Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
A new Florida sales tax holiday started on New Year's Day and will continue until mid-January. Previously, Florida had only one sales tax holiday for back-to-school shopping. The following items are included in this tax holiday:
* Clothing items, wallets, shoes, bags and more, priced at $100 or less
* Essential school supplies like pens, notebooks, markers and calculators, priced at $50 or less
* Learning aids, puzzles and toys meant for educational purposes, priced at $30 or less
* Personal computers and their accessories (purchased for noncommercial, home or personal use), including keyboards, monitors, etc., and priced at $1,500 or less
Note that items like cell phones and video game consoles are not eligible for the tax-exemption.
Florida’s New Year sales tax holiday is an opportunity to save on many items. Also a part of the new $1.3 billion tax relief bill, several children’s products are now permanently tax-exempt in the state. For example, the following items are now tax-free in Florida:
* Baby and toddler diapers, clothing and footwear
* Baby equipment (e.g., strollers and changing tables)
* Baby safety gates and play yards
The new law also exempts other items from sales tax, including over-the-counter pet medications. Most groceries and prescription medications were already exempt from sales tax in Florida.