​Back-to-school sales tax holiday starts this weekend for Missouri shoppers

MISSOURI — The tax exemption starts at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 1, and lasts until Sunday, August 3. 

With the first day of school only weeks away, stores are filled with back-to-school shoppers. Students told Ozarks First what they were out shopping for.

"A folder and a backpack," McKinley Nigh.

"I need folders, books, and a lunch box," said Rocco Addotta.

"All the art supplies," said Lilly Parris.

"I need a backpack and a lunch box," said Isabella Addotta.

Julie Widman and her daughter Everly did the last of their back-to-school shopping before the weekend started to avoid the crowds this year. Widman said she’s taken advantage of the tax weekend in the past, especially when buying electronics like laptops.

"I grew up in Missouri my whole life, and we always did tax-free weekends," said Widman. "It’s $50 to $100 that you can use on something else, like groceries with grocery prices right now."

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, and computers, are exempt from sales tax during this period.

"It’s a really great benefit if you’re getting a whole new wardrobe or if you’re going back to school and you're going to college and need notebooks and stuff!" Whitman added.

It’s important to note that the holiday applies only to items intended for educational use. Accessories like sunglasses, purses, and scarves are not exempt.

Elle Parris and her daughter Lilly were also out school shopping. Parris said the break is beneficial for parents with multiple children.

"We’re getting the basics, like notebooks and colored pencils and stuff like that," Parris said. "I think in today’s day and age, anytime you can save some money, it’s going to be beneficial in any way."

You do not need to be a Missouri resident or a student to take advantage of the sales tax exemption. 

The sales tax exempt is limited to:

• Clothing – any article having a taxable value of $100 or less
• School supplies – not to exceed $50 per purchase
• Computer software – taxable value of $350 or less
• Personal computers – not to exceed $1,500
• Computer peripheral devices – not to exceed $1,500
• Graphing calculators - not to exceed $150

Qualifying items defined for the sales tax holiday:

• “Clothing” - any article of wearing apparel intended to be worn on or about the human body including, but not limited to, disposable diapers for infants or adults and footwear. The term shall include but not be limited to, cloth and other material used to make school uniforms or other school clothing. Items normally sold in pairs shall not be separated to qualify for the exemption. The term shall not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands, or belt buckles; and
• “Personal computers” - a laptop, desktop, or tower computer system which consists of a central processing unit, random access memory, a storage drive, a display monitor, a keyboard, and devices designed for use in conjunction with a personal computer, such as a disk drive, memory module, compact disk drive, daughterboard, digitalizer, microphone, modem, motherboard, mouse, multimedia speaker, printer, scanner, single-user hardware, single-user operating system, soundcard, or video card; and
• “School supplies” - any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes, including but not limited to, textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, crayons, art supplies, rulers, book bags, backpacks, handheld calculators, graphing calculators, chalk, maps, and globes. The term shall not include watches, radios, CD players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable or desktop telephones, copiers or other office equipment, furniture, or fixtures. School supplies shall also include graphing calculators valued at $150 or less and computer software having a taxable value of $350 or less.