

FAQ: If a store issues me a rain check during the sales tax holiday, can I use it after the sales tax holiday to purchase the item tax-exempt? No. The purchase of the qualifying item must be made during the sales tax holiday to be taxexempt. When a rain check is issued, a sale has not occurred. The sale occurs when the rain check is redeemed and the item is purchased.

FAQ: If I place an item on layaway, is it eligible for the tax exemption during the sales tax holiday? Yes. A layaway is when an item is set aside for a customer who makes a deposit, agrees to pay the balance of the purchase price over a period of time, and receives the merchandise at the end of the payment period. Qualifying items placed on layaway during the sales tax holiday are taxexempt, even if final payment of the layaway is made after the tax holiday. If a customer makes a final payment and takes delivery of the items during the tax holiday, the qualifying items are taxexempt.

FAQ: Does the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday also apply to items I purchase online? Yes. Items purchased online are exempt when the order is accepted by the company during the sales tax holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the tax holiday.

FAQ: I purchased an exempt item during the sales tax holiday, but the business charged sales tax. How can I get a refund for the tax I paid? You should take your receipt to the business and request a refund of the tax collected in error. You may provide the business with a copy of TIP No. 24A01-03 or direct the seller to floridarevenue.com for more information.