Raleigh — With the new school year just around the corner, Rep. Michael H. Wray is reminding shoppers that they will get a weekend pass on state and local sales taxes on clothing, computers and other school supplies.
The state’s sixth annual sales tax holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
“This weekend’s sales tax holiday will help North Carolina families better prepare their children for the start of school so they are able to enter the classroom ready to learn,” Rep. Wray said. “Friday through Sunday will be a great opportunity for families to save some money on necessary back-to-school items, while also supporting our local businesses. I hope that all residents of Northampton, Vance and Warren Counties and all North Carolinians will take advantage of these savings.”
Also exempt are: Clothes and footwear costing less than $100 each; school supplies such as pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, textbooks, book bags, lunch bags, encyclopedias, dictionaries and calculators costing less than $100 each; sports and recreation equipment costing $50 or less per item; athletic and non-athletic uniforms costing $100 or less per item; cycling items such as shoes, shirts and gloves costing $100 or less; computers including the central processing unit, monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers totaling less than $3,500; and computer supplies of $250 or less.
Clothing accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, protective equipment, wallets, furniture, items used in a trade or business and rentals are not exempt from the sales tax.
The sales tax in North Carolina is 6.75 cents on the dollar in most of North Carolina. It’s 7.25 percent in Mecklenburg County.
The sales tax holiday was enacted by the state General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Easley in 2001.
For more information on the sales tax holiday or for an all-inclusive list of items that qualify as “school supplies” for the purposes of the sales tax holiday, go to the state Department of Revenue’s Web site.