“We’re set to go,” Morris said. “We’re getting after it. Our students have been in. We’ve been selling parking passes, we’ve been passing out schedules….the high school’s been a very busy place this time of year.”
» RELATED: Before Ohio’s sales tax holiday, retailers push back-to-school sales
Ohio’s sales tax holiday, which begins today and ends at midnight Sunday, offers sales tax exemptions on certain items for back-to school shoppers. The deal includes clothing priced up to $75 and school supplies and instruction materials priced under $20.
The Ohio Sales Tax Holiday deals are expected to save shoppers more than $3 million in sales taxes. That allows back-to-school shoppers, who are expected to spend a record $84 billion in the U.S. this year, to get more for their money.
» RELATED: Meijer adds home delivery services in Dayton, Cincinnati
Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average $687.72 each, for a total of $29.5 billion, an 8 percent increase from last year’s $27.3 billion nationwide. Total spending is the second-highest in the history of the survey following a peak of $30.3 billion in 2012.
Here’s what to know before heading out this weekend:
1. What items of clothing qualify for the sales tax holiday?
Clothing is any apparel suitable for general use. Clothing includes: shirts; blouses; sweaters; pants; shorts; skirts; dresses; uniforms (athletic and nonathletic); shoes and shoe laces; insoles for shoes; sneakers; sandals; boots; overshoes; slippers; steel-toed shoes; underwear; socks and stockings; hosiery; pantyhose; footlets; coats and jackets; rainwear; gloves and mittens for general use; hats and caps; ear muffs; belts and suspenders; neckties; scarves; aprons (household and shop); lab coats; athletic supporters; bathing suits and caps; beach capes and coats; costumes; baby receiving blankets; diapers, children and adult, including disposable diapers; rubber pants; garters and garter belts; girdles; formal wear; and wedding apparel.
2. What kind of school supplies qualify?
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.
3. What items quality as “school instructional material?”
“School instructional material” includes only the following items: reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks, and workbooks.
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