Missouri’s three-day sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies and computers is this weekend, and retailers are readying for a rush of shoppers.
The sales tax holiday temporarily exempts the state’s portion of the tax rate — 4.225 percent — from Aug. 5-7 on certain back-to-school items.
The savings are even greater in some municipalities as some cities also make their local sales tax-exempt. The Missouri Department of Revenue lists participating jurisdictions on its website, dor.mo.gov/business/sales/taxholiday/school.
Several local cities are opting out, however, so only the state sales tax is exempt, not the local sales tax. St. Louis area cities opting out include Berkeley, Black Jack, Brentwood, Bridgeton, Charlack, Crystal City, Des Peres, Ellisville, Fenton, Ferguson, Festus, Kirkwood, Ladue, Manchester, Maplewood, New Melle, Pevely, Richmond Heights, Rock Hill, Shrewsbury, St. Ann, St. Peters, Town and Country, University City and Webster Groves. Illinois does not have a sales tax holiday.
The National Retail Federation forecast that back-to-school and college spending will reach $75.8 billion, up from $68 billion last year. Families with students in kindergarten through 12th grade plan to spend $637.57 on apparel, accessories, electronics, shoes and school supplies, according to an NRF survey. That’s up from $630.36 last year. SHOPPING GUIDE:
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“This is a huge weekend for us, probably it’s one of the biggest of the year,” said Colleen O’Neill, general manager of the Taubman Prestige Outlets in Chesterfield. Shoppers in Chesterfield, which did not opt out of the sales tax holiday, will pay about 9 percent less this weekend on qualifying items.
To prepare for the busy weekend, Taubman outlets will have live music throughout the weekend.
“We have a lot of people come out because they get the outlet price and don’t have the sales tax,” O’Neill said. “All the stores staff up for it.”
The tax holiday applies to the following, according to the revenue department:
• 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
• Personal computers — not to exceed $1,500
• Computer peripheral devices — not to exceed $1,500
• Graphing calculators — not to exceed $150
Lisa Brown • 314-340-8127
@lisabrownstl on Twitter
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