Save money with the back-to-school sales tax holiday

Published: Updated:

Florida’s back-to-school sales tax holiday runs through August 11, 2024. Shopping now means you won’t pay sales tax on certain school-related items.

How much you will save depends on where you live.

  • In Charlotte County, the sales tax rate is 7%.
  • Collier County – 6%
  • DeSoto – 7.5%
  • Glades – 7%
  • Hendry – 7.5%
  • Lee – 6.5%

So, if you live in Charlotte County and choose $100 worth of items that qualify, it would cost you $93. You would save $7.

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Back-to-school shopping can be expensive for parents and teachers. (CREDIT: WINK News)

What qualifies?

Clothing, footwear, and accessories with a sales price of $100 or less per item

  • All footwear, excluding skis, swim fins, roller blades, and skates
  • Any article of clothing intended to be worn on or about the human body, excluding watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, and handkerchiefs
  • Wallets or bags, including:
  • Backpacks
  • Diaper bags
  • Fanny packs
  • Handbags
  • Briefcases, suitcases, and other garment bags are excluded.

Certain school supplies with a sales price of $50 or less per item

  • Binders
  • Cellophane tape
  • Compasses
  • Composition books
  • Computer disks
  • Construction paper
  • Crayons
back-to-school
  • Erasers
  • Folders
  • Glue or paste
  • Legal pads
  • Lunch boxes
  • Markers
  • Notebooks
  • Notebook filler paper
  • Pencils
  • Pens
  • Posterboard
  • Poster paper
  • Protractors
  • Rulers
  • Scissors
  • Staplers and staples used to secure paper products


Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles with a sales price of $30 or less

  • Electronic books
  • Flashcards
  • Interactive books
  • Jigsaw puzzles
  • Learning cards
  • Matching games
  • Memory games
  • Puzzle books
  • Search-and-find books
  • Stacking or nesting blocks or sets
  • Toys that teach reading or math skills

Personal computers and computer-related accessories with a sales price of $1,500 or less

  • Calculators
  • Desktops
  • Electronic book readers
  • Handhelds
  • Laptops
  • Tablets
  • Tower computers
  • It does not include cell phones, video game consoles, digital media receivers, or devices that are not primarily designed to process data.
back-to-school

What doesn’t make the grade for a discount?

  • Any item of clothing with a sales price of more than $100
  • Any school supply item with a sales price of more than $50
  • Books that are not otherwise exempt
  • Computers and computer-related accessories with a sales price of more than $1,500
  • Computers and computer-related accessories purchased for commercial purposes
  • Rentals of any eligible items
  • Repairs or alterations of any eligible items
  • Sales of any eligible items within a theme park or entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport

The Florida Department of Revenue provided the above information. Click here to visit the DOR website.

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