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Back-to-School Shoppers Enjoy Tax-free Savings in States with Tax Holidays; For One State, It's Wait and See
[July 30, 2015]

Back-to-School Shoppers Enjoy Tax-free Savings in States with Tax Holidays; For One State, It's Wait and See


Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting US:

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150730005995/en/

What: Seventeen states will soon offer sales tax holidays where state sales tax charges are temporarily dropped on back-to-school items and other qualifying products - according to each state's tax holiday rules. Sales tax holidays timed for back-to-school shopping begin as early as July 30 and many take place in early August. These temporary tax exemptions only apply to specific items outlined by each state (see accompanying map & infographic).

Changes in 2015: Ohio enacted a new back-to-school tax holiday period beginning this year; shoppers in the buckeye state can save on qualifying purchases from August 7 - 9. All states that offered back-to-school sales tax holidays last year are continuing their programs in 2015, without any being discontinued or expiring.

List of States Offering Back-to-school Sales Tax Holidays: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Massachusetts… Maybe: On August 13, 2014, Massachusetts enacted a sales tax holiday for qualifying non-business retail sales items that took place a few days later, on the 16thand 17th. As of July 29, 2015, the state has not enacted a similar law for this year. With the exception of 2009, Massachusetts has enacted a sales tax holiday every year since 2004.



Visual: Additional details are provided in the accompanying Wolters Kluwer, CCH (News - Alert) Smart Chart™ of 2015 State Tax Holidays. CCH Smart Charts provide highly visual and easy-to-find information on hundreds of federal and state tax topics via the powerful CCH IntelliConnect® research platform.

Expert Analyst Available for Interviews: Carol Kokinis-Graves, JD is an attorney and senior state tax analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting US, specializing in tracking, analyzing and reporting issues regarding state and local sales and use taxes. She is also an expert in e-commerce transactions involving state taxes.


Ms. Kokinis-Graves can discuss specific sales tax holidays for each state, including:

  • 2015 effective dates
  • All qualifying items (school supplies, clothing, computers, software, etc.)
  • Residency requirements
  • How much shoppers may save, depending on how much they spend

When: Ms. Kokinis-Graves is available for phone interviews to provide in-depth background and analysis on the sales tax holidays that may benefit regional audiences.

Contact: Please contact Laura Gingiss (847) 267-2213 or Eric Scott (847) 267-2179 if you are interested in arranging an interview with Carol Kokinis-Graves or if you need more information.


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