Ohio’s second sales tax holiday is quickly approaching and we wanted to share the specifics of the program with you. The dates are 12:01 a.m. Friday, August 5 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 7 and the exemption only applies to specific items.
The following are a few particulars to keep in mind:
- The event allows certain purchases of clothing, school supplies, and school instructional materials to be purchased without paying Ohio sales tax. If the items are purchased over the internet where no tax is charged, then those items are exempt from Ohio use tax.
- There is a $75 limit for clothing and $20 limit for school supplies and instructional materials. However, the limit is PER ITEM. That means if each item of clothing is $75 or under, the whole purchase is exempt. Any items over $75 are not exempt.
- “School supplies” include only the following items: binders; book bags; calculators; cellophane tape; blackboard chalk; compasses; composition books; crayons; erasers; folders (expandable, pocket, plastic, and manila); glue, paste, and paste sticks; highlighters; index cards; index card boxes; legal pads; lunch boxes; markers; notebooks; paper; loose leaf ruled notebook paper, copy paper, graph paper, tracing paper, manila paper, colored paper, poster board, and construction paper; pencil boxes and other school supply boxes; pencil sharpeners; pencils; pens; protractors; rulers; scissors; and writing tablets. Items not included in this list are taxable.
- “School instructional material” includes only the following items: reference books, reference maps and globes, textbooks, and workbooks. Items not included in this list are taxable.
- Sports uniforms qualify – but sporting equipment (gloves, balls, rackets, clubs) do not.
- If the item totals $75 or under, then associated shipping is also exempt.
- Vendors MUST comply with the Holiday – so all retail stores should be applying the program. Stores can advertise for the sales tax holiday as well.
Some examples would include the following:
- A customer picks out 3 tops for $25 each and a jacket on sale for $60. The entire $135 purchase is exempt.
- A customer buys two $70 pairs of jeans and a $100 jacket. The $140 for jeans is exempt. The $100 jacket is taxed in its entirety.
- The store has the above jacket on sale for $69. The jacket is now exempt.
- The customer applies reward points to discount the above jacket from $100 to $65. The jacket now becomes exempt as discounts can be applied to reduce the price below $75.
- A patron stops at a sporting goods store to purchase a softball glove and soccer cleats. The entire purchase is taxable because sports and recreational equipment do not apply to the exemption. Sport or recreational equipment includes ballet and tap shoes; cleated or spiked athletic shoes; gloves, including, but not limited to, baseball, bowling, boxing, hockey, and golf; goggles; hand and elbow guards; life preservers and vests; mouth guards; roller and ice skates; shin guards; shoulder pads; ski boots; waders; and wetsuits and fins.
Note that items used in a trade or business are not exempt under the sales tax holiday.
Feel free to reach out to your CHS representative for further questions.
