The peak part of summer - July 4th - has passed, schools will be starting in a few weeks, and it’s time once again for South Carolina’s tax free weekend. Tax free weekend is basically a three-day sales tax holiday. If you purchase any items from a massive list of qualifying items, you pay no sales tax at all. This will be the 20th annual sales tax holiday in South Carolina. Get set for stores to be particularly busy. After all, it’s the second busiest shopping weekend of the whole year, after Black Friday. Just how busy? The National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend $80.7 billion on back to school shopping for grade school and college students. That’s a whole lotta pencils, et. al. In South Carolina alone, the tax free weekend is estimated to save shoppers between $2 and $3 million. Interestingly, not all states offer this perk. Out of the 50 states, only 16 states have a tax free weekend. It used to be 19, back in 2010. North Carolina ended theirs in 2013, and Georgia stopped in 2016.
Just how much can you save during tax free weekend?
When you shop during tax free weekend, you will save the state sales tax. Here in South Carolina, it is 6%. You will also save any local taxes. Here in Charleston County, that’s an additional 3%. So by shopping this weekend around Charleston and the beaches, you can save a whopping 9%. Most of the qualifying items have to do with school supplies, dorm room stuff, and the like. But you don’t have to prove you’re a student - or buying for one - to get the discount. The whole list of what qualifies and what doesn’t is HUGE, and I’ll link to it below. Basically, in a nutshell, you won’t have to pay sales tax on the following items: school supplies, bookbags, computers, printers, computer software, calculators, clothing & footwear (yay!), bedspreads & linens, bath mats, and shower curtains. However, you will still have to pay tax on cosmetics, eyewear, furniture, jewelry, wallets, watches and layaway items. Just clothes and shoes alone – for any of all members of the family - could save you a lot of money. Read this blog for the entire list of those items that qualify for the tax free weekend and those that don’t. You can also read more about the tax free weekend and the average spending habits of Americans in the Post & Courier. So save some money this weekend. Check out Target and Towne Centre across the IOP Connector from our Isle of Palms luxury rentals for some excellent shopping options. And when you are ready to book a beach house here, be sure to call EP for the best ones. All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger