(The Center Square) – Marylanders can save 6% on a number of items if they do their shopping during the state’s annual sales tax holiday Aug. 13-19.
Instated in 2010 under former Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, Maryland’s sales tax holiday occurs every year during the second week of August. It gives back-to-school shoppers – and other consumers – a break from state sales tax on certain items.
This year is predicted to be an “unparalleled” and “record” back-to-school shopping season for dollars spent according to the National Retail Federation. The average family with “children in elementary through high school” are forecast to spend about $890 on school supplies this year according to a survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
The majority of states don’t practice a sales tax holiday, but of the number that do, Maryland is one of the few whose holiday is longer than two to three days. Though more generous with the length of the holiday, Maryland’s list of qualified items is more restricted than some others.
Not included on its list are typical back-to-school items like folders, binders, pencils, crayons or scissors, though backpacks costing $40 or less are included. The first $40 of any pricier backpack is also tax-exempt.
Otherwise, tax-exempt items are qualifying clothing and footwear that is $100 or less. Some items on the list are more expected, like raincoats, tennis shoes and some sports uniforms.
Other items are more surprising, like $100-or-less wedding dresses – likely used or rented – and hiking boots or makeup bags.
Though respondents to the National Retail Federation survey mostly attributed the increase in 2023’s expected expenses to more school electronics, Maryland does not currently include computers or electronic devices, like calculators, among its qualified items. In some states, like Missouri, computers costing $1,500 or less are tax-exempt and in South Carolina, any computer is tax-exempt.
