Back to School Sales Tax Holiday is Coming Soon

It’s hard to believe August is almost here.  The City of Jackson is excited once again to be participating in the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday.  On this weekend, the City of Jackson, County of Cape Girardeau, and State of Missouri will be waiving sales taxes on all qualifying purchases.  The goal is to give parents and students an opportunity to save some money on those much-needed school supplies and clothing.

During the Missouri sales tax holiday, certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items are exempt from all sales tax from Friday, August 5 through Sunday, August 7.

“We are excited to again be participating in Missouri’s tax-free weekend, where we have the opportunity to invite shoppers in Jackson and from all over Cape Girardeau County to come out and enjoy savings,” said Mayor Dwain Hahs. “Over the past 18 years, we have had consistently successful tax-free weekends.  The holiday makes purchasing back-to-school supplies a little more affordable for our residents and those who drive to Jackson to shop.”

The tax-free weekend was first offered in August 2004, with the purpose of giving shoppers a break on back-to-school purchases such as clothes, computers, and backpacks. In 2005, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed a bill making permanent the sales tax holiday during the first weekend in August each year.

The state legislation automatically suspends the state's 4.225 percent sales tax throughout the weekend, plus both the City of Jackson (2.5%) and County of Cape Girardeau (1.5%) have opted to suspend sales tax for its retailers resulting in a total savings of 8.225 percent in sales tax on certain school items.  What that means for consumers is no state, county, or city sales tax at stores in Jackson.

What purchases qualify for the sales tax free weekend?

• 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

Qualifying purchases for school are tax-free throughout the three-day event.  For more information, visit the Missouri Department of Revenue’s website at https://dor.mo.gov/business/sales/taxholiday/school/faq.php.