Maryland Tax-Free Weekend Starts Feb. 18 For Some Appliances

ANNAPOLIS, MD — If your washer sounds like a jackhammer or you're not sure the furnace will survive another winter, this is the weekend to buy replacement appliances. Maryland consumers who buy qualifying Energy Star products don't have to pay the state's 6 percent sales tax Saturday, Feb. 18, and continuing through Monday, Feb. 20.

Shoppers who buy air conditioners, refrigerators, washers and dryers, boilers, dehumidifiers, compact fluorescent light bulbs and other qualifying Energy Star products will get the tax break. According to the Maryland Comptroller's Office, during Shop Maryland Energy weekend, these Energy Star products are tax free:

• Air conditioners
• Washers and dryers
• Furnaces
• Heat pumps
• Boilers
• Solar water heaters (tax-exempt at all times now)
• Standard size refrigerators
• Dehumidifiers
• Programmable thermostats
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs
• Light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs

The Shop Maryland Energy weekend begins at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 18 and runs through midnight on Monday, Feb. 20.

A list of exempt and taxable items can be found on the comptroller’s website at www.marylandtaxes.com or by calling the Taxpayer Service Section at 410-260-7980 in Central Maryland or toll-free 1-800-MD TAXES from elsewhere.

A complete list of Energy Star items may be found at www.energystar.gov. Energy rankings apply to virtually every type of appliance, from TVs, computers, clothes washers and dryers to pool pumps, light fixtures and water heaters.

The annual Shop Maryland Energy weekend is now in its sixth year.

»Image courtesy of the Maryland Comptroller's Office