Tax-Free Weekends In 2017

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Several states have tax-free weekends in 2017 with no state sales tax on certain types of products. They are generally around back-to-school shopping time, but some states also have tax-free weekends at other times during the year. Here's your guide to all the sales tax holidays in 2017, when they are, and what is included in each.

Back-to-school tax holidays in 2017

Tax-free weekends usually come around the time when parents are buying school supplies for their children. Because school-year start dates vary considerably, these are at different times between late July and late August.

As of this writing, there are 17 states with tax-free weekends (or weeks) in 2017. Here are the details about the dates and what items are included, in chronological order:

Source: www.freetaxweekend.com.

A couple of notes here. First, notice that some of these are longer than a weekend. Many are three days, and some are a full week, like the tax holidays in Maryland and Connecticut.

Second, and most important, is that the chart above only lists broad categories of products included in the tax holiday. Each state has its own rules and details. For example, Georgia's tax-free weekend includes computers and components that are $1,000 or less, clothing that is $100 or less, and school supplies that are $20 or less. Missouri, on the other hand, limits total tax-excluded school supplies to $50 per purchase, but allows computers and accessories of up to $3,500 to be included.

For full details on your state's tax holiday, you can check out www.freetaxweekend.com.

Other state tax holidays

In addition to the back-to-school tax holidays, several states have other tax-free shopping periods at various times during the year. Five states have tax holidays for Energy Star products, two have tax holidays for hurricane preparedness equipment, and one has a tax holiday for firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies.

For 2017, here are the details of these tax holidays:

Source: www.freetaxweekend.com.

As with the back-to-school tax holidays, there are state-specific rules and limitations for each one of these, so check out the full details for your state if you're interested.

How much could you save?

Your potential tax savings depend on your state and its specific rules regarding the maximum tax-free purchases. For example, if you live in South Carolina and buy a $1,000 computer, $500 worth of clothing, and $200 in school supplies, this translates to over $100 in savings. If your state has a tax holiday in 2017 and you'll need some of the excluded items, then it can be well worth taking advantage of.