Ohio’s annual sales tax holiday is right around the corner.
This year’s weekend-long temporary tax break will begin Aug. 4 at midnight and end Aug. 6 at 11:59 p.m.
Initially introduced in 2019 to provide relief for families preparing for the back-to-school season, the sales tax holiday has fortunately morphed into a highly anticipated event for many Ohio residents.
The following items will be exempt from sales and use tax during this coming holiday:
- An item of clothing priced at $75 or less
- An item of school supplies priced at $20 or less
- An item of school instructional material priced at $20 or less
There is no limit on the total purchase amount, as the qualification is determined item by item. If the cost of an item exceeds the limits, then the entire item is subject to sales tax.
For example, a buyer can purchase three shirts each at the price of $50. Although the total price is $150, the buyer's purchase is still exempt from sales tax as the price of each individual shirt was under $75.
The sales tax holiday also applies to catalog and internet purchases of the same items.
According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, clothing is defined as all human apparel for general use and is not limited to children’s clothing. Items not included in the sales tax exemption are:
- Clothing accessories or equipment
- Protective equipment
- Sewing equipment
- Sports or recreational equipment
- Belt buckles sold separately
- Costume masks sold separately
- Patches and emblems sold separately
- Items used in trade or businesses
School supplies and instructional materials that do fall under the sales tax exemption are:
- Binders
- Book bags
- Calculators
- Cellophane tape
- Blackboard chalk
- Compasses
- Composition books
- Crayons
- Erasers
- Folders
- Glue/ Paste
- Highlighters
- Index card boxes
- Legal pads
- Lunch boxes
- Markers
- Notebooks
- Types of paper
- Copy
- Tracing
- Loose leaf ruled notebook
- Graph
- Manila
- Colored
- Poster
- Construction
- Posterboard
- Pencil boxes
- Pencils
- Pens
- Rulers
- Scissors
- Protractors
- Writing tablets
- Reference books
- Reference maps and globes
- Textbooks
- Workbooks
The Ohio sales tax holiday is a great opportunity for residents to save money on essential purchases for themselves and their families, we hope you take advantage of this great opportunity.
