Sales tax holiday moves to July

The annual back-to-school sales tax holiday for Alabama is moving to July for the first time.

The weekend free of state sales and use taxes — and some local sales and use taxes — on certain school supplies, books, computers and clothing considered “back-to-school” purchases historically has been the first full weekend in August, but the Legislature this year passed a new law to move the date up to the third full weekend in July.

So this year, the 36-hour sales tax holiday is from 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 21, to midnight on Sunday, July 23.

The Hoover City Council in May agreed to waive the city’s sales taxes for the same type of purchases that weekend, and both Shelby and Jefferson commissions agreed to waive its sales taxes as well. 

Last year, Jefferson County participated in the sales tax holiday for the first time in years, except the 1 percent Jefferson County sales and use tax designated for education remained in effect.

Items exempt include clothing with a sales price of $100 or less per item (excluding certain accessories and protective and sports equipment); computer equipment and supplies with a sales price of $750 or less per item or computer package; and noncommercial purchases of school supplies, school art supplies or school instructional materials up to $50 per item.

Clothing items eligible for the waiver include: belts, boots, caps, coats, diapers, dresses, gloves, gym suits, hats, hosiery, jackets, jeans, neckties, pajamas, pants, raincoats, robes, sandals, scarves, school uniforms, shirts, shoes, shorts, socks, sneakers and underwear.

School supplies eligible for the waiver include binders, blackboard chalk, book bags, calculators, cellophane tape, compasses, composition books, crayons, erasers, folders, glue and paste, highlighters, index cards, index card boxes, legal pads, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks, paper, pencil boxes and other school supply boxes, pencil sharpeners, pencils, pens, protractors, rulers, scissors, writing tablets, clay and glazes, paints, art paintbrushes, sketch and drawing pads, watercolors, reference maps and globes, required textbooks priced between $30 and $50 and books priced at $30 or less.