CUMMING — Stores may see an influx of students and their families this weekend as they take advantage of the annual state sales tax holiday by loading up on certain items like school supplies and clothing without paying sales tax.
Running through midnight Saturday — it started at midnight — tax exemptions will be associated with various items that can be purchased throughout the state.
Most clothing and footwear items with a sales price of $100 or less per item are eligible, as well as computers, computer components and prewritten computer software bought for noncommercial home or personal use with a sales price of $1,000 or less per item.
School supplies, school art supplies, school computer supplies and school instruction materials purchased for noncommercial use with a sales price of $20 or less per item are also tax-exempt through Saturday.
According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, examples of clothing items include but are not limited to: athletic clothing, bathing suits, weightlifting belts, shirts, bras, hats, dresses, diapers, winter gear, football pads, helmets, rainwear, shin guards, socks, sleepwear, skates, sweaters, underwear and uniforms.
Items that are not included and can be taxed include but are not limited to: accessories (jewelry, umbrellas, watches, eyewear, etc.), belt buckles sold separately, baby bibs, cosmetics, diaper bags, fanny packs, hard hats, swim goggles, sewing materials, wallets and wigs.
Computer items that are part of the sales tax holiday include but are not limited to: batteries, laptop adaptors, data storage devices, mouses, printers, scanners and web cameras.
Taxable computer items include but are not limited to: regular batteries, cases, cell phones, digital cameras, game systems, TVs or MP3 players.
Tax-exempt school supplies include but are not limited to: binders, backpacks, calculators, printer paper, crayons, glue, handheld electronic schedulers that are not cellular phones, index cards, lunch boxes, paintbrushes, pencil boxes and sharpeners, reference books, maps and globes, rulers, scissors, textbooks and writing tablets.
Taxable school supply items are: briefcases, envelopes, janitorial supplies, medical supplies and supplies used in a trade or business.
For a complete list of exempt items, visit dor.georgia.gov.