The Scoop on Ohio's Tax Free Weekend

For a second year in a row, Ohio is offering a weekend-long sales tax holiday to help back-to-school shoppers reduce the cost of clothing and school supplies. Read on for the scoop on Ohio's 2016 Tax Free Weekend.

This year's tax holiday is Aug. 5-7, beginning at 12 a.m. on the 5th and ending at 11:59 p.m. on the 7th. The tax exemption applies to clothing and footwear items that cost $75 or less and to supplies and instructional materials that cost $20 or less. Items priced higher than those limits are not eligible for the tax savings.

What items qualify for the sales tax holiday?

• An item of clothing priced at $75 or less;
• An item of school supplies priced at $20 or less; and
• An item of school instructional material priced at $20 or less.

Can multiple qualifying items be purchased in a single tax-exempt transaction?

For example, would the purchase of two shirts, two pair of pants, a pair of shoes and a jacket (each item costing $50, total purchase $300) be tax exempt? There is no limit on the amount of the total purchase. The qualification is determined item by item.

Does the $75 exemption apply to the first $75 of an item of clothing?

In other words, if the selling price of an item of clothing is $80, is the first $75 exempt from sales tax? No. The exemption applies to items selling for $75 or less. If an item of clothing sells for more than $75, tax is due on the entire selling price.

What types of items qualify as school supplies?

According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, “School supplies” include only the following items: binders; book bags; calculators; cellophane tape; blackboard chalk; compasses; composition books; crayons; erasers; folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila); glue, paste, and paste sticks; highlighters; index cards; index card boxes; legal pads; lunch boxes; markers; notebooks; paper; loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper; pencil boxes and other school supply boxes; pencil sharpeners; pencils; pens; protractors; rulers; scissors; and writing tablets.

Items not included in this list are taxable. “School supplies” does not include any item purchased for use in a trade or business.

Be sure to check with your favorite retailers for special sales and promotions. For example, many retailers last year offered sales on school supplies to break below the $20 price point.