As July comes to a close and warns kids that the start of school is just around the corner, another favorite holiday for parents – the state’s sales tax holiday weekend –  is fast approaching on the first weekend in August.
The weekend helps parents shop-til-they-drop for school supplies with a little help in the pocketbook from a break in the sales tax.
Between 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1 through midnight the following Sunday, people can buy clothing, school supplies, personal computers and computer software without the state sales tax charged on the items.
There are some guidelines, however.
An article of clothing $100 or less falls under the tax exemption, including shoes, except for items commonly known as accessories. These can include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, belts, ties and headbands.
School supplies can’t exceed $50 per purchase, computer software can’t exceed $350 and personal computer purchases can’t exceed $3,500 before the purchases are no longer exempt from the holiday.
Sporting equipment, phones, office equipment, furniture, radios and other items are also excluded from items listed under “school supplies.”
There are also a number of tax jurisdictions which have opted out from participating in the holiday.
Statewide, there are 52 counties, 170 cities and eight taxing districts that will continue collecting local tax.
The state’s 4.225 percent tax will still be waived for those entities for the weekend.
Locally, Camden and Morgan counties have opted out and will be collecting county sales tax. Miller County has chosen to participate in the holiday.
This can create some confusion for shoppers in Lake Ozark as the city has also decided to participate in the tax-free weekend. Businesses in Lake Ozark, but in Miller County, won’t collect any local sales tax from shoppers while businesses in the portion of Lake Ozark that sits in Camden County will tax 1.25 percent on purchases.
The city of Osage Beach has also chosen to continue to collect its city 2 percent sales tax during the weekend. Shoppers in the Miller County portion of the city will only be charged the 2 percent city sales tax while crossing county lines into Camden County means purchases will only be exempt from the state’s sales tax. Shoppers will be charged the local 3.25 percent sales tax for the county and city.
In Morgan County, expect to be charged the county’s 1 percent sales tax. Only the city of Laurie has opted out of participating in the weekend and will also collect its city tax. A number of other taxing entities within Morgan County will not be collecting its sales tax.
For more information, or to check municipal sales tax rates, go to the Missouri Department of Revenue’s Web site at dor.mo.gov.
Contact this reporter at deannaw@lakesunleader.com