For Immediate Release
Date: July 30, 2008
Contact: David Griffith
Phone: (573) 751-8222
State's Sales Tax Holiday Set for August 1-3
JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri’s fifth annual “Back-to-School” sales tax holiday is set for this weekend August 1, 2, and 3. During this period, certain clothing, school supplies, personal computers, and software will be exempt from the state sales tax of 4.225 percent. In areas where local jurisdictions are also participating in the holiday, purchases will be exempt from both state and local sales tax.
The sales tax exemption applies to:
- Clothing – any article having a taxable value of $100 or less;
- School supplies – not to exceed $50 per purchase;
- Computer software – taxable value of $350 or less; and
- Personal computers and computer peripheral devices – not to exceed $3,500.
Generally, “clothing” is wearing apparel, including footwear and material used to make school uniforms or other school clothing. “School supplies” are any items normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes, such as textbooks, notebooks, rulers, book bags, or calculators. “Personal computers” includes laptops, desktops, and other related features such as disk drives, memory modules, and printers. Section 144.049, RSMo, contains a more detailed description of tax-exempt items.
State sales tax will not be collected on qualified items regardless of sale location; however, local jurisdictions, including cities, counties, and other taxing districts, have the option of participating in the sales tax holiday and exempting any local sales tax in addition to the state sales tax exemption. This year, 170 cities, 52 counties, and eight taxing districts are not participating in the sales tax holiday. In these areas, only state sales tax, not local, will be exempt during the holiday. A full list of non-participating cities, counties, and districts is listed on the Missouri Department of Revenue’s Internet site at www.dor.mo.gov.
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