Department of Revenue News Release

Missouri's annual back-to-school sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, and runs through midnight on Sunday, Aug. 4. During this time, state sales tax will not be assessed on certain back-to-school purchases, including school supplies, computers, clothing and other items. Local governments also have the option of participating.

"Missouri is one of about 16 states participating in back-to-school sales tax holidays this year,” said Ken Zellers, acting director for the department. “This annual event provides parents and students with a great opportunity to get ready for the upcoming school year while saving some money in the process. When local governments participate, the savings can really start to add up.”

During the sales tax holiday, state sales tax will not be charged on the following items:

• Clothing that does not have a taxable value of more than $100. Eligible clothing items include any article of apparel intended to be worn on or about the body, including footwear. Cloth and other material used to make school uniforms or other school clothing are also included. Not included are watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands, or belt buckles;

• School supplies, not exceeding $50 per purchase, that are used in a standard classroom for educational purposes. School supplies include, but are not limited to, textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, crayons, art supplies, rulers, book bags, backpacks, handheld calculators, chalk, maps, globes, computer software that does not have a taxable value of more than $350, and any graphing calculator that does not have a taxable value of more than $150. Not included are watches, radios, CD players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable or desktop telephones, copiers or other office equipment, furniture, or fixtures; and

• Personal computers that do not cost more than $1,500 and computer peripheral devices that do not cost more than $1,500. A personal computer can be a laptop, desktop, or tower computer system which consists of a central processing unit, random access memory, a storage drive, a display monitor, and a keyboard. Peripheral devices include items such as a disk drive, memory module, compact disk drive, daughterboard, digitizer, microphone, modem, motherboard, mouse, multimedia speaker, printer, scanner, single-user hardware, single-user operating system, soundcard, or video card.

Any person who makes a qualified purchase may participate in the holiday. An individual does not have to be a Missouri resident or student or be purchasing for a student to participate.

For lists of the cities, counties and districts that elected not to participate in the sales tax holiday, 2019 rate tables, frequently asked questions and more, visit dor.mo.gov/business/sales/taxholiday/school/.  

###