Back-to-School Tax Holiday Begins

As students across central Illinois prepare to return to the classroom, families are beginning the annual back-to-school shopping season, filling carts with notebooks, backpacks, pencils, clothing and other classroom essentials before the first day of school. For many households, the cost of preparing for a new school year can add up quickly, but shoppers this year have an opportunity to reduce some of those expenses through Illinois' back-to-school sales tax holiday.

The 10-day tax holiday begins Friday, Aug. 7, and continues through Sunday, Aug. 16. During that period, the state's portion of the sales tax on qualifying purchases is reduced from 6.25 percent to 1.25 percent. The reduced rate applies automatically at participating retailers, with no coupon or application required.

The tax holiday covers qualifying clothing and footwear priced at less than $125 per item, along with many school supplies commonly found on classroom supply lists. Unlike clothing and footwear, qualifying school supplies are not subject to a price limit.

Eligible school supplies include items such as binders, backpacks, calculators, composition books, crayons, folders, glue, highlighters, index cards, legal pads, lunch boxes, markers, notebooks, paper, pencils, pens, pencil boxes, pencil sharpeners, protractors, rulers, scissors and writing tablets.

Not every item associated with the school year qualifies for the reduced tax rate. Computers, cell phones, tablets, school art supplies, instructional materials, cameras and certain electronic accessories remain subject to the normal sales tax rate. Clothing accessories such as jewelry, handbags, wallets and watches are also excluded, as is most sports and recreational equipment.

The tax holiday comes as many families are completing school supply lists and replacing clothing and shoes before classes begin. While the savings on an individual purchase may be modest, the reduced tax can provide additional relief for households purchasing supplies for multiple children or making larger back-to-school purchases.

State lawmakers approved the return of the back-to-school sales tax holiday as part of this year's budget package. The program is intended to provide a temporary reduction in the state's share of sales tax during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

Families planning to take advantage of the tax holiday should be aware that the reduced rate only applies to qualifying items purchased during the Aug. 7 through Aug. 16 window. The Illinois Department of Revenue has published a complete list of qualifying and nonqualifying items for shoppers seeking additional guidance before making purchases.