It’s back-to-school time across the Twin Lakes Area, and that means its also time for Arkansas’ and Missouri’s annual sales tax holidays. The annual events allow shoppers to purchase many back-to-school items without having to pay sales tax on select items.
The Natural State’s two-day tax break for shoppers will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and lasts until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. During that two-day period, no state or local taxes will be collected in the state on qualified items like school supplies, clothing and certain electronics. That exemption means a savings of 9.875 percent on qualified items purchased in Mountain Home this weekend.
Missouri’s tax-free weekend begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday and continues until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. During that 72-hour period, articles of clothing, personal computers or school supplies purchased in the Show Me State will be exempt from the states 4.225 percent sales tax.
The participation of individual Missouri cities and counties in the tax-free weekend is optional and will vary by location. Full taxes will be collected this weekend in Branson and Springfield, while West Plains retailers will collect municipal sales tax but not Howell County sales tax.
The sales tax holidays apply to purchases made online as well as in person at brick-and-mortar stores; for online purchases, the recipients shipping address will determine what set of sales tax exemptions apply to that purchase.
Arkansas and Missouri each have a separate list of what is exempted during their sales tax holidays, with certain items being tax exempt in one state and taxable in another.
Beginning this year, Arkansas’ tax-free weekend includes certain electronic items, and Arkansas families are expected to save $2.6 million in computer and electronic purchases this weekend.
From Saturday to Sunday, items like laptops, desktops, tablets, printers, keyboards, calculators, cell phones, e-readers and computer monitors are all exempt from sales tax. Video games, stereos and televisions are not exempted.
In Arkansas, individual articles of clothing or footwear under $100 are exempted from sales tax during the holiday. That exemption does not include belt buckles, costume masks, patches, emblems or sports equipment.
Clothing accessories under $50 each will also be exempted from sales tax in Arkansas this weekend. Accessories are defined as items worn on the person in conjunction with clothing and includes items like briefcases, cosmetics, handbags, handkerchiefs, jewelry, sunglasses, umbrellas, wallets, watches and wigs.
School supplies are defined as “an item commonly used by a student in a course of study” and includes items like binders, book bags, crayons, folders, markers, notebooks, paper, pencils, rulers and writing tablets.
School art supplies like paints, paintbrushes, drawing pads and watercolors are also exempted, as are instructional materials like reference books, globes and textbooks.
For a complete list of items exempted from Arkansas’ sales tax holiday, visit the dfa.arkansas.gov.
For Missouri’s sales tax holiday, clothing, footwear or cloth and other material used to make clothing are all exempt if the individual items are priced at $100 or less. This does not include watches, jewelry, umbrellas or belt buckles.
Personal computers are also exempted from sales tax during Missouri’s back-to-school weekend as long as each computer does not exceed $1,500. This also includes computer peripherals like keyboards, mice, speakers, printers or scanners, as long as those individual items do not cost more than $1,500.
The Missouri sales tax holiday defines school supplies as “any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes,” and includes textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, art supplies, book bags, calculators or maps as long as each item costs $50 or less.
For more on what items are or are not exempted from Missouri’s sales tax holiday, visit dor.mo.gov.
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