SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – This weekend, Missouri and Arkansas will be participating in a state sales tax holiday for back to school shoppers. Pamela Hernandez with the Better Business Bureau says this is a great opportunity to get out and stretch your dollars to get back to school shopping done.
“The tax holiday in Missouri is a period where shoppers can go out and on certain items, not necessarily everything, but a wide variety of items related to going back to school, they can shop tax free,: said Hernandez. “It’s just a way to help your budget go a little bit farther when you’re shopping for back to school.”
Thanks to laws in Missouri and Arkansas, all cities and municipalities are required to exempt their sales tax from back to school items over the weekend, so your local sales tax will be waived as well.
Some items included are clothes, computers, and school supplies.
“It can be the usual things, pens, notebooks, folders, but it can be things like computers. It can be things like, like shoes, you know, you need that for going back to school or for athletics. So it can really vary. It’s important to look on the state’s website to understand what items are included,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez says this is a great weekend to shop as well because many retailers host sales the same weekend, so you can get even more discounts.
“A lot of retailers like to hold their sales at the same time, so do a little comparison shopping, go out with a list, have a budget and see what kind of sales are out there. Just take note, just because it’s on sale for back to school doesn’t necessarily mean the tax free holiday will apply, but you can save some dollars,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez recommends you shop for those big ticket items first, like laptops, because sometimes there’s a cap on how much you can spend and get tax free.
“Try to start with big ticket items first. If for some reason, there’s a cap on your budget, or a cap on back to school spending, the tax free holiday limit, there’s a limit on that, try to start with those bigger ticket items first,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez also shared a few other back to school shopping tips. For starters, if you’re a student, bring along your ID. You may get a discount.
“You might want to take along your student ID, or have make sure you have an edu address set up, because sometimes when there are sales on those types of items, they require proof that you’re a student, so check into that,” said Hernandez.
You also might consider shopping with others in bulk. Sometimes that can help save your dollars.
“In bulk can be helpful, because sometimes you do get a discount for that, you may be able to get supplies for the entire year. Sometimes, though, it can be challenging if maybe you’re just shopping for one student. So you might consider pooling with other families. If it doesn’t make sense to buy a large quantity for your one student, maybe you can work with two, three, four other families and take advantage of those lower prices that you can sometimes get buying in bulk,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez says if you’re shopping online, do your research, and don’t be tempted by social media ads, those can be scams.
“Do your research. I mean, if you’re shopping at a site for a store, we all know love big box type of store, you know, you’re fairly certain you’re going to be getting your item. If you were shopping in a new vendor, just do your research,” said Hernandez. “You might want to avoid clicking on ads in social media, emails, text messages. Scammers love to take advantage of all of the frenzy around a shopping holiday, so it’s better to go directly to the retailer’s website.”
Finally, set a budget. That’s going to be your guide as you navigate that back to school shopping.
“Start with the budget. It can be so easy to get enamored with all the new tech toys, notebooks, cute pencils and pens. Just stick to a budget and make sure you’re getting what the student needs. Communicate with the teacher, communicate with the school and find out really what is essential to getting the school year started, said Hernandez.
To see a full list of what’s included in the tax free holiday in Missouri, click here. For Arkansas, click here. Missouri’s tax free holiday is from Friday, August 2 to Sunday, August 4. Arkansas is from Saturday, August 3 to Sunday, August 4.
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