COLUMBUS – Shoppers get ready. Ohio’s sales tax holiday is set for this weekend.
At a Glance: Ohio’s sales tax holiday runs from midnight Friday, Aug. 3, until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5.
The following items are exempt from sales and use tax:
– Clothing priced at $75 per item or less;
– School supplies priced at $20 per item or less; and
– School instructional materials priced at $20 per item or less.
From Friday through Sunday, clothing items costing less than $75 per item and school supplies costing less than $20 per item will be tax-free. The discount applies to purchases made in stores and online.
Items used in a trade or business are not exempt under the sales tax holiday. It does not apply to household goods, furniture or vehicles
The Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio reminds shoppers that items advertised as part of a “Back-to-School” might still have taxes applied to them unless the item appears on the list of what falls under the sales tax holiday.
The Ohio Senate unanimously approved a bill earlier this year that made the three-day sales tax holiday permanent. The Legislature had approved temporary sales tax holidays for the past three years.
State officials estimate the sales tax holiday will reduce state revenue by up to $16.9 million in 2020.
Gordon Gough, president of the state Council of Retail Merchants, says consumers will get the “lion’s share of benefits.”
The National Retail Federation projects Americans will spend nearly $83 billion on back-to-school clothing and materials, slightly less than last year.