JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The first day of school is right around the corner, but preparing for back to school starts now. Parents and guardians can save money on supplies during the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday with starts tomorrow and lasts 2 weeks.
On average families will spend $864 per student in back-to-school preparation, $15 more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Florida families won’t have to pay any sales tax on qualified items between Monday, July 24 and Sunday, August 6.
During the sales tax holiday period, tax is not due on the retail sale of:
- Clothing, footwear, and certain accessories with a sales price of $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
- Personal computers and certain computer-related accessories with a sales price of $1,500 or less, when purchased for noncommercial home or personal use
We looked at a list of required school supplies for a Duval County Public School 5th grade student and found that even when buying the cheapest options, the supplies on the list cost just under $62 (without including the suggested supplies). But when you add money spent on clothing and electronics, a DCPS parent could spend nearly $812 dollars per 5th grade student. During the sale tax holiday, they will save around $49, enough to by over half the supplies on the required list.
Parents only have two weeks to take advantage of the savings and students will be back in the classroom soon. Most counties here on the first coast start school on August 10, expect Duval County which starts on the 14th.