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Ohio’s tax-free weekend is this weekend, Friday, August 7-Sunday, August 9. It began at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and will end Sunday at 11:59 p.m. This means tax-free weekend is going on right now. Here is everything you need to know about Ohio’s tax-free weekend and what qualifies and what doesn’t.
The Following Are Exempt from Taxes in Ohio This Weekend
- Any clothing that costs $75 or less per item.
- Any school supplies that cost $20 or less per item.
- Any school instructional material that costs $20 or less per item.
These rules are a bit general, so here are some more specifics to help you understand what qualifies. You can get more details here and here.
Clothing that is tax-free includes (but is not limited to):
shirts; blouses; sweaters; pants; shorts; skirts; dresses; uniforms (athletic and nonathletic); shoes and shoe laces; insoles for shoes; sneakers; sandals; boots; overshoes; slippers; steel-toed shoes; underwear; socks and stockings; hosiery; pantyhose; footlets; coats and jackets; rainwear; gloves and mittens for general use; hats and caps; ear muffs; belts and suspenders; neckties; scarves; aprons (household and shop); lab coats; athletic supporters; bathing suits and caps; beach capes and coats; costumes; baby receiving blankets; diapers, children and adult, including disposable diapers; rubber pants; garters and garter belts; girdles; formal wear; and wedding apparel.
Qualifying school supplies are described in the following section.
“School supplies”include only the following items: binders; book bags; calculators; cellophane tape; blackboard chalk; compasses; composition books; crayons; erasers; folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila); glue, paste, and paste sticks; highlighters; index cards; index card boxes; legal pads; lunch boxes; markers; notebooks; paper; loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper; pencil boxes and other school supply boxes; pencil sharpeners; pencils; pens; protractors; rulers; scissors; and writing tablets.
The Ohio website also notes: “‘School instructional material’ includes only the following items: reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks, and workbooks.”
Note that there is no limit on how many of an exempt item you can buy. For example, any clothing that costs more than $75 per item won’t qualify. But there’s no exemption on how many coats under $75 you could buy tax-free, for example.
Also, you can’t average the price of a buy-one-get-one-free item to make it qualify. If you can get two coats for $80 under “buy one get one free,” they won’t qualify, for example. But if a coupon lowers a coat’s price to below $75, then that item does qualify.
The Following Items Are NOT Tax-Free in Ohio This Weekend
The following is directly from Ohio’s website. These clothing items are not tax-free.
- Items purchased for use in a trade or business.
- Clothing accessories or equipment. Clothing accessories or equipment include: briefcases; cosmetics; hair notions, including, but not limited to, barrettes, hair bows, and hair nets; handbags; handkerchiefs; jewelry; sun glasses (non-prescription); umbrellas; wallets; watches; and wigs and hair pieces.
- Protective equipment. Protective equipment includes: breathing masks; clean room apparel and equipment; ear and hearing protectors; face shields; hard hats; helmets; paint or dust respirators; protective gloves; safety glasses and goggles; safety belts; tool belts; and welders gloves and masks.
- Sewing equipment and supplies including, but not limited to, knitting needles, patterns, pins, scissors, sewing machines, sewing needles, tape measures, and thimbles; and sewing materials that become part of “clothing” including, but not limited to, buttons, fabric, lace, thread, yarn, and zippers.
- Sports or recreational equipment. Sport or recreational equipment includes ballet and tap shoes; cleated or spiked athletic shoes; gloves, including, but not limited to, baseball, bowling, boxing, hockey, and golf; goggles; hand and elbow guards; life preservers and vests; mouth guards; roller and ice skates; shin guards; shoulder pads; ski boots; waders; and wetsuits and fins.
- Belt buckles sold separately.
- Costume masks sold separately.
- Patches and emblems sold separately.
- Material purchased for a trade or business.
As you can see, quite a few items are exempt and tax-free this weekend through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. But still, a few items are not exempt, so it’s a good idea to know going in what does and does not qualify. Overall, this is a great opportunity to pick up some clothes for school, because without the taxes everything will be a bit less expensive and more budget-friendly this weekend.
And yes, shopping online does qualify, as Ohio’s website notes:
Qualified items sold to consumers by mail, telephone, e-mail, or Internet shall qualify for the sales tax exemption if the consumer orders and pays for the item and the retailer accepts the order during the exemption period for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period. However, if the order and payment were made before the sales tax holiday, even if the item was delivered during the sales tax holiday, it would not qualify for the exemption. Additionally, if an item is backordered and payment does not occur until a later shipment, the item would not qualify for the exemption.
For more information, see Ohio’s website here.
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