Getty Tax Free Weekend
Florida’s Tax Free Weekend is Friday, August 3 — Sunday, August 5. 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 tax free weekend and what qualifies and what does not.
The Following Items Are Exempt from Taxes in Florida This Holiday
- Certain school supplies that are $15 or less per item
- Clothing, accessories, and shoes that are $60 or less per item
- Eligible items that are put on layaway during the tax-free weekend, even if the final payment is made after the tax-free weekend is over
The clothing and accessories part of the exemption can get a little confusing. Qualified clothing includes apparel, footwear, and some accessories. But qualified accessories do not include watches, jewelry, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, athletic gloves, corsages, cosmetic bags, elbow pads, any gloves for sports, skates, or wigs. Qualified accessories do include items such as hairbands and ponytail holders, belt buckles, bow ties, barrettes and bobby pins, hair clips, hair nets and bows, scarves, ties, purses, fanny packs, and wallets.
Qualified clothing (that costs $60 or less per item) includes items such as:
- Accessories (Barrettes and bobby pins, belt buckles, bow tie, hairnets, bows, clips, and hairbands, handbags, neckwear, ponytail holders, scarves, ties, wallets
- Aerobic and fitness clothing
- Aprons and clothing shields
- Athletic supporters
- Baby clothes
- Backpacks and book bags
- Bandanas
- Baseball cleats
- Bathing suits, caps, and cover-ups
- Belts
- Bibs
- Bicycle helmets marked for use by youth
- Blouses
- Boots (except ski or fishing boots)
- Bowling shoes (purchased)
- Braces and supports worn to correct or alleviate a physical incapacity or injury
- Bras
- Choir and altar clothing
- Cleated and spiked shoes
- Clerical vestments
- Coats
- Coin purses
- Costumes
- Coveralls
- Diaper bags, diapers, diaper inserts (adult and baby, cloth or disposable)
- Dresses
- Fanny packs
- Fishing vests (non-flotation)
- Formal clothing (purchased)
- Glove (dress, garden, work, etc.)
- Graduation caps and gowns
- Gym suits and uniforms
- Hats and caps
- Hosiery and panty hose (including support hosiery)
- Hunting vests
- Jackets •
- Jeans
- Lab coats
- Leggings, tights, and leg warmers, leotards
- Lingerie
- Martial arts attire
- Overshoes and rubber shoes
- Pants
- Purses
- Raincoats, rain hats, and ponchos
- Receiving blankets
- Religious clothing
- Robes
- Safety clothing and safety shoes
- Scout uniforms
- Shawls and wraps
- Shirts
- Shoe inserts and insoles
- Shoes (including athletic)
- Shoulder pads (e.g., dresses or jackets)
- Shorts
- Ski suits (snow)
- Skirts
- Sleepwear (nightgowns and pajamas)
- Slippers
- Slips
- Socks
- Suits, slacks, and jackets
- Suspenders
- Sweatbands
- Sweaters
- Swimsuits and trunks
- Ties (neckties and bow ties)
- Tuxedos (purchased only, not rented)
- Underclothes
- Uniforms (work, school, and athletic – excluding pads)
- Vests
Qualified school supplies, according to the Florida government, cost $15 or less per item and must not be sold in a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging, or airport. Examples include:
- Binders
- Calculators, compasses, protractors, rulers
- CDs (blank only)
- Composition books, legal pads, notebooks
- Crayons, markers
- Erasers
- Folders
- Glue (stick and liquid), paste
- Lunch boxes
- Paper such as construction paper, notebook filler paper
- Pencils, colored pencils, mechanical pencils & refills
- Pens (felt, ballpoint, fountain), highlighters, refills
- Poster board & poster paper
- Scissors
- Tape (cellphone transparent)
Online purchases also qualify, as long as you order before 11:59 p.m. on Sunday and request immediate delivery (even if the items arrive after the holiday, it still qualifies.) Layaway items also qualify.
The Following Items Are Not Exempt from Taxes in Florida This Holiday
- Any item of clothing that costs more than $60
- Any school supply that costs more than $15
- Any rentals or leases, even if the items are eligible if purchased
- Repairs or alterations of eligible items
- Any eligible items sold in a theme park, entertainment complex, airport, or public lodging
It’s tough to know where to draw the line on school supplies. For example, staplers, staples, masking tape, and computer paper are not tax free. But construction paper, colored pencils, erasers, highlighters, paste, pens, pencils, and scissors are tax free. The details are listed here.
In addition, computers and computer accessories are NOT tax free this year, unlike last year. This year, Florida lawmakers decided to exclude computers, printers, computer paper and the like from the tax free holiday.
If you buy an item during tax free weekend and later exchange it for the same item (just a different size or color), you won’t have to pay taxes, even if you make the exchange after tax-free weekend.
Note: Tax free exemptions are based on the price per item. There’s no limit on how many of a particular exempt item you can buy.