Wang Solutions

Almost Better than Christmas…

A lot of people accept the fact there’s sales tax on most products and they pay it without complaint. Other people accept the fact that there’s sales tax, and they pay it, but grumble every time they do so. And then there are the people who order everything online so they don’t have to pay sales tax, or if they can’t find an item online, they drive around from city to city, looking for the one with the lowest sales tax rate. And finally, there are the die-hard-no-sales-tax believers, who have moved to Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon by now, so they don’t have to worry at all about a state sales tax.  

Now is the perfect time for anyone in those last three groups to take an end-of-summer trip across the United States. Many states have an annual, back-to-school State Sales Tax Holiday where consumers can buy certain items without paying sales tax. For example, from August 10-11 in Georgia, you can purchase school supplies worth up to $20 each, clothing items up to $100 each, and computers worth up to $1,000 each, without having to pay – you guessed it – sales tax.

In Connecticut, you have from August 19-25 to update your wardrobe – tax-free – on any clothing and footwear items under $300 each. While you missed your chance to buy a tax-free Energy Star air conditioner in Texas on Memorial Day weekend, you can still purchase tax-free clothing, backpacks, and school supplies ($100 max. cost each item) from August 17-19. Or you could just head over to Virginia anytime from October 5-8 to get your Energy Star products with no sales tax, at a maximum cost of $2,500.  Louisiana had the best offer in the first days of August with all tangible personal property (pretty much any item you can think of under $2,500) tax-free.

Unfortunately, there seems to be an absence of sales tax holidays on the west coast – perhaps that’s the price of good weather year-round.  However, Georgia just got on the State Sales Tax Holiday bandwagon in 2012, so it’s likely that other states will participate in the near future.  Texas, Connecticut, and the Carolinas have been doing this for over a decade, so if you missed the holiday this year, you can be pretty sure it will be back next year. That gives all of those “frugal” individuals out there time to look for the cheapest deals on flights and hotels. 

Happy Shopping, Sufen Wang, Wang Solutions