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July 30, 2008

Sales tax holiday starts Thursday

Jamie Jones

The calls started coming into Walnut Square Mall in February: “When is the state’s sales tax holiday?”

“It’s become something people definitely recognize as a sales weekend,” said Brandy Christian, general manager for Walnut Square Mall. “People are wanting to stretch their money as far as they can.”

Shoppers in Georgia will be able to buy certain clothing items, school supplies, computers and computer accessories without paying sales tax during the state’s sales tax holiday from 12:01 a.m. Thursday until midnight on Sunday. This year’s holiday comes about a week before most local schools open for the fall.

But Georgia isn’t the only state hosting a sales tax holiday this weekend. Neighboring states Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina will have similar events from Friday to Sunday. Tennessee will have its sales tax holiday from Friday through Sunday. Clothing and school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less will be exempt from state and local sales tax. Computers with a price of $1,500 or less will also be free of sales tax. For more information on the Tennessee sales tax holiday, including complete lists of items that will be exempt from Tennessee sales taxes, go to www.tennessee.gov/revenue/salestaxholiday.

Back in Georgia, Christian said the sales tax holiday ranks in the top four shopping periods of the year, along with Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Walnut Square Mall will hold extended hours on Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

So what’s tax free? Lots of items. Backpacks and rubber bands. Computer monitors and greeting card software. Athletic supporters and lingerie. A complete list of exempt items is available at the state Department of Revenue’s Web site www.dor.ga.gov.

But there are some rules.

• Clothing and footwear up to $100 per item are exempt from any sales tax. There is no limit on the number of shoes and clothing items an individual can buy. If the price of an article of clothing or pair of shoes exceeds $100, the item will be taxed at its full retail price. Clothing accessories, jewelry, handbags, umbrellas, eyewear, watches, watchbands and similar items are not exempt from sales tax during the tax-free period.

• School supplies bought for classroom use or classroom-related activities are exempt as long as they cost $20 or less per item. Such items include pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, book bags, calculators, dictionaries, thesauruses, children’s books and books on approved school reading lists for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Sales tax will be due on the purchase of any single school supply item that exceeds $20.

• Purchases of personal computers and accessories are exempt up to $1,500 per transaction. Items include monitors, personal computer base units, keyboards, hand-held computers, monitors, printers, modems, non-recreational software and other peripheral devices.

For information, contact the Department of Revenue by phone at (404) 417-6601 or by e-mail at taxpayer.services@dor.ga.gov.

There’s also good news for teachers. They will again receive a $100 classroom gift card to pay for items. The gift cards will be active from July 31 through Aug. 10, but state officials are asking teachers to use the cards during the sales tax holiday.

A tax-free holiday for some energy efficient and water efficient products with a sales price of $1,500 or less will be Oct. 2-5.

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