By State Sen. Dan Hegeman
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Every year, the state of Missouri administers a sales tax holiday during the back-to-school season. This year, the tax holiday starts at the beginning of the day on Friday, Aug. 2, and runs until the end of the day on Sunday, Aug. 4.
I encourage anyone who will be purchasing school supplies, whether as a student, parent or teacher, to take full advantage of this event.
During the holiday, state sales tax — currently set at 4.225% — will not be collected on certain education-related purchases, including clothing, personal computers and other school supplies, although sales tax will still be collected on other items.
Section 144.049 of the Missouri Revised Statutes lists the specific products that are eligible for the tax holiday. You can view this list, as well as information on price limits during the event, by visiting the Missouri Department of Revenue’s tax holiday information page.
In addition to the exemption from state sales tax, some cities, counties and special districts have chosen to eliminate local sales and use taxes during the holiday.
The Department of Revenue has compiled a list of the effective sales and use tax rates for each county during the tax holiday, which you can find on the information page mentioned above. If you are planning on taking advantage of the tax holiday, be sure to check the effective rate for your area.
If you have any questions regarding the sales tax holiday that are not answered on the Department of Revenue’s information page, you can contact department staff by email at [email protected].