MISSOURI – With back-to-school season underway, Missouri retailers and parents are preparing for the sales tax holiday weekend ahead.
Beginning this Friday through Sunday, August 4, certain back-to-school purchases like clothing, school supplies, computers and many other items will be exempt from sales tax.
Here’s what qualifies:
Clothing, including diapers and shoes, that have a taxable value of $100 or less.
School supplies: not exceeding $50 per purchase.
Computer software with a taxable value of $350 or less.
Personal computers that cost $1,500 or more.
Other computer devices, like a mouse, keyboard, and external disk drive, cost $1,500 or less.
And graphing calculators at $150 or less.
Here’s what doesn’t qualify for supplies:
Radios
Headphones
CD Players
Sporting Equipment
Portable or Desktop Telephones,
Copiers or Other Office Supplies
Furniture
Here’s what doesn’t qualify for clothing:
Watches
Watchbands
Jewelry
Handbags
Handkerchiefs
Umbrellas
Scarves
Ties
Headbands
Belt Buckles
Missouri is just one of 16 states in the country that offers sales tax-exempt shopping for back-to-school purchases. Illinois will not have a sales tax-exempt weekend.
Municipalities within Missouri can no longer opt out of the sales tax after Senate Bill 153 was passed in 2021. The Department of Revenue said tax-exempt items bought online also count toward the tax-free weekend.
