Florida shoppers will get their first tax “holiday” in two years if they shop Friday, Saturday and Sunday. No state or local sales tax will be charged on dozens of items.
The tax break is geared toward back-to-school items – books and clothing mainly. It will save Palm Beach County residents 6.5 percent on their purchase of certain goods.
The three-day tax-free period begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday and continues through midnight Sunday.
Books costing $50 or less will not be taxed this weekend, nor will clothing costing $50 or less per item, including shoes and swimsuits.
Some accessories costing $50 or less are also included. Among them are wallets, belts, purses, scarves; school supplies, $10 or less per item, including pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, notebook filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, construction paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition books, poster paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, paste, rulers, computer disks, protractors, compasses, and calculators; backpacks and book bags.
Items still subject to tax include watches, jewelry, sports equipment, magazines, audio books and briefcases.
Items sold together cannot be split to get under the price limit. For example, a $100 suit cannot be considered a $50 coat and $50 pants. If one item in the set is not eligible, the entire set is not eligible.
Also, manufacturers coupons cannot be used to reduce the price to make the item exempt. For example, if a $10 coupon reduces a $55 jacket to $45, it is still not exempt from sales tax. A store coupon or discount, however, does count.
A full list of eligible and non-eligible items is available at tinyurl.com/3aaane4