I’m headed out-of-town this weekend, so I won’t be able to participate in the 2016 Florida Sales Tax Holiday, but that’s not why it sucks. The real reasons the 2016 Florida Sales Tax Holiday sucks is because it’s been turned into an unrecognizable shell of its former self from last year. 

2016 Florida Sales Tax Holiday

Timeline

– Last year we had 10 glorious days over which we could do our shopping tax-free at a leisurely pace. Not anymore! This year the sales tax holiday will only run from Friday, August 5th to Sunday August 7th. Yup, only 3 days – over the weekend, when you should be relaxing. Instead you’ll need to brave the crowds if you want to save a little. And by little I mean the amounts have changed as well.

Clothing, Footwear, Accessories

– Remember how you were able to buy clothing priced up to $100 tax-free? Sorry Charlies, not this year. The maximum allowable amount is now $60! This includes footwear and certain accessories too. 

School Supplies

– Certain school supplies that qualify must be under $15 to qualify for the tax discount. Hope you still have that scientific calculator from previous years – hey maybe you can use it to figure out how much savings we’ll all be losing this year?

Computers

– Were you thinking about replacing that old dinosaur of a computer? No more tax breaks on computers – at least not this year.

Did you know that all year round in Florida youth bicycle helmets, child restraint systems and booster seats are tax exempt? At least the safety of our children is an important priority for our State!

What’s on your back to school shopping list this year? Check out the full list here to see what is exempt and what isn’t. Happy Shopping!