Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps.
To lure back-to-school shoppers into the mall, many states are offering a sales-tax holiday this weekend, saving consumers money on big-ticket purchases like computers, software, books, apparel, and footwear. Last year, the practice was called into question by certain lawmakers whose districts couldn’t afford to forego the revenue generated by sales taxes. But in 16 states, the tax holiday is back on for 2010.
Here are the five best deals, perhaps even worth traveling for if you have a lot of shopping to do:
- South Carolina, August 6-8. There is no limit on how much can be spent tax-free on clothing, accessories, shoes, computers, school supplies, software and computer hardware (like printers and scanners), bed linens, and bathroom furnishings.
- Louisiana, August 6-7. All purchases categorized as “tangible personal property” under $2,500 in value are tax exempt. The only exception is the vehicle licensing tax, if you’ve recently bought a new-to-you car.
- North Carolina, August 6-8. Items that are tax exempt include computers up to $3,500, school instructional materials up to $350, computer supplies and software up to $250, apparel and footwear up to $100, school supplies up to $100, and sports equipment up to $50.
- Missouri, August 6-8. Save all sales tax on computers up to $3,500, software up to $350, clothing and footwear up to $100, and school supplies up to $50.
- New Mexico, August 6-8. Computers up to $1,000, computer accessories up to $500, clothing up to $100, and school supplies up to $100 all qualify for the tax holiday.
Your state not on this list? Check Bankrate for the full list of tax holidays this month.
