Stop the press!

We interrupt your normally scheduled insurance news feed with an important announcement:

For a third year in a row, Ohio is offering a weekend-long sales tax holiday in August to help back-to-school shoppers reduce the cost of clothing and school supplies.

Here’s the 411 on Ohio’s Tax Free Weekend:

This year’s tax free weekend is August 4-6, beginning at 12 a.m. on Friday, August 4th and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, August 6th. 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 Tax Free Weekend 2017?

• 1. An item of clothing priced at $75 or less;
• 2. An item of school supplies priced at $20 or less; and
• 3. 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 or sports equipment/apparel.

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.

Find more Sales Tax Holiday FAQ’s at  ohio.gov